Nauticam EMWL on cropped sensor

Good morning from Vanuatu

Has anybody tried the EMWL on nikon d500?

I am taking the plunge and getting the kit with 100 degree optics. It was suggested to me that the 105mm could have vignetting and that the 60mm may be better. The 105mm is my goto lens. We have an old 60mm tamron lying around but no 60mm port. The tamron lens is fine behind the 105mm port. The exercise gets a bit more costly if i need to get a 60mm nikon and port.

Any thoughts appreciated

Cheers

John

Hi John, The recommended lens is a 60mm lens, assume you've seen the port charts here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xGT_u0_l_7SgMmQ0jD0ip_WIWI_AGjiK/view

The 105mm lens I don't think would vignette as it is recommended for Nikon full frame cameras and you are just taking a crop effectively using it with an APS-C sensor, however you would not get the 100° field, I would estimate the field would be around 75°.   I'm guessing most people using it would be using the recommended lens combinations.

As far as your Tamron lens goes, when you say it will fit in the 105mm port I expect there is a big gap to the port glass - which while it may not impact bare performance of the macro lens is going to have some impact on the performance of the EMWL set.  Normally the spacing is quite important for performance of these optics.  I'm not sure what the impact would be, but I guess it could reduce your field of view.  You could of course try it out and buy the port/lens if it doesn't work properly.

I do have experience using the EMWL, but only on a FF camera. Chris posted while I was typing and already mentioned most of this, but I'll post it anyway since I already typed it and it may be useful:

*The Nikon 105mm and 60mm macros are both compatible with the EMWL system, but they require different focusing units (#1 and #3, respectively).

*Using the EMWL with the 105mm on the D500 will work fine, but obviously you will be getting a reduced FOV due to the cropped sensor. For example, with the 100° objective I think you would end up with a 76° FOV.

*The Tamron 60mm macro is not officially supported, so it may not work correctly.

Thank you Chris and Isaac - understood. Yes there is too big a gap to try the Tamron, I am not overly keen on that lens.

Given the reduced field of view -- maybe I could switch out to the 130 degree objective lens? Saves buying another port and lens. If I can get away with using my existing port and 105mm that would be my preference.

I note also on the port chart that for the 60mm on APSC they recommend a hoya +4 adapter.

Thanks for your help

Cheers

John

You probably could go the 130° route though at $AU prices the 130° unit is $370 more than the 100° unit which is 50% of the price of the macro port 60. My feeling is that spending $AU6000 on the system I wouldn't risk that by going with something not on the port chart to save the $729 for the macro port.

The situation for the focusing units is a little hazy though , the Nauticam website says the 18701 is for Nikon and Olympus while other units are for Canon/Sony/Panasonic.  I would suggest clarifying that as it doesn't mention the Nikon 60mm lens in the list and the port chart does not mention which focus unit to use.  The fact they have different focusing units for different manufacturers I would think may not bode well for third party lenses??  For example they list different EMWL sets for the Nikon and SIgma 105mm lenses.

Yes with the 130° objective and 105mm/D500 I think you would end up around 110°. I don't think anything about that is "not on the port chart" except for the cropped sensor camera body (which shouldn't matter for the optics to work right). Though considering the price of the EMWL it might be a good idea to try to confirm that with Nauticam.

Good catch on the 60mm requiring a diopter. I was going to mention that and then forgot. 

The port chart actually does list which focusing unit is required on the right side under the "EMWL" column.

4 hours ago, Isaac Szabo said:

Yes with the 130° objective and 105mm/D500 I think you would end up around 110°. I don't think anything about that is "not on the port chart" except for the cropped sensor camera body (which shouldn't matter for the optics to work right). Though considering the price of the EMWL it might be a good idea to try to confirm that with Nauticam.

Good catch on the 60mm requiring a diopter. I was going to mention that and then forgot. 

The port chart actually does list which focusing unit is required on the right side under the "EMWL" column.

Yeah, I see it now, but it's contradicted by the Nauticam EMWL web page which shows #1 = Nikon #2 = Canon etc.  This is the page where you add the units to your cart so it would be easy to order something that doesn't match the port chart.  https://www.nauticam.com/collections/water-contact-optics-for-nav/products/emwl

That contradiction and the apparent need to get just the right focusing unit means you probably really need to talk to Nauticam.

There's not really a contradiction there. The webpage just shows a smaller list of compatible lenses and is reflective of the information Nauticam was putting out when the EMWL was first released. The port chart has been produced at a later time after they had done more testing and added over twice as many lenses to the compatibility list. Ideally they would update the webpage to be more current/complete, but the information that is included on the webpage does exactly match the port chart, so it shouldn't lead to anyone ordering the wrong part.

I have been using the EMWL-1 on the D500 (Focussing Unit No.3) and it works great, it gives some very unique perspectives and is a lot of fun to shoot with. Given the cost of the EMWL-1, compromising the lens from the Nikkor 60mm ED and +4 Diopter doesn't seem a sensible option. I have a Subal Housing and use a custom made Saga Port with 67mm thread that accepts the Nauticam Bayonet Adapter. The +4 Diopter means that I need to use a short extension ring, the smallest available is 13mm so have been using that. I have been very happy with the results and the shots are sharp, though I am away from home at the moment so can't post examples.  

I have just switched systems to the D850, so need to get a new focusing unit (No.1) in the near future, so will be selling my current (No.3) focusing unit and the +4 Diopter as soon as I get home to Thailand next month. Send a PM if you're interested in a pristine used focusing unit at a discounted price.

Old topic - but I finally picked up the emwl to use on my d500 - focus unit 3 plus 100 degree. 60mm Nikon and +4 diopter, thanks to Peter Mooney at Scubapix. Maiden voyage this weekend! Tips welcomed!

On 7/7/2022 at 12:49 AM, alextyrrell said:

I have been using the EMWL-1 on the D500 (Focussing Unit No.3) and it works great, it gives some very unique perspectives and is a lot of fun to shoot with. Given the cost of the EMWL-1, compromising the lens from the Nikkor 60mm ED and +4 Diopter doesn't seem a sensible option.

 

Hi Alex --- I ended up with the 60mm, +4 diopter, focus unit 3 and 100 degree optic on D500 I also bought the shade attachment and glad I did. First time out this morning and I can see this will be a lot of fun. A few observations and appreciate any feedback:

- at shallow depths without the shade - very noticeable reflection of the lens in shots

- the shade when aligned with the marks on the 100 degree optic is visible in frame - easily fixed by moving the shade

- I understood that the system was flexible viz a viz remove the unit and shoot with just 60mm or with SMC, however with the Hoya +4 on the nikon 60mm the working distance is tiny and almost unusable - am I mistaken? It seems that once the decision is made to take the emwl there is no other choice unless you can get really close to the subject with 60mm and plus 4.

- No problem in lighting the subject with strobes and with extended float arms the rig was actually comfortable to use and not nearly as cumbersome as it looks!

All in all I can see some great creative opportunities with this combo.

Cheers

John

1 hour ago, JohnVila said:

- I understood that the system was flexible viz a viz remove the unit and shoot with just 60mm or with SMC, however with the Hoya +4 on the nikon 60mm the working distance is tiny and almost unusable - am I mistaken? It seems that once the decision is made to take the emwl there is no other choice unless you can get really close to the subject with 60mm and plus 4.

Most configurations do not require a diopter and do provide full functionality of the macro lens when the EMWL is removed. Unfortunately your Nikon DX system requires a diopter and isn't as flexible. 

Hi John,

As per Isaac, we loose the flexibility that FX systems have, where we need to use a +4 diopter on the 60mm lens. I didn’t actually try shooting the 60mm with the +4 without the EMWL, but would expect it to be limited. 

I originally didn’t get the lens shades given the extortionate price of them, but had very noticeable flare on both the 100 & 130 degree optics. Given the amount I had already laid out for the lens, another few hundred dollars for these was small change  I can’t say I noticed the shade coming into view when mounted to the 100 degree optic on my system though.

Have fun with your new toy!

On 7/24/2022 at 12:09 AM, alextyrrell said:

Hi John,

As per Isaac, we loose the flexibility that FX systems have, where we need to use a +4 diopter on the 60mm lens. I didn’t actually try shooting the 60mm with the +4 without the EMWL, but would expect it to be limited. 

I originally didn’t get the lens shades given the extortionate price of them, but had very noticeable flare on both the 100 & 130 degree optics. Given the amount I had already laid out for the lens, another few hundred dollars for these was small change  I can’t say I noticed the shade coming into view when mounted to the 100 degree optic on my system though.

Have fun with your new toy!

Hi Alex

I have used the emwl set up on multiple dives now. Can you give me an idea of your preferred strobe positioning? I am using two inon z330 pushed well forward but behind the optic -- finding backscatter very challenging for wider shots.

Cheers

John

John

Have you tried aiming the strobes outwards? Say, approx 45 degrees facing outwards? Then use the inner edges of the two light cones to illuminate the subject. This "kiss" lighting can work well when backscatter is an issue.

Attached is a recent pic of an EMWL setup to shoot salmon fry at the ice edge of my nearby lake. Note that the strobes are pointing straight forward. 130° objective being used is partially blocked in this view of one of two focusing lights. A third strobe pointing down (ready light visible) was my mostly ineffective way of lighting the ice while keeping everything self-contained making it easy to re-position the whole rig. I have tried inward lighting as well (see Alex Mustard's book) but that resulted in more rejects from blocked highlights due to salmon being very reflective at certain angles compared to straight ahead. Shooting in the darks puts on more challenging lighting requirements as any loss is easily apparent which would be the case with outward pointing strobes. The salmon can be very close to the lens as well.

I have had issues with the shade not fitting just right and showing up the the pix - things go bump in the dark! Easily dislodged even with clamp. I have to keep reminding myself to push the shade in tightly towards the camera. Thermal expansion or contraction may be an issue as I have been shooting near 0°C - air less, water slightly more!