Using ports for alternative lenses and magic filters

Hey guys,

Finally got my nauticam housing in this week. The port I got for it is the nauticam 6" for the panny 7-14. I don't have the lens yet though and when I tried everything out, I found the 14-42 kit zoom fits perfectly in the port without clipping etc. My question is now, to what extend does it matter that the port is not a prefect match? Why would I get another dome port when the current one can host the 14-42 kit lens with plenty space for diopter filters and other filters is desired?

My second question concerns the user of magic filters and potentially combining them with flash. So I haven't used these filters before and as colour correction filters they look very different from standard red or orange filters. How well do they work and what's the drawback of using them with Flash? (Note, I did read their web page)

The only real downsides to using the 14-42 zoom with the Nauticam six inch port for the Panasonic 7-14 will be the use of wet closeup lenses. This port is not designed for these lenses to be mounted to the outside of the port. Length wise the lenses are about the same when the kit zoom is fully extended. Using closeup lenses directly mounted to the 14-42 will limit the range of the lens greatly, that is why so many use wet lenses.

The Magic Filter is a great tool for A/V light in shallower blue water (or green with that filter). I don't use the filters when shooting with strobes as much and never when shooting in the closeup/ macro range. This is not to say that they won't work if you set white balance but I am happy with my results using auto W/B.

If you shoot video in 15-20 meters or less I think you will find a noticeable upside with proper W/B.

Phil Rudin