Advice/buying: Taking Panasonic GX7 underwater?

Hey guys,

I currently own a Panasonic Lumix GX7 Micro four thirds camera with the kit 14-42mm lens (H-FS1422A) and i would love to take it underwater! On another note, if you think you have any gear (as per my questions below) that you'd like to sell i am interested!

Unfortunately i'm just moving into the interchangeable lens class of camera and dont know much about lenses/ performance/ ports required for housings, so i have a heap of questions! (sorry!), and guys thanks in advance!

1. Can the kit lens H-FS1422A be taken underwater? - i have read somewhere that only the older model of this lens (H-FS014042) will fit in a housing port?

2. Does anyone actually know how the kit 14-42mm g vario lens performs underwater? (The kit lens)

3. Can anyone recommend a more suitable lens for underwater use - around $200-300 second hand? - I am very into underwater video, and i typically shoot medium to larger subjects. I'm not much of a macro shooter (although i do enjoy shooting the odd Nemo, and it may be nice to get into it later on..)

4. Onto the particulars of an underwater housing.. i have done a bit of research, and im still slightly confused as to everything i actually need to get my camera underwater. Can anyone recommend a housing/ ports/ zoom cogs ect (i think im leaning towards dome rather than flat port) for my GX7 with either the current 14-42 kit lens (H-FS1422A) or a lens recommended above?

- If i do decide to go a dome port, do i need to buy the port and then the dome which attaches to the port?, or is it literally a dome port?

- I've had a look and if possible i think i'd prefer an Ikelite housing (as theyre cheaper), but again that raises countless questions as to lens compatibility (as per my first question haha). If not i will go for the Nauticam (i understand they are of a much higher quality, but $$).

Guys thanks in advance! And again if you do own a housing/ports i am interested. (Please note if you do wish to sell me something please tell me what else i will need to actually get it to work!)

Hope to see you all floating around.

Tom

If you want to do more wide angle and video get the Panasonic GX80 (GX85 GX7 mk2 dependant where you live) as it is reasonably priced and can do 4K video with in body image stabilisation so doesn't care what lens you have on. Ikelite do a reasonable priced housing and the domes accept different lenses. The image quality is slightly improved over the GX7 as it has no low pass filter. Also has latest 4K photo modes for top side photography. Going under water for any camera is a huge investment for housing, ports, strobes, lights etc so you want to spend a bit more to get most up to date featured camera to suit your shooting needs.

Thanks for your reply, It is a shame that the GX7 doesnt have 4k video/stabilisation. I definitely would rather a GX80ect however i am trying to find a second hand housing (to save a little more$), and as the GX8 housings were released this month i seriously doubt i'd find a good deal anywhere soon. There are far too many options for this expensive hobby haha.

I will probably end up investing at least in a new lens that offers stabilisation for video (again no idea which one..). 4K i feel would be nice but again you're sacrificing 30fps that you could get in 1080p.

If looking at second hand also look at Olympus OMD cameras like the EM10 or EM5 that come as a package. Might still be cheaper than a housing for the GX7 as more underwater photographers use the Olympus.

Also Backscatter are doing a brand new Olympus OMD EM1, lens, zoom gear, Olympus housing and port for $1699. That's second hand prices for all you need and the port takes the 9-18 and 60mm macro too. Check it out before it's gone!

I think the gx7 will do fine. It does have in-body image stabilization so you will have that feature on any Panasonic or Olympus lenses you choose to use. I know at least nauticam offers a port for the lens you have and suspect you can get something from other makes as well. The 14-42 isn't quite wide enough for underwater wide angle, nor is it a macro, so it isn't ideal but it is OK to start with. If you want to add a lens and do so economically, you want to look at something like a fixed 12mm or the 12-50 or 12-32 zoom or the the 45 or 60 macro lenses, depending on your interests. If you could afford them, the 8mm fisheye, 9-18 zoom and 7-14 zooms are very popular underwater in micro four thirds format. But not only are these lenses more expensive, they usually require expensive dome ports

Underwater photography is not a budget activity. In addition to the housing and port, you will want at least one strobe and then of course the associated clamps, arms, cable(s) etc.

As to housing and port brands, I am not a big fan of Ikelite so don't follow their products and don't know what they have currently. Be sure you get something that can be obtained and/or serviced where you live. With that said, I would suggest looking at Nauticam housings and ports. They are relatively reasonably priced and popular enough that used housings and ports come up for sale fairly regularly. Nauticam also offers a WWL-1 attachment that will turn a standard zoom lens into a very wide lens, but it is a very expensive accessory and I don't think it will work with the lens you have. You would need to get a different zoom, I think.

Guys thanks for your input! (unfortunately the backscatter deal has ended! i've also already got the GX7 )

The UW lens advice will definitely be helpful! If im going to have to buy a port now, its probably better to upgrade my lens now and only buy a singular port!

I do actually own a strobe, lights, and arms ect coming off my old compact camera.

Thanks for that, i was leaning towards nauticam as i've very recently heard some criticisms of Ikelite housings.

Cheers guys!

Hey guys Just another query on lenses: do any of those have power zoom features?/ is it recommended to go for a power zoom lens? just thinking it'l save buying a zoom ring.

The GX7 takes some great pictures and the kit lens works just fine with the flat port 35 in the Nauticam housing it also take wet lenses both wide and macro

https://flic.kr/s/aHskfB8gc6

The second lens to get depending on what you shoot is the 8mm fisheye or the 60mm macro. WIth those 3 lenses you cover pretty much everything except linear wide angle that you can either do with the kit lens and a wet lens or with the more expensive 7-14.

I was looking hard at the Nauticam NA-GX7 housing for that camera. Smaller but as usual the Nauticam prices don't drop for older models. Anyway that plus a port 36121. While the 14-42 may not need a dome port 36133, I would get one so that when you buy a shorter lens like the Pany 7-14 would work

I was looking hard at the Nauticam NA-GX7 housing for that camera. Smaller but as usual the Nauticam prices don't drop for older models. Anyway that plus a port 36121. While the 14-42 may not need a dome port 36133, I would get one so that when you buy a shorter lens like the Pany 7-14 would work

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Prices in Oz, for UW stuff are pretty savage. I would suggest don't always assume the best route is to house something you have already. Ikelite housings work but they are big and clunky, I know someone who has a Canon G16 in an Ikelite and I couldn't believe how huge the box was compared to the camera. They said they were going to buy a Fanatasea housing as they didn't like the ikelite.

You could for instance get a Fantasea housing for a G7x-MkII and and the camera for about the price of the Nauticam housing and cheap dome port, possibly with money left over for a wide wet lens depending on which port you bought. With the wet wide lens you would be wider than your 14-42 and the G7X is better at the long end for closeups You won't get wider than the 24mm equivalent of the G7X with wet wide lens without investing serious $$. You choices in micro43 are the 14-142 lenses, the 12-50 which is a bit ordinary optically, the 12-40 which requires an expensive large dome solution then the next step is the 7-14 lenses which are $1k plus and need big dome ports to work well. There are cheap ways to do it with acrylic ports and the like of course, the ikelite 8" dome with extension will be about $8-900 or so. There is the 9-18mm but it gets mixed reviews. The 14-42 uses a 4" wide angle port which would be a bit of a dead end at $600 while the 7" acrylic dome port is only $200 more, you could probably use the 14-42 in that but it woudn't be in the right position. Do be aware that 12-40 and 7-14 olympus lenses are large dia so must be installed from the front and the dome placed over them on Nauticam M43 housings.

How wide do you need to go?, I've found round Sydney not much use for super wide with 12mm being wide enough due largely to dirty water, the 12mm was wide enough to capture grey nurse sharks for me. Of course if you're diving on the reef things will be different. I have the 7-14mm and have not used it round Sydney.

For reference here are the Ikelite port charts: http://www.ikelite.com/images/products/housings/general/dslr-port-charts.pdf

and the Nauticam: http://scubapix.com/pages/port-charts.html