Olympus new lenses 8 mm fisheye considerations weight and so on ...

As Jim showed, I think you're missing a very large point. The f1.8 has much faster AF in the dark conditions we find underwater. You can shoot at a lower ISO in many situations, deeper dives, caves, underhangs and on wrecks, as well as dusk and dawn. Even during cloudy conditions in more turbulent contditions the extra light at depth allows the lens to catch focus faster, this is especially true for m4/3rds cameras that rely on (modified) contrast AF.

 

Shot in 145' of water, ambient light.

 

 

Ambient light

Jack, I have the older Pany 8mm behind a Zen port which I will be using for first time next week in Curacao. Would adding a good focus light make up for the slower apeture of the Pany? I would like to shoot some large fish and a few wreck phoots which capture the whole subject. And how much would you kick up the ISO on a good old Olympus EPL2?

Is using two Inon D-2000 really necessary?

Bulky? One extra 20mm extension?

Hello jplaurel!

What do you think about autofocus speed? I am wondering how it improves over the panasonic, were you using it before?

Both are fast. The Olympus focuses on my GH4 really, really fast, even in low light. I have not compared them directly, but my subjective opinion is that the Olympus is faster. Maybe it has something to do with giving the contrast detect AF system more light to work with.

Honestly, the new Olympus fisheye is a fantastic lens. Image quality, even wide open in the corners, is hard to believe. It gives you an amazing amount of freedom for existing light photography. I was doing video of a shipwreck at dusk a few months ago. We had placed lights on the wreck, and I had a diver swimming up the length of the ship. You could just see the glow of dusk in the background. I was using the Panasonic 8mm f/3.5, and had to jack up the ISO to 800-1600. The Olympus would have allowed me to reduce the ISO to 200-400. On a Micro 4/3 camera, that means a huge difference in image quality.

I use mine behind the Zen DP-120 with no spacer ring. An absolutely perfect combination.

Jack, I have the older Pany 8mm behind a Zen port which I will be using for first time next week in Curacao. Would adding a good focus light make up for the slower apeture of the Pany? I would like to shoot some large fish and a few wreck phoots which capture the whole subject. And how much would you kick up the ISO on a good old Olympus EPL2?

 

Is using two Inon D-2000 really necessary?

Sorry, didn't see this earlier.

A focus light helps catch focus, but has nothing to do with exposure.

Shooting a wreck in ambient light usually takes slower shutter speeds and higher ISOs. You'll just have to experiment.

Two strobes is nearly always better than one, except when there's a lot of backscatter.

Both are fast. The Olympus focuses on my GH4 really, really fast, even in low light. I have not compared them directly, but my subjective opinion is that the Olympus is faster. Maybe it has something to do with giving the contrast detect AF system more light to work with.

So, rookie question then: Do lens auto-focus at the selected stop, or do they focus at the lowest possible stop for the lens, and then choke down to the selected stop when commanded to capture the photo?

That said, at the current street price of $800USD (Amazon), I'd say from the pics shown this looks to be well worth the premium over the Panasonic.

Most lenses focus on their widest opening and stop down for the picture. the depth of field preview button on cameras does that without taking a picture

I'm considering both the Oly 8mm fisheye and the Oly 7-14mm. I'm considering one or both. If I went with just one, which one would people recommend over the other?

I have both lenses. The panasonic is more then a great lens. The Olympus is the top for those who want a few percent more and have no Problem to pay more and with the weight.

It is a Little bit sharper and in extreme situations the camera focuses a Little bit easier.

Armin

I'm asking about both Oly lenses, not Panasonic or Oly.

I'm considering both the Oly 8mm fisheye and the Oly 7-14mm. I'm considering one or both. If I went with just one, which one would people recommend over the other?

Hard to compare. One is a very wide rectilinear zoom and the other a fisheye with the characteristics of a fisheye lens (curved lines, etc). I think you would find a lot of people use both of those types of lenses and if you are trying to choose which to get, or which to get first, then you need to consider what you are going to shoot, whether size of the dome important to you for travel, if you like the look of a fisheye, if you want to also use the lens on land, and so on.

I think if you could describe what you want to do and what other concerns you might have about size, cost, etc., you will get some helpful responses.