Olympus lens recommendation for wreck diving

Hi all

What would be your lens recommendation for wrecks (outside and penetration)? Just got a Oly OMD EM5 MKII Nauticam kit, now looking at the Pany 7-14 or Pany 8mm Fisheye. I like the 8mm's macro capabilities, but I’m worried about distortions that may create strange effects inside wrecks.

Any advice?

Thanks,

Chris

I don't dive wrecks much but from what I understand, most people who do a lot of photos of wrecks don't like the distortion of fisheyes. Straight lines will not be straight with that lens. I would think you would want to use the 7-14 with a 170 Zen or 180 Nauticam glass dome, but be aware of likely edge/corner softness. The WWL-1 and a compatible lens might also work, should provide better edges and some closeup ability but would be a much slower lens (aperture-wise). I am not sure how important that would be to you.

Thanks for the suggestion. Weight is an issue as I will be traveling for a longer period. I guess I will go for the 8mm with the small Nauticam dome and straighten out thinks in lightroom if needed.

Thanks,

Chris

There are also the Zen dome options, you can find a port chart from the bluewater photo website, where they have a page with links to all the ports. You can use the same DP-170-N85 port for both the the Oly 8mm fisheye and the Pany 7-14mm, with the 7-14 needing an extension ring.

I have Pany 8mm and Oly 9-18 zoom. I have done a lot of wreck diving mostly with the old Nikkor 16mm FE. A fisheye lens can give you more dramatic photos, but you have to have plenty of light when you get off the wreck or away from structures. The Oly FE zoom lets you get closer for some shots like inside and still shoot wide outside. I shot the old Nikon F2 with a big Ike strobe. I have be using Inon D2000s for several years now and one will probably cover 80% of the wide shots and all of the inside shots. I carry a second attached but don't use it all the time.

IF you are only going to buy one lens I would say the Oly 9-18 zoom. Then work you port selection to also cover FE fixed in future. I had to give up my Zen glass ports for Nauticam plastic to cover the lenses I have. They will go up for sale next week.

BTW I just started shooting the Oly 12-50 "electric" zoom which I have a port for but not the gear ring.

I use the panasonic 8mm + zen dp100. Nice for travel, packs small and perfect for wrecks.

Few examples:

That Panasonic 8mm was a great recommendation, I'm really pleased with it. Its small and lightweight, and fast enough to do available light shots inside wrecks. The distortion can be removed in LR using the Sigma 8mm profile.

Thanks everyone for the help!

Chris

"BTW I just started shooting the Oly 12-50 "electric" zoom which I have a port for but not the gear ring."

Oh do get the gear ring. A bit of a bear to set up, but a nice option.