12-60mm leica lens underwater anyone?

I have the 12-60mm F2.8/4.0 leica panasonic lens. It is a very good lens

and happy on dry lands!

However I am wondering how it would perform underwater with Nauticam compatible port.

Underwater I usually use and I am happy with the Pana 8mm FE and 60mm Oly macro options but quality in the mid range zooms is a struggle. I see people happy with the Olympus 12-40mm. Is the 12-60mm F2.8/4.0 a good quality option?

I have been using sometimes both 9-18mm and 12-50mm lenses but I have never been happy with the range of the first one (quality just ok) and very unhappy with the quality of the second one (but range is very useful).

Thanks

The 12-60mm f2.8-4 is a stellar lens. However due to the zoom range and the range the barrow has to move, I cannot see how it would be possible to make a port for it.

The 14-42mm MK II I think is a hidden gem of a lens

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The Pana 12-35 2.8 also works extremely well underwater behind a dome. Wide enough for nice reef shots and a very pratical zoom range for larger ‚macro‘ and fish portraits.

The 12-60mm f2.8-4 is a stellar lens. However due to the zoom range and the range the barrow has to move, I cannot see how it would be possible to make a port for it.

 

The 14-42mm MK II I think is a hidden gem of a lens

 

 

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I thought so too, especially since the zooming goes the wrong way but I did find the support in the Nauticam chart for the 7" N85 dome port. It is a recent discovery ... I find the 12mm range almost enough for wide angle and a .5x magnification ok for some smaller subjects in certain waters. The 14mm is just not wide enough for me UW unfortunately and adding a wide angle wet lens does not convince me yet...

The 12-40mm oly lens is great UW lens, it gets to 0.3x magnification at 40mm due to close focus ability. The Panasonic lens gets a similar result I believe. The 12-60mm at 60mm does not look much longer than the 12-40 at 40mm, so I expect it works fine in the designated port, though I would prefer the Zen 170mm glass port I have if it was compatible with the Pany lens.

Nauticam also suggests the 180mm glass dome with 55 plus 10 mm adapter/extension, the same as the Olympus 12-40mm so I expect the Pany lens would also work in the Zen dome that I use which is the type II with built in additional 30mm extension. The diameter of the Pany lens appears slightly less so you can fit camera/lens through back of housing on both lenses I expect.

I think it would be a safe bet to buy a dome to use the lens if you already have it. While the above water performance of a lens is no guarantee of its UW performance , in your case if you had issues you could always get the Oly lens for UW use as it is a known excellent performer and it uses exact same dome.. I suspect though that your 12-60 will perform just fine.

The Panasonic 14-42 II mega O.I.S. lens + both macro and wide angle wet lens seems to work great for me shooting video on my GX8 & GH5.

Keep in mind that I am talking video and not scrutinizing stills.