GH4 - Nauticam Macro Lens/Port Thoughts

With the Pz 14-42 +6 gets you a 36mm frame width with GH4 4K a +10 will have more limited working range and will require you to be more steady. As a starter +6 is fine especially if you are handheld and never shot macro on a 4:3 camera

With my Oly 12-50 I haven't been bothering with either diopter as some quick tests showed they didn't add much. Planning a more in-depth on that.

I found the same with the 12-50mm. I haven't tried the +10 subsee yet with the 60mm, I'll have to give that a shot (on a day where there's NO surge!)

Very rough test with the Olympus 60mm macro in the housing in air. Minimum size to fill the frame:

60mm only: 13mm subject at 5cm distance

Subsee +5: 10mm subject at 2.5cm distance

Subsee +10: 9mm subject at 1.5cm distance

Subsee +5 and +10: 10mm at whatever range (working distance just 0 to 3cm)

Personal Conclusion: Worth taking the Subsee +10 alone for a bit more magnification (about 30%), but not really the +5.

Basically wet diopters seem of more value for non-macro lenses.

Remember that lighting becomes an issue when you get this close.

I'm not a good enough physicist to know how relevant this test was to performance underwater.

Would love some comparisons with the Nauticam SMC, CMC and the Aquako +15.

Very rough test with the Olympus 60mm macro in the housing in air. Minimum size to fill the frame:

 

60mm only: 13mm subject at 5cm distance

Subsee +5: 10mm subject at 2.5cm distance

Subsee +10: 9mm subject at 1.5cm distance

Subsee +5 and +10: 10mm at whatever range (working distance just 0 to 3cm)

 

Personal Conclusion: Worth taking the Subsee +10 alone for a bit more magnification (about 30%), but not really the +5.

 

Basically wet diopters seem of more value for non-macro lenses.

 

 

The diopter is effective in shortening the working distance in water however it only shortens the actual distance from the port to the subject not the total working distance.

a lens like the 60mm has a minimum distance from the sensor of 19 cm however only 5cm are left between the port and subject in water those become 6.65 cm. The lens by itself has already 15 diopters and the focal length is now 80mm a +5 only has a 1.5 cm net benefit

However if you have the pz 14-42 that has 20cm outside the port in water the equivalent distance becomes 26.6cm a +5 brings this down to 8.8cm which is 2.34x closer

In short the diopter only brings a benefit is it is more powerful than the lens on its own. As a rule of thumb you want something at least with the same power of the lens in air. Example 60mm you need a 15cm to make a real difference however you maybe left with no distance. Pz 14-42 benefits start at +5.

Would love some comparisons with the Nauticam SMC, CMC and the Aquako +15.

Just got Nauticam CMC so hopefully I can try all three with 60mm and 14-42 soon. Water temp still damn cold here (3~5C) for macro shooting.

EunJae, some quick tests on dry land to see what minimum size you can fill the frame with would be very interesting, and at what distance.

Ok, just lazy quick topside test. Min size to fill the frame.

GH4 + Oly 60mm.

Nauticam CMC : 8mm subject at 2.7cm

Nautcam SMC : 10mm subject at 2.8cm

Aquako IV (2.5x) : 8mm subject at 2.2cm

Subsee +5 : 11mm subject at 3.2cm

Subsee +10 : 9mm subject at 1.7cm

I guess CMC will be best choice for 60mm and personally I'll bring down CMC and Aquako IV with 60mm.

I'll try to do similar test with 14-42 when I have port.

HTH

Ej.

Sorry to be so dumb, whats the differences between the SMC and the CMC?

From what I read the CMC is a higher magnification and better optically - if that is the case, whats the status of the SMC?

Sorry to be so dumb, whats the differences between the SMC and the CMC?

 

From what I read the CMC is a higher magnification and better optically - if that is the case, whats the status of the SMC?

It's works better with compact and m43.

http://www.nauticamusa.com/news/2015/2/3/the-cmc-has-arrived

Thank you - didn't see that - and the info in the bottom of the screen is excellent!

Will have to get one now! WOW!

I've wondered about using the CMC to replace my Subsee diopter on a flip mount with a Canon camcorder. That is not a listed option, but I wonder how well it would work. Does anyone have any thoughts on that?

 

Ok, just lazy quick topside test. Min size to fill the frame.

GH4 + Oly 60mm.

 

Nauticam CMC : 8mm subject at 2.7cm

Nautcam SMC : 10mm subject at 2.8cm

Aquako IV (2.5x) : 8mm subject at 2.2cm

Subsee +5 : 11mm subject at 3.2cm

Subsee +10 : 9mm subject at 1.7cm

 

I guess CMC will be best choice for 60mm and personally I'll bring down CMC and Aquako IV with 60mm.

I'll try to do similar test with 14-42 when I have port.

HTH

Ej.

At practical level though you need to see how much range you have in focus between the camera focussing at infinity and focussing on the closest point. When this approaches one cm you know this becomes a very very specific tool that can be good for still images but for video less so. This CMC lens seems a response to the new compact with short zoom but on a normal 100-120 equivalent look an overkill

Thanks EunJae. Looks like CMC going on my shopping list and I might even sell my Subsees. Not only the best magnification but also looks like the smallest and lightest of the bunch.

Those are two shots with PZ-14-42mm at 42mm end and Inon UCL-100 on the GX7 for the GH4 you are looking at 26mm horizontal after 4K crop and 1.5cm height

For me this is already very small

Do you remember what distance you were at?

Interesting to compare that 26mm horizontal with my Olympus 12-50mm. My minimum subject to fill the frame (in air, in 43mm macro mode) was about 25mm at about 4cm distance without any diopters.

Looks like, in general, Panasonic PZ-14-42mm/+10 diopter is in the same ballpark as the Olympus 12-50mm as a combination that gives you reasonable macro and a bit of wideish angle too. Oly may give a little bit more magnification but doesn't have any stabilization on a GH4 body.

With any combo of +5 and +10 diopters on the Oly 12-50mm I could fill the frame with about 20mm at 1cm distance. Hence I decided not to bother taking them as the extra magnification is not really worth it on that lens.

I didn't take detail measurements but it was quite close around 4cm from the front of the diopter. I use the 14-42mm with wet wide angle lenses and with the gx7 ex tele mode I can get around 18mm width. This is a much better working option as with the UCL100 or any +10 diopter you are limited between 7.5 and 4 cm outside this range (at least at full zoom) you have no focus at all. So am thinking about this lens only for stills. For video I am planning to use the weaker UCL-165 as it works from 14 to 7 cm which makes the lens worthwhile using and with ex tele I can zoom 2.4x more. If I had the GH4 I would be looking at two 6 stacked with this lens. Obvious with another lens like the 12-50 is completely different and a single plus 10 looks more interesting. I think the 14-42 is the most versatile lens of all for video due to the power zoom and the fact that is stabilised but more important for me it takes wet lenses so I can almost use it as a camcorder as I can zoom through from 100 degrees to 85mm with flat port for portraits and then with a diopter can get into macro

Ok, another lazy test.

Min size to fill the frame. GH4 + pz 14-42 at 42mm.
Please note, this is not magnification test and wet diopter will work completely different when underwater.

• CMC 17mm at 4cm
• SMC 24mm at 6cm
• Aquako IV (2.5x) : 20mm at 5cm
• Subsee +5 : 40mm at 10cm
• Subsee +10 : 27mm at 6cm

btw, it was very interesting how you attache zoom gear on pz 14-42.

I haven't try this lens underwater yet but so far footage looks reasonably sharp and OIS working well.
I think it should be good for medium size shot in mid water with handheld (Thanks Peter).

btw, it was very interesting how you attache zoom gear on pz 14-42.

I haven't try this lens underwater yet but so far footage looks reasonably sharp and OIS working well.

 

Have you tried assigning the electronic zoom to a function key and using the up and down arrows to zoom? I do this and land and it works great (I don't believe the GH2 has this - or at least I haven't found the option). I haven't tried this lens underwater, but thought about doing so using the camera to zoom and building custom gear to engage the manual focus.

 

Have you tried assigning the electronic zoom to a function key and using the up and down arrows to zoom? I do this and land and it works great (I don't believe the GH2 has this - or at least I haven't found the option). I haven't tried this lens underwater, but thought about doing so using the camera to zoom and building custom gear to engage the manual focus.

I haven't tried this lens underwater, but thought about doing so using the camera to zoom and building custom gear to engage the manual focus.

Great idea! I really wish Nauticam would offer that as an option. I bet there are some existing Nauticam parts that could be adapted to do most of it for you but it would need someone with a stock of Nauticam parts/spares to work out which.