Micro Four Thirds Advice

1 hour ago, AntF said:

Yes, @Barmaglot its the shade petals (I know they had to have a name). I did read earlier on a thread that someone does the same with WWL-1B. I have the Scubapro cargo shorts with side pockets - very stretchy  but I heed your warning. I will also look for other options but might never want to take it off especially as Chris suggests I'll have plenty flexibility with it anyway. 

Thanks 

Ant

You may need to remove to it burp it to get any air bubbles sticking to the glass surfaces to move when you first hop in

1 hour ago, AntF said:

Thanks @ChrisRoss - more homework but I do appreciate the direct learning 

As to lenses -  I liked the idea of the WWL-1B as @Phil Rudin suggested  "All in with the 14-42EZ, zoom gear, flat port, bayonet port adapter and WWL-1B all Nauticam is around $2600.00 for a higher image quality package with a 130 to 50 degree AOV." I acknowledge it's my decision to make but appreciate the advice people freely give. I have  previously read and tried to digest Interceptor121's  extensive and thorough reviews and have also listened Adam and Alex talk about the best micro 4/3 lenses so I know about the Panasonic 14-42. 

Backscatter on their website say -  "Isotta housings use a simple port system, which is identical to Sea & Sea's method. The good news here is that Sea & Sea brand ports are fully compatible, so if you have any in your arsenal they will carry right over. You could also run a Nauticam port as long as it has a Sea & Sea style bayonet mount on it, so right out of the box you have tripled your port options" . 

Sea and Sea ML flat Port 33: the distance is 33mm from port mount to inner glass. So that might be closest option to Nauticam or possibly the Sea and Sea bayonet ring https://www.backscatter.com/Nauticam-Sea-and-Sea-3-Lug-Bayonet-Ring-Converts-N

 I'll also contact Brett (from his LinkedIn profile he seems to be fully employed in another occupation). Again, I appreciate your help.

Cheers

Ant

Yes I believe he is , but he's an approachable guy, his website is UWimages for that side of what he does or you could find him on Facebook if you prefer, he lives in Sydney.  He's the Isotta distributor I believe - his contact details including phone are on Isotta's website.

Note that the N120 nauticam and Isotta can be swapped over by changing the lug ring on the lens, the part is easy to find.  They both use the same diameter port opening 120mm.  Don't know that it can be done on the Nauticam N85 - Isotta 102.5mm ports there you would need a machined adapter which will add extension into the mix and I haven't seen such an adapter.  The thing you need to confirm is the nomenclature on the Isotta flat ports - for example does the dimension from port flange to inside of the glass on a H53-102 flat port =  53mm?  Once you confirm that you can directly compare the Nauticam and Isotta port charts and pick the port for whichever lens you buy and be sure of getting a good fit.  You can test vignetting on the bench, before you get it wet.

regarding lens choice the EZ lens is a power zoom so you don't turn the zoom ring to zoom as such,  you turn in one direction or the other to activate the power zoom function much like a compact.  Probably not as easy to get precise framing as regular zoom ring.

Hello,

I've just bought an used EM1 Mark II in Nauticam housing. It comes with de Panasonic 8 mm fisheye and the 4.33" dome for it.

I'm thinking about buying another lenses and ports. Olympus 60 mm macro: I think it's a must. I will need the N85 Macro Port 65 (36163).

And finally I was thinking in a more versatile lens:

- At first I thought in the Olympus 14-42EZ, I'll need the Nauticam Power Zoom Macro Port 29 (about 400$). The deepshots gear costs about 60$.

First question: is it possible to use the same port for 60 mm an 14-42 with any extension ring?

- Finally I've seen great pictures with the Olympus 12-50 mm which seems really versatile. The issue is I'll need to sell a kidney for the gear and port: about 1.000$ (a little bit cheaper with the deepshots gear).

I worths the price for the 12-50 vs 14-42?

Thanks in advanced!

It appears that the Isotta port choice for WWL-1B is limited to one port with the 14-42EZ which can also support the Oly 60mm macro with a port extension or the 12-50 kit lens that works with WWL-C and only goes to 110 degrees rather than 130 degrees. These are the only lenses that are supported by a zoom gear. Sea & Sea does not make any Olympus housings so no port or gear that can be moved over.

The best value in Olympus cameras now is the E-PL-10 and AOI housing which ships with the 14-42EZ port, zoom gear, optical flash trigger and more. This package with new camera, lens and housing sells for $1334.00, trays and strobes can be added to the package.

The reason I bring this up is that I just reviewed this package in the current issue of uwpmag.com and bottom line is that while many features of the camera don't compare to EM 1 III, EM5 III and M1X the 16MP image quality is within a hair of the 20MP sensors in the much more expensive cameras and in some cases it is better. Olympus appears to be going backwards with the EM-1 II getting better ratings than EM1 III according to DPReview. I encourage you to go to the review section at DPReview and compare the RAW image quality results. I also suggest that you compare the results from the Sony A7C and A7 III cameras. The Sony cameras with the Sony 28-60mm zoom which works with the WWL-1B are $200.00 more than the EM-1 III and the 14-42EZ lens with dramatically superior image quality.

Housings with support for the 28-60mm zoom range from Seafrogs.hk to just about every other dealer and are common in the used market. 

3 hours ago, Dani_Spain said:

Hello,

I've just bought an used EM1 Mark II in Nauticam housing. It comes with de Panasonic 8 mm fisheye and the 4.33" dome for it.

I'm thinking about buying another lenses and ports. Olympus 60 mm macro: I think it's a must. I will need the N85 Macro Port 65 (36163).

And finally I was thinking in a more versatile lens:

- At first I thought in the Olympus 14-42EZ, I'll need the Nauticam Power Zoom Macro Port 29 (about 400$). The deepshots gear costs about 60$.

First question: is it possible to use the same port for 60 mm an 14-42 with any extension ring?

- Finally I've seen great pictures with the Olympus 12-50 mm which seems really versatile. The issue is I'll need to sell a kidney for the gear and port: about 1.000$ (a little bit cheaper with the deepshots gear).

I worths the price for the 12-50 vs 14-42?

 

Thanks in advanced!

 

 

 

If you want to use the same port with extension with a 14-42 lens - the port chart shows that the Panasonic 14-42 f3.5-5.6 II lens uses the macro port 35 and you could add the 30mm tube to use the 60mm macro (30 + 35 = 65).  That Panasonic lens was tested as the best of the 14-42 lenses to use with the WWL.   I assume you are talking about using it with the WWL.  Used alone it's not that wide and doesn't focus that close.

The 12-50 is not really all that great a lens IMO, even if you have the  special port to access the the macro switch, it only gets about 0.36x with about 100mm working distance.   Plus at the 12mm end the pictures will be rather soft due to the flat port.   The 14-42 does better  at macro getting 0.6x -0.7x with the CMC-2 and CMC-1 respectively - albeit at the cost of rather limited working distance range.  The 60mm macro is a bit easier to use to get this sort of magnification and up to 1:1 magnification.

What are you trying to achieve with the a new lens?  The 60mm macro has obvious applications, the 14-42 used alone in a flat port is more a snapshot sort of lens,  it's neither wide nor macro, probably quite good for medium size fish portraits perhaps. It really only shines with the WWL, allowing scenic shots, big animals etc at the wide end and some CFWA capability  and things like sharks that don't get close enough for a fisheye at the long end.

Thank you very much for your help @ChrisRoss. Reading you in other messages was important to choose the EM1 Mark II.

Finally I'll buy the 60 mm macro (I love nudibranchs and I make lot of macro). 

May be later I'll think in other options.

Sorry  @AntF for encroaching your post, but I am very interested on the lenses you were talking about.

Thanks again!

I've had both the 12-50 and 14-42 lenses and to be honest both are OK but neither is very special.  I got many decent macro shots with the 12-50, and both will take decent fish portraits. Wide angle with these lenses through a flat port doesn't work well at all. 

Since I heeded the advice of many to decide on wide vs macro and stick with it for the entire dive, it's been easier to find good targets and compositions as my mindset is in the right place.  The 60 macro lens is excellent and so is the 7-14 zoom in the right port.  Sure there will always be something that I can't shoot when i dive this way, but in the end, I've made much better images.

42 minutes ago, troporobo said:

Since I heeded the advice of many to decide on wide vs macro and stick with it for the entire dive, it's been easier to find good targets and compositions as my mindset is in the right place. 

YAY!!!! Spot on, Robert - it's the mind set that makes the big difference. 

Thank you very much for your comments @TimG and @troporobo, I'll take note.

Thanks to all of you who've added to this topic and my education. It's a complex world, with much choice. I'm slowly moving forward and will post when I finalize the rig and setup. 

@ChrisRoss  I am in contact with Brett and as you say, he is very approachable. He has also put me in in touch with two pro photographers using the same camera and who have also been very approachable and helpful. So there's more comfort that I can buy an initial setup and know it works (and that it's me that needs adjustment and not the setup ).

@Dani_Spain no worries and that's what a forum like this is for. 

Cheers

Ant

56 minutes ago, AntF said:

Thanks to all of you who've added to this topic and my education. It's a complex world, with much choice. I'm slowly moving forward and will post when I finalize the rig and setup. 

@ChrisRoss  I am in contact with Brett and as you say, he is very approachable. He has also put me in in touch with two pro photographers using the same camera and who have also been very approachable and helpful. So there's more comfort that I can buy an initial setup and know it works (and that it's me that needs adjustment and not the setup ).

@Dani_Spain no worries and that's what a forum like this is for. 

 

Cheers

Ant

 

 

No problem, please feel free to ask further questions here, it benefits anyone visiting the post looking for information on the topic.