Olympus 60mm First time shooting - tips?

I've recently acquired an Olympus 60mm macro lens, and I'm looking for tips about how to best setup for underwater use, as this will be the first time I'll be diving with a dedicated macro lens with this camera. The various options for setting 0.19-infinity etc, I've noted in some other threads that 0.19-0.40 is suggested by some as the best to reduce the hunting time for the lens when using a CMC/SMC - is this the same when neither of those are equipped? or is full range preferred?

Also - I've also ordered the focus gear for this - is this not necessary unless one is manual focusing? I'm going to use it temporarily behind the 9-18mm 4" dome, but will be getting the 30mm extension ring for my 35mm port (which I have for the 14-42mm EZ - does anyone use this combination?

I don't have the lens yet but I know a few people that use the camera without focus gear so am not planning to buy it, I think Phil Rudin wrote something about it in another post.

Also the lens is already 2:1 super macro in 35mm terms do you really want to get going with the CMC?

For what concerns the focus limiter is unlikely unless you are in really clear water that you will shoot anything further away than one foot with this lens so 0.19-0.40 should be fine but maybe someone that has used the lens for fish portraits can chip in. I use the Panasonic 14-42mm mark II at the 42mm end and it works well for medium size fish but for clown fish and cardinal fish or damsel am going to use the 60mm when I buy one.

I just got back from shooting this for a week in St. Croix. I didn't get a chance to use the CMC much, but the included Rhinophores shot used it (the body of the nudi was illuminated from within). I found the CMC difficult to work with, but it was my first time. The distance from port glass to subject is a few cm at most. I think using .19-.40 would be a good idea if you knew you were shooting only CMC, but otherwise the hunting wasn't too bad on .19-infinity. I left mine on .19 to infinity because I wasn't sure what I would encounter. I've included examples of the range of the lens. I was quite pleased with it overall. Of course, I wouldn't recommend trying to shoot sharks with it, but I figured - we had 5 sharks chasing us back to the shallows and circling, so why not try to get a few shots in??

The shark portrait is actually quite good! Other than going to lembeh I don't see how you can really leverage the cmc with this lens. The level of magnification is already incredible

As I mentioned, I'd noted the settings in posts talking about the lens being used with a SMC/CMC. I don't have either of these, so wondered if there was a preferred setting in this case. Hmm, two minds about the focus gear, as I know that it doesn't have a zoom capability, so won't need it for that, but on the odd occasion I might wish to manual focus, might prove useful. On the other hand, could just send it back and save some cash!

I use .19 to infinity behind the Zen dome and it performs well for me on an epl2.

now that I have an epl7, I expect it will focus quicker.

Sometimes it might take a little bit to focus on a subject when you first start to look at it.

Then it gets better, because it's already focused once.

So, if there is something skittish and you know approximately how far away you'll be, try to prefocus on something a similar distance before moving in, so lens is at a close starting point.

If something like a nudibranch, no big deal as it's not moving fast.

The CMC is extremely difficult to use since you have working disctance of about 2-3 cm... Where to put the flashes?

But yes, you definitly need a close up lens for the smalest critters.

The +5 from ReefNet is easier to use by far, but has less magnification (1.6 times).

The CMC is extremely difficult to use since you have working disctance of about 2-3 cm... Where to put the flashes?

 

But yes, you definitly need a close up lens for the smalest critters.

 

The +5 from ReefNet is easier to use by far, but has less magnification (1.6 times).

Close up lenses shorten the working distance.

As the lens without diopter can already focus at 9cm from the port a +5 diopter will achieve less than 1.6x

In general you want something that at infinity works at less then what the camera can do itself. So in this case you want a +10 or more. You will then end up around 5cm from the port and struggling for depth of field.

But the key issue is that when you use something like the CMC or a strong close up lens you have only 1mm depth of field and this lens like every MFT is completely garbled at f/22 so the IQ drops substantially.

I have not got the lens in my hands yet but based on what I have seen it should be perfectly useable without any close up lens and still achieve 2:1 in 35mm that for me is great!

I use the 60mm macro lens set to 0.4m to 0.19 or life size (1:1), if I want to shoot beyond 0.4m I will be choosing another wider lens like the 12 to 40mm F/2.8 zoom. At 0.19 the image area captured is about 18mm on the long side and 17.3mm if you use the manual focus gear. The AF does not get all the way to 1:1 in most cases.

If the original poster has never used a macro lens of this magnification underwater it will be an easer learning curve if you remain within this short working distance range, the lens will hunt less. Adding any closeup lens like Nauticam CMC for greater magnification before you are competent with the lens alone will only further frustration. With CMC image capture is about 9mm on the long side at less than 10mm to the subject.

The Nauticam CMC-1 is designed for best results with M43 sensors and smaller like the one inch compact sensors. SMC is designed for full frame and APS-C sensor cameras and will preform better with those sensor sizes.

Olympus 60 macro is an excellent lens when used within its limits with best results at or below F/8. M43 sensors have huge DOF so macro at F/5.6 to F/8 will work quite well even with the CMC-1 where most subjects will have little depth at only 9mm in length.

Personally, I would not bother with the focus gear for this lens. If shooting macro, it's easy enough to achieve focus lock then move the camera slightly if necessary. I also find that the single biggest help in achieving quick AF lock with minimal hunting is a good focus light.

BTW I've just posted some macro comparisons here, using this lens with and without diopters, that might be useful: http://wetpixel.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=56141&st=0&p=363745

Personally, I would not bother with the focus gear for this lens. If shooting macro, it's easy enough to achieve focus lock then move the camera slightly if necessary. I also find that the single biggest help in achieving quick AF lock with minimal hunting is a good focus light.

 

BTW I've just posted some macro comparisons here, using this lens with and without diopters, that might be useful: http://wetpixel.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=56141&st=0&p=363745

Generally you want a close up lens more powerful than the lens itself. At 9cm from the port the 60mm is like a +11 close up lens so you need something really strong to make a difference and once you have it you may have issues with the strobes. I can see how I could deal with a nudibranch but am not sure about a Pygmy on a fan

My conclusion is different - the results from the +5 and the +10 are the same magnification with different working distances, so I think that I would prefer the +5

Anyway, too right, its going to be a real challenge to get within 50mm of a pygmy, responsibly, and light it well!

I followed Eel with .19 to infinity behind the Zen dome and it performs well for me on an epl3 with a YS-01

I spend a week at Lembeh using this combination on all bar 1 dive when I played with wideangle for a change.

Yes on some of the very small stuff a diopter would have helped but getting as close as I already was was tough, getting even closer, maybe not a good idea.

I would stick with the basic len plus 1 strobe until you have got the hang of that and are reliably getting in focus well lit pictures.

I can promise you that can be tough enough in many conditions.

I have some satisfying images of glass shrimp, crabs, etc the maybe max 2 cm long.

I have no acceptable pictures of hairy shrimp, all are fuzzy and badly lit, look like a lump of muddy coloured flotsam. Next time

Octopus were great but quick, as were baby frog fish, encountered three BIG frog fish and I could not get far enough away to get a good photo with the murky water.

Have fun and post some pics

Can someone comment on the differences of shooting this lens behind the Zen dome and behind the flat port? I have both and the flat port is equipped with the Reefnet +5. But I have not shot the 60mm lens other than in a pool.

I would assume that since the dome increases the FOV of a wide angle by 1.33x, that it would do the same for the macro, reducing the maximum magnification. Am I wrong?

My conclusion is different - the results from the +5 and the +10 are the same magnification with different working distances, so I think that I would prefer the +5

 

Anyway, too right, its going to be a real challenge to get within 50mm of a pygmy, responsibly, and light it well!

Anyway the point is there is not much improvement

I guess my tolerances are somewhat looser than yours! I was expecting the difference between +5 and +10 to be much greater, not only 10% or so.

Now I am wondering what exactly the advantage of a +10 would be on this lens. I know people use them, but I'm not sure what situation would call for it.

Can someone comment on the differences of shooting this lens behind the Zen dome and behind the flat port? I have both and the flat port is equipped with the Reefnet +5. But I have not shot the 60mm lens other than in a pool.

 

I would assume that since the dome increases the FOV of a wide angle by 1.33x, that it would do the same for the macro, reducing the maximum magnification. Am I wrong?

I'm using a flat port for the FOV effect you mention (and it being smaller and cheaper).

On a different point, dome ports also create an imaginary image such that infinity appears to be much closer to the port. So in the discussion of limiting to 0.4m or not the story may be different for a dome port where longer focus distances are not needed. I never limit the focus range because I have not experienced problems with hunting and, especially for "new sightings" I like to take an image from further away to "at least have a shot" before moving in as close as possible. For small fish I also find it useful to move autofocus to a function button and use it to focus in front of the object of interest and then move in until the EVF shows the object in focus. Especially if a small fish is swimming in from of some substrate, autofocus often focuses on the substrate in the background.

Bart

I guess my tolerances are somewhat looser than yours! I was expecting the difference between +5 and +10 to be much greater, not only 10% or so.

 

Now I am wondering what exactly the advantage of a +10 would be on this lens. I know people use them, but I'm not sure what situation would call for it.

That's pretty much my reasoning no need to use them the improvement is too little. Those close up lenses are very effective when your minimum working distance is double the close up lens working distance so that you get 2x magnification. When the lens is already working very close to the subject the whole purpose drops. The subsee were designed with SLR in mind and other lenses like Inon and CMC mostly for compacts. The four thirds with macro lenses already achieve without any extra help what other configuration can only get with diopters

With a small sensor camera like the M43 cameras one of the big upsides for CMC is the fact that it puts more distance between the port and subject. It is also about 1/3 the depth of SubSee and SMC. SAGA also has a very complete line of closeup lenses which also work best with smaller sensor cameras ( from +5 to +25 diopters in strength).

Looking at the chart nauticam provides the lens seems very useful for compacts and for macro four third with zoom lenses effectively giving super macro ability in 35mm terms. Used with macro lenses though working distance drops to 17-22mm with MFT and even 10mm for Sony macro lenses. That for me is too little. Would definitely consider it as a cost effective alternative to buying a port and lens. But if you already have a macro lens and port becomes a very specific gimmick that I would find hard to put to use