Lembeh (what lenses?)

Hi everyone,

I'll be doing some diving in Lembeh (KBR in Indonesia) in July and just made the transition to digital. The only U/W lenses I have left are my 60mm, 105mm and 12-24. A lot of the animals in Lembeh are small and perfect for the 60 and 105. I was wondering if I should be prepared to shoot something wider than a 60 but less than the 12-24? If there are animals a little too big for the 60 to minimize the water between the lens and subject, what is a recommended lens?

Or is the arsenol of 60, 105 and 12-24 good enough for the animals in Lembeh?

Thanks for your feedback

I think you will have pretty much everything covered with those lenses. You may want to get a 2x or 1.6x teleconvertor for really small stuff like pygmys or you could use a cheaper alternative - that doesn't need a port extension - such as a close up dioptre.

Alex

There are a couple of sites that would warrent the wide angle being fitted:

Angel Falls and the frieghter wreck. a +4 diopter on the 105 will bag good pygmy shots.

I agree with the comments above - it sounds like you're covered. To supplement what you've already got, a CU diopter and/or teleconverter would probably be more useful there than a medium-wide.

A 17-35 (or a prime lens in that range, such as the 28 mm) is good for fish portraits or to pull in pelagics and other w/a subjects that can't be approached closely enough with the 12-24, but that's not likely to be your priority in the Lembeh Strait. If you're like most people, you won't be shooting anything there but macro. There aren't many subjects you're likely to want to shoot at Lembeh that will be too big for the 60 mm.

You will want to shoot w/a if you plan to do dives at Bunaken/Manado before or after Lembeh, but the 12-24 will be great for that.

Let me know if you'll be coming through Bali on your trip.

Out of curiosity, how big is a pygmy seahorse? I have never seen one before.

I used to use the 105 on my Nikon F5, and was astonished at how tight I could get with that lens.

Put that lens on a digital camera, and the field of view is narrowed even more. Then take it underwater, and the field of view becomes even more constricted. And then I read above recommendations for a diopter or a teleconverter! WOW!

I am guessing that a pygmy seahorse must be (much) tinier than I ever imagined!!

Suddenly, I have a new-found appreciation for those shots of these critters I have seen on this site. They must be tiny indeed!

Some can be only a few millimeters while others can be 20-30. I've taken a 200mm with a +3 and an external diopter to shoot these. On the D100, that's like shooting a 400mm lens at a subject distance of about a foot. I always felt that was a little too much. On my next trip I'll be trying the 105 with a 1.4x more. No pygmies though.

Going in April. Couldn't wait til September do to work issues. Started looking at various galleries and started wondering what people used to shoot various critters.

How do you decide what lens combo? E.g. Wonderpus, Stargazer, Crocodile fish, etc. vs. pygmy seahorse, ghost pipefishes, nudibranchs?

I've got the 200, 105 and 60, but the 200mm is pretty limited. I have diopters and 2x and 1.4x converters. What's the general weapon of choice?

I used my 60 mm on 95% of my dives at Lembeh, moving to the 105 when we were specifically told that we would find Pygmies. It was my first time trying to shoot pygmies and I wish I had been using a teleconvertor with the 105.

If I went back I would probably be more experimental but theres just so much to see I wanted to play safe and get "shots in the bag".

I was shooting film.

Well, the 70-180 is nice.

You will get multiple chances at the best dive sites (which tend to move around) and the divemasters are pretty good at telling you what to expect. A 105 can shoot most things and a TC can be used when you know you are going to shoot pygmies. The mimic/wonderpus chances will be unpredictable, generally in the afternoon, and you may have trouble getting them with a 105. Vis is never really good enough to get good shots from five feet away. Take a 60, a 105, and a TC and you'll know which to use pretty quickly. It's awesome.

I'm off to Sulawesi on Tuesday. Going to Manado for 7 days then to Lembeh for 10. I last went in 2001, so am really looking forward to it.

I think that it is difficult to not play it safe there on your first visit and get shots in the bag. I hope I will be more adventurous with my photography this time. Afterall the world doesn't really need another pygmy shot!

Alex