Panasonic 8-18mm, which dome?

There are plenty on my website shot with the 7" dome.

I reduce them to 1860x1140pixels and 550kb for the website but you get the idea.

I can pick one or two and upload a higher res version if you like?

Just back from a fabulous trip to Fiji. Most of these were taken with the 7" dome, with 8-18 lens, or sometimes 12-60 (ie sharks), with a few macro and fisheye photos in the mix.

https://immersed.net.au/ON-LOCATION/Fiji/thumbs

Yes it really was that colourful, in fact Lightroom "auto" settings significantly reduced the saturation 'cos it didn't believe it!

I find that in processing I often do a small crop to help with the soft corners if shooting at 8mm, say a 5% crop.

The 12-60 works really well in the dome.

The wide-angle photos in the Raja Ampat, Egypt and Maldives albums were mostly with the 7" dome too.

Yes,

If you can pick some at high res it would be amazing and highly appreciated. For me it's hard when looking at your website to know which lens you used, unless I'm missing something obvious.

Thank you!

Yes,

 

If you can pick some at high res it would be amazing and highly appreciated. For me it's hard when looking at your website to know which lens you used, unless I'm missing something obvious.

 

Thank you!

You're not missing anything, no captions to tell which lens was used, but most of the wide angle are 7" with 8-18 Leica.

OK will organise high res examples somehow; is it the 8-18 Leica lens that you are interested in?

So I can pick some useful images, is there any particular kind of image quality aspect that are you most interested in? eg dome vs lens, overall sharpness, corner sharpness, flaring, low light etc?

some really nice shots on your Fiji gallery, off topic but who did you dive with?

some really nice shots on your Fiji gallery, off topic but who did you dive with?

Thanks Chris.

I was on-board the Nai'a. Excellent boat, fantastic crew, very comfortable, amazing food (free drinks with dinner!). Decent camera facilities and careful handling by the crew, they are used to photographers. We had great conditions, not much sunshine and generally windy, but great viz and suitable currents (but at 26C it was a bit chilly for a mostly tropical diver ;-)

We didn't see another dive boat, I wish the same could be said for Raja Ampat these days...

I will definitely go again.

Trip report here:

https://www.naia.com.fj/blog/sonias-superstars-sequel/

Hello!

I'm interested in the 8-18" yes. If you have a reefscape, large animal example and another photo where you think color are easy to see I'd highly appreciate it.

Thanks again!

OK, I've uploaded a few high-res photos to this web page. Tried to pick a few varied scenes to show how the camera deals with it.

https://immersed.pixieset.com/wetpixelsamples/

These are jpg files straight out of the camera, GH5, 7" dome with 8-18mm lens, no cropping, no adjustments, all shot at ISO200, other camera settings are shown on the image.

Only thing I've done is "export from Lightroom as jpg" so I could add a watermark and annotation.

You should be able to download the individual images at original resolution and have a look at them more closely in your photo editor.

No large animals really, I've got plenty of manta shots but only as frame grabs from video. For sharks I use the 12-60.

Happy to help. Let me know how you go.

OK, I've uploaded a few high-res photos to this web page. Tried to pick a few varied scenes to show how the camera deals with it.

 

https://immersed.pixieset.com/wetpixelsamples/

 

 

That second shot. The one with the batfish(?) from below.

Wow.

Thanks for the examples, they look very crisp and amazing! Seems like q very solid lens!

Thanks for the examples, they look very crisp and amazing! Seems like q very solid lens!

Yes I'm really happy with the lens, also topside.

It can be a bit soft in the corners inside the dome, at 8mm, but I can work with it and it is much better than when I was using a 7-14 Panasonic lens inside a 6" dome.

 

That second shot. The one with the batfish(?) from below.

Wow.

I agree. Fabulous shot!

 

I agree. Fabulous shot!

Thanks!

In the mangroves, Raja Ampat.

(and coming from saltwater crocodile inhabited northern Australia as I do, hanging around under the shady mangroves is not something that I enjoy or did much of!)

Here's another one, same fish, sub-adult longfin batfish.

https://immersed.net.au/ON-LOCATION/Raja-Ampat/4/caption

I also had the opportunity to take the 8-18mm in the 7" dome last week.

Generally I preferred to shoot at f/8 to preserve centre sharpness at the expense of corners instead of going to f/11

This image is a good example to see how the lens and dome to across the frame as the shot is close

School vs School by Interceptor121, on Flickr

There are other shots in the rest of the album including a split

https://flic.kr/s/aHsmESSsBK

Nice work, great exposures on those shots.

Nice work, great exposures on those shots.

Thanks Dave. The 8-18mm is on the wreck shots the rest are fisheye and the portraits are with the 60mm except the cardinal fish and the scorpion fish that are with the 12-60 in the same dome

I think the 12-60mm performance with this dome is exceptional

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I think the 12-60mm performance with this dome is exceptional

Me too, very happy with it, nice for portraits, sharks, and when you wish you had your macro lens on...

How do you find the buoyancy of the dome? More of an issue with video.

I've drilled a bolt hole in the "petal" and securely fix a small lead weight, which helps the tendency to lift at the front in landscape mode. Lead weight is approx 250g, slightly more would be better.

Me too, very happy with it, nice for portraits, sharks, and when you wish you had your macro lens on...

How do you find the buoyancy of the dome? More of an issue with video.

I've drilled a bolt hole in the "petal" and securely fix a small lead weight, which helps the tendency to lift at the front in landscape mode. Lead weight is approx 250g, slightly more would be better.

The housing and camera with the dome is 100 grams positive however as you point out the dome is super positive and twists the camera making it almost impossible to put it on the tripod legs

For video handheld this is not too much of an issue as long as the rig is not positive and you dont let go

I believe a solution like you suggest os perfect

One problem is how easy this was to scratch when I was inside the Thistlegorm I had small dents and I polished it twice on the field so I recommend having a kit at all times

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The housing and camera with the dome is 100 grams positive however as you point out the dome is super positive and twists the camera making it almost impossible to put it on the tripod legs

For video handheld this is not too much of an issue as long as the rig is not positive and you dont let go

I believe a solution like you suggest os perfect

One problem is how easy this was to scratch when I was inside the Thistlegorm I had small dents and I polished it twice on the field so I recommend having a kit at all times

Yes the dome is a bit vulnerable and I've had to use my micro mesh kit during surface intervals...

Here's my weight system. My usual WA setup is pretty much neutral with this weight attached and although slightly "dome-up" is easy to hold horizontal with little effort.

Yes the dome is a bit vulnerable and I've had to use my micro mesh kit during surface intervals...

Here's my weight system. My usual WA setup is pretty much neutral with this weight attached and although slightly "dome-up" is easy to hold horizontal with little effort.

dome weight-1.jpg

dome weight-2.jpg

Does the screw not reflect? I would duct tape it. Or maybe develop a magnet style weight unsure if possible!

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Does the screw not reflect? I would duct tape it. Or maybe develop a magnet style weight unsure if possible!

Screw head is painted matt black, although it needs a repaint after being taken off the dome and rolling around in my luggage after the last trip...

Haven't noticed any reflection.

I do remove the weight regularly as it traps salt water and is a hotspot for corrosion.

I used an enamel spray paint on the screw, but I use this artists acrylic "carbon black" paint on the white writing on the lens itself to prevent reflections inside the dome, works well: