M43 - Lumix 7-14 vs fisheye 8 mm

I'm completing M43 setup (OM-D M5 mk 1/Nauticam/6" dome) and looking for a  lens.

Anybody tried  Lumix 7-14 and Lumix fisheye 8 mm? I know main differences: angle of view, geomethry etc. but looking for info about sharpness and overall image quality.

I have the Panasonic Fisheye mounted on a Oly EM1 Mark 2. The lens is superb, very happy with it. I see no problems of sharpness nor other things. I am selling the lens right now just because I am switching to the Olympus fisheye for non underwater use.

Hi pmk,

I have the Zuiko 8mm fisheye (similar IQ with Zen DP170 or Nauticam 140mm) and the Pana 7-14mm (Zen DP170). Pana 7-14mm IQ is o.k., but 8mm fisheye is superb. Sharpness is generally better, also in the center. Almost no degradation of IQ (sharpness, CA) towards the edges with fisheye - performance of 7-14mm at the edges is poor...

I guess the Pana 8mm fisheye gives similar results...

Wolfgang

I recommend you read my post

https://interceptor121.com/2019/10/13/using-rectilinear-wide-lenses-underwater/

MFT rectilinear lenses have a lot of distortion once auto correction kicks in the image is stretched to fill the frame as the original sensor image is distorted. This generate a loss of several megapixels and edges problems more than what dome ports already give. This applies to any MFT lens but with zoom wide angle the issue is significant

There is also a physical limitation of the ports on the market none can manage 7mm field of view as the domes are too small.

I would therefore recommend you invest in 

1. panasonic 8mm fisheye - has identical performance to Olympus at apertures you will use and is lighter 

2. Panasonic 8-18 mm rectilinear

In terms of performance glass ports tend to perform better but they are considerably more expensive therefore you can start with acrylic,

I am selling a 7" dome for the 8-18 as I have bought a glass dome

I second what interceptor says in his post. I dive this exact setup (EM5mk1 with 8-18 in 7" acrylic and 8mm in 4,33" acrylic port). I much prefer the fisheye for reefshots, but there are situations where a normal wide angle is preferred. If you can afford glass domes I'm sure they are nicer and especially less buoyant but for financial reasons I prefer acrylic.