New camera time and need advice please

I have decided on the OMD E-M5 II and a Nauticam housing for my new camera setup. I need some advice on some lens and port setups if someone could give me some insight. This will be my first Nauticam housing and I have all of the lenses listed except the 14-42EZ – I have the 14-42 IIr right now.

I currently shoot an E-PL1 behind a Zen Underwater WA-100 dome on an Olympus housing with the 3 lenses listed.

Option 1:

· Olympus 60mm Macro / N85 Port 65

· Olympus 9-18mm Wide angle / N85 4 inch Acrylic Wide Angle Dome Port

· Olympus 14-42EZ / N85 Power Zoom Macro Port 29 (option to add WWL-1 later)

Option 2:

· Olympus 60mm Macro / N85 Port 659-18mm

· Olympus 14-42EZ / N85 Power Zoom Macro Port 29

· WWL-1 Wet Wide lens (with all of the adapters and mounts)

Option 3:

· Olympus 60mm Macro / N85 Port 659-18mm

· Olympus 12-40 PRO / Zen Underwater DP-170

Option 4:

· Olympus 60mm Macro / N85 Port 659-18mm

· Olympus 14-42EZ / N85 Power Zoom Macro Port 29

· Panasonic 8mm FE / N85 140mm Optical Glass FE Dome

Option 1 concerns me because some reviews say the 9-18 behind the semi dome is trash, others say it’s good. So, who do I believe without spending big bucks to find out for myself? I would rather sell the lens and go a different route if the photos will not be good.

I really like option 2 and the flexibility it offers but am very nervous about taking a 3 lb lens on and off underwater. One slip and $1000 worth of lens heads to the bottom well beyond even a tech divers reach for retrieval, at least on a lot of our dives. Plus, when it is not attached and on the holder on the arm, that 3 lbs must seriously torque the arm and make the rig unstable as hell.

Option 4 is pricey.

I am trying to keep a mix of versatility and cost effectiveness as much as I can.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

I have decided on the OMD E-M5 II and a Nauticam housing for my new camera setup. I need some advice on some lens and port setups if someone could give me some insight. This will be my first Nauticam housing and I have all of the lenses listed except the 14-42EZ – I have the 14-42 IIr right now.

 

I currently shoot an E-PL1 behind a Zen Underwater WA-100 dome on an Olympus housing with the 3 lenses listed.

 

Option 1:

· Olympus 60mm Macro / N85 Port 65

· Olympus 9-18mm Wide angle / N85 4 inch Acrylic Wide Angle Dome Port

· Olympus 14-42EZ / N85 Power Zoom Macro Port 29 (option to add WWL-1 later)

 

Option 2:

· Olympus 60mm Macro / N85 Port 659-18mm

· Olympus 14-42EZ / N85 Power Zoom Macro Port 29

· WWL-1 Wet Wide lens (with all of the adapters and mounts)

 

Option 3:

· Olympus 60mm Macro / N85 Port 659-18mm

· Olympus 12-40 PRO / Zen Underwater DP-170

 

Option 1 concerns me because some reviews say the 9-18 behind the semi dome is trash, others say it’s good. So, who do I believe without spending big bucks to find out for myself? I would rather sell the lens and go a different route if the photos will not be good.

 

I really like option 2 and the flexibility it offers but am very nervous about taking a 3 lb lens on and off underwater. One slip and $1000 worth of lens heads to the bottom well beyond even a tech divers reach for retrieval, at least on a lot of our dives. Plus, when it is not attached and on the holder on the arm, that 3 lbs must seriously torque the arm and make the rig unstable as hell.

 

I am trying to keep a mix of versatility and cost effectiveness as much as I can.

 

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks.

The lens itself is inexpensive and flexible with its 43mm Macro Mode but the port and gear combo is expensive. Bonus is the port works with 60mm Macro lens as well.

Perhaps someone else can compare the 14mm zoom lenses you mention to the 12-50mm?

The 12-50 set up is my go-to lens for unknown sites / conditions, or all around flexibility. I generally get better results from the 60mm for macro or 12-40mm in the 180mm dome, but the 12-50 offers flexibility especially when wet diopters ate added.

Good luck with your research and choice

Regards

Adam

Sent from my SM-G903W using Tapatalk

Thanks for the reply. I had thought about the 12-50 but, again, reviews are so mixed good vs bad I don't know what to believe.

Any thoughts on the 9-18 behind the 4" semi dome?

Added an option 4

Thanks for the reply. I had thought about the 12-50 but, again, reviews are so mixed good vs bad I don't know what to believe.

 

Any thoughts on the 9-18 behind the 4" semi dome?

Sometimes the 12-50mm combo and / or port are available used which helps the wallet. I see a lens / gear combo in the classifieds now.

It definately doesnt have the quality of the higher end lenses, but for me the flexibility makes up for that... That being said when I have specific goals in mind I chose my 60mm or the 12-40 over the 12-50 jack of all trades.

Seeing as you already have the 14-42 not sure the need for you to go that route. Thought it was worth throwing into the discussion.

Regards

Adam

Sent from my SM-G903W using Tapatalk

Thanks - at this point of the game ANY info is greatly appreciated. Upgrading camera gear and trying to keep the wife happy as well is a delicate balance.

The one that is listed for sale, 12-50 gear and lens, would access to the macro switch still be there in the N85 macro port 65?

The one that is listed for sale, 12-50 gear and lens, would access to the macro switch still be there in the N85 macro port 65?

N85 Macro Port and Zoom Gear Set for Olympus 12-50mm

It is 77mm diameter wide vs 67mm for the other macro port due to the grar mechanism which surrounds the 12-50mm lens to allow for the switch to macro mode. It also has a side knob to engage the macro mode (the knob on housing controls zoom).

Some use 3rd party gears and ignore the macro mode.

Being 77mm diameter you need different mounts or flip adaptors for wet lenses. Not a big deal, but something to be aware of.

This port is required for the 12-50 but also works for the 60mm

Note there is a newer variant of the zoom gear specific to Panasonic GH5 which is a simple swap of one piece of gearing.

Good luck on your choices and balancing the gear to spouse happiness ratio [emoji6]

Adam

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Since May I'm using the 12-50 with dedicated Nauticam port and gear a lot on a GH-5. I also have the 8mm in a small dome, and a macro with macroport. But I do a lot of diving in new spots when I travel, I find myself reaching for the 12-50mm almost every time. I like to dive for 90-120 minutes, so lots of time to do some scenery and macro in one dive.

The quality of my 12-50 is very good for the price. The flexibility of the set is amazing, one turn on the knob and you have a really decent macro lens. I do macro a lot and have a wet macro lens I can screw on with a 77-67 adaptor if needed. Of course, the macro lens is better in macro, but I find the difference not big enough to worry about. At least, it depends on the purpose of your images. I do a lot of (4K) video, no pixelpeeping there.

Most people never use their pictures outside Facebook or Instagram. If you regularly print in magazines, go for the best quality you can buy. Otherwise, don't worry to much. The image is more important than the pixels it is made of.

I'm thinking now of buying a WWL1 for the 12-50 mm instead of a 7-14 mm with dome. I can't find to many reviews on that combo though. Like you say, it is a heavy lens, but the WWL1 gets very good reviews when compared to a zoomlens in a dome.

I would advise you to stay away from the 14-42 EZ lens. I have one for convenience when travelling, and it is noticeably inferior to the regular 14-42 lens which I used for several years. I have the 12-40 PRO now which I love.

Adam's' advice about the 12-50 lens is spot on. In the correct Nauticam port with the macro knob it is a great all purpose lens. The wide end is pretty good though in a flat port it is not true WA, and the macro performance is good (and great with a Subsee +5 diopter). The same port also works for the 60 macro lens

If you're interested in a 12-50 lens plus gear plus port, shoot me a PM, I've been thinking of selling mine as I have switched to the 60 lens for macro and 7-14 lens for WA.

I've been shooting with the EM-5MKII for 2 years now (just upgraded to an EM-1 MkII so the housing is up for sale) . I have the 60mm macro and 12-40 in Zen dome as well as the Pany 7-14 which has not had a lot of use.

I shoot mainly around Sydney, temperate water, visibility can be hit or miss and often floaties in the water. With this in mind I can share the following:

The oly 60mm macro is nice but I find it too long, many dives I'm shooting small stuff like nudis and also small -medium fish and weedy sea dragons. The Oly will go from distant focus to close up easily. Going from close to distant it will lock onto floaties instead. To shoot the approx. 250mm long sea dragons I need to back off way too much to get the whole animal in frame. If I was doing it again I would get the 30mm Pany lens for the wider angle of view. Manual Focus is not a solution as speed of focusing is way too slow requiring many full turns of the focus ring to go from macro to about 500mm away and many more turns of the focus knob on the housing due to the gearing.

The 12-40 is a great lens, extremely sharp, works well in the Zen dome, in spite of what the reviews say you should be able to wiggle the lens through from the back of housing with the Zen dome. The Zen dome will also allow you to use the Pay 7-14, but not the Olympus 7-14 which requires the N85-N120 adapter and N120 dome. A lot of images in my Ningaloo reef gallery on my website were taken with the 12-40mm. It focuses very close and should allow around 0.3x magnification which is more than the 12-50mm if you don't have the expensive port that allows activation of the macro switch. AF works great and rarely gives any issues.

If you get the Zen N120 dome and 60mm N85-N120 adapter instead of the type II dome, that would allow you use the 170mm dome with both the 12-40 and the 7-14mm. If there was a 30mm n85 - N120 adapter you could also use the 8mm f1.8 fisheye in that dome .

There are three versions of the 170mm dome, Type 1 has 30mm of extension built in, type II has 60mm built in. the N120 dome has no extension. The port chart says the N120 can be used with the 12-40 and 7-14 using the 60mm adapter. The Olympus fisheye specifies the type 1 dome alone which has 30mm extension built in. So the N120 dome would allow you to expand to the 7-14 mm Olympus lens. The type II dome would allow both the 12-40 and Panasonic 7-14mm. With the type 1 dome you could use the 7-14 with an extension ring and the Olympus fisheye without the extension, but not the 12-40 as the locking mechanism the extension ring makes the ID too small.

It may be simpler and not a lot more expensive to go with a dedicated 100mm port for a fisheye if you wanted to use a fisheye.

Feel free to ask me more questions.

I'll give you a different option.

Olympus 60mm Macro & Nauticam port

Olympus 12-50 - Uses the same port as macro, just lose the ability to use macro button during dive (but you have the 60mm anyway). You can 3D print a much less complicated gear for really cheap.

Panasonic 8mm & 100mm dome.

Then you only have 2 ports to worry about, covers the range, and the 12-50mm is only about $150 used

I wouldn't do the 9-18mm. I used that combo and didn't like it. I now use a Panasonic 7-14mm instead.

Wow - thanks for all of the info. Really, thank you! New to Nauticam housings and the lens options and port configurations can be confusing at times.

With that being said... I've changed my mind.

I am shifting gears and slowing down. No need to do it all at once and this will be my first "Advanced" level camera and first Nauticam housing.

The Nauticam housing setup and camera for the E-M1 II is within budget if I leave the wide angle option off the list for now. Let me learn the system, the camera, etc. replenish some funds and then I will probably add the Panasonic 8mm behind a Zen DP-100 dome.

So my options now are the Nauticam housing, E-M1 II camera, and one or two ports - one for the 60mm macro I already have and possibly the 12-50, and, until I read the posts this morning, the 14-42EZ.

How does the 12-50 compare, sharpness and image quality, to the 14-42EZ and 14-42 IIr? If I can squeeze a little more into the budget, does the 12-40 work behind the same port?

The 12-50 lens produces about the same IQ as the 14-42 II, maybe slightly better, and it is noticeably sharper than the 14-42 EZ which IMO is a cheap toy compared to Olympus standards. I was very happy with it for years. I've only switched because I discovered I take better shots if I jump off the boat with either WA or macro in mind and don't try to do both. However it is not in the same league as the 12-40 PRO which is a fantastic lens.

Since the 12-40 zooms externally, I don't believe it can work in the Oly flat ports designed for the 60 or 12-50 lenses without extensions, and I don't know what that might mean for vignetting at the wider end. I have not tried it though, so take this advice for what you paid :-)

You might also be interested in a comparison that I posted between the 60 and 12-50 lenses with and without diopters. The takeaway conclusion is that if you want to save a few bucks by getting the cheaper port and gear, you can add a diopter later and come close to 60 macro performance while preserving the flexibility.

http://wetpixel.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=56141

The 12-40 can only be used in the Zen type 2 or Nauticam glass dome with N85-N120 adapter or the 7" nauticam acrylic dome. It's too big in diameter to fit in a flat port or through an N85 extension ring with locking mechanism. The nauticam acrylic port is quite big too, potentially a problem getting in close. The Zen 170mm dome type II is a good option, but note that you can move to the 7-14mm Panasonic but not the 7-14 Olympus with that option.

The 12-40 is closest to a do it all lens, at 40mm you can achieve 0.3x by getting in really close, That's more than you can get with the 12-50 at 50mm, to do better with the 12-50 you need a port that allow you to activate the macro switch.

At 12mm with the 12-50 your angle of view is equivalent to a 30mm lens so not really wide and the corners are suffering due to optical aberrations involved in trying to shoot wide angle through a flat port.

All interesting discussions, but the best choice will depend somewhat on what you plan to shoot. If you are keen on nudis and small critters to the exclusion of everything else then starting with a macro lens is a good option. If it's tropical diving with reefscapes , big schools of fish, large fish etc. then you'll want to start wide. If you are a generalist then the 12-40 will be a good choice.

Keep in mind that 60mm macro is long, great for nudis and small stuff, not so good for medium sized fish if you are diving temperate waters as there is too much water between you and the subject. So if you want to mix it up then a shorter macro lens may be easier to use.

I don't have a fisheye, but knowing how close I get with my 12-40, the fisheye I think will require a whole new level of skill and discipline to get in close, right on top of any mobile subject without having it leave before you get in position.

I've used all the lenses mentioned in comments above except for the EZ and the Panny 7-14. Out of all of them (plus the Pan Leica 8-18, which is a great lens underwater), my favorite is still the 12-40. I typically use it in an Inon 170mm dome, but for night dives or lower viz situations I use it in the old Olympus 4/3 PPO-E02 flat port. The neat thing about this port is that I added a swing-away diopter holder to make this an even more attractive option for smaller stuff. In fact, I rarely dive with the 60mm anymore as the 12-40 is usually good enough. You can crop further than you would think, too- especially if you're use to lenses like the 14-42 or 12-50. While I use an Olympus housing, Nauticam makes an adapter to use those old ports in their system.

Speaking of, getting that adapter might make sense for more than just the flat port- I've used that Inon 170mm dome with the 12-40, Oly 7-14, Oly 8mm FE, Pan Leica 8-18, and Oly 60mm. Depending on the extension you use, I'm guessing it will work with just about any lens you can stuff in there.

Wow - thanks for all of the great info everyone. At the present time, in an effort to upgrade the camera itself to the best available within budget, I am opting to go with the E-M1 II with the 12-50 with the correct port to allow macro switching.

I can still use my 60mm macro lens behind this port as well, so for now, this will be a one port camera, that (almost) fits my budget, and should allow me many years of use and upgrades.

Thanks!!