My honey has decided that she would like to use a 70-180 macro lens with her Sea and Sea housing. In reviewing the manufactor's site, it appears that they must custom fabricate the zoom and focus gears for this lens. My question is, have any of you gone to the trouble of ordering these parts and if so were you satisfied with the result. Sea and Sea makes mention that vignetting may occur at the 70mm end of this lens when used with their ports and extensions. If you are using this combination, please comment on this aspect of the port's performance also.
Thanks,
Mike
This lens was very popular with Craig and James before they went to the dark side. So much so that I purchased it and made a considerable investment into getting it underwater. In a word - I HATED it! Way too much length to be comfortable underwater for the degree of magnification it gives. I can't honestly say I gave it a chance - 2 dives was enough for me. Anyway, try before you buy. James and Craig loved it as much as I hate it. For me - a 105 does the job, and I much prefer the 105 or 60mm with 2X teleconverter over the 70-180 with or w/o diopter. I just couldn't achieve anything with the lens that I couldn't with a smaller setup, and the zoom flexibility was more cumbersome than just getting a little closer. Also - it was a lot of weight on the front of the camera without adequate support.
Anyway - just be aware that it is a specialty lens. I would explore traditional options before going that route - but YMMV.
Kasey
I've used the 70-180 as my only macro lens for the last two years on my D100/Nexus setup. I love it. The first several dives were challenging, because the configuration required me to alter the way I dive and move my weights aound. But once I got the hang of it, the lens gave me a lot of flexibility and a good working distance from skittish subjects. Still, it's not easy to shoot pygmy seahorses hanging at 80 feet at a sea fan, perfectly still and maintaining balance with this lens and port setup. Im sure the 105mm would be easier to use in many circumstances, but the 70-180 provides great flexibility and permits shooting a range of subjects from different distances. And besides the zoom, you can keep moving closer with this lens, too.
Thanks Kasey for the feedback since I have been considering the 70-180 too. Actually hoping that an AFS version would be released. Since Sigma has come out with the 150 2.8, the 70-180 has been on the back burner. It would be nice to have versatility on a given dive. The 2.8 aperture used for distance > 1m w/o flash or a rather powerful one for the more skittish while also having 1:1 capability. I have read both positive a negative on the 150 AF speed, slow overall but faster than most 105 to 200 macros. I gather the 70-180 is manual focus only - maybe not so good for moving fish??
Tom
Thanks Kasey for the feedback since I have been considering the 70-180 too.\
What housing are you shooting? I have everything you need if you are shooting aquatica I don't see using mine again.
150mm seems extremely long for a 1.5X camera. Have you shot the 105? I never find myself wanting more reach - and that is shooting small skittish creatures in the Caribbean. The nudis crabs and blennys in Malaysia seemed much bigger - the 60mm was all I needed there.
I use the 70-180mm with my D70 in Sea and Sea housing.
I absolutely love it as well, enough that I don't have an inclination to buy a 105mm lens yet. AF with it is not really any slower than 105mm according to my divebuddy who uses the same setup as I do and has both lenses. The extension ring for 70-180 on the 105 port added just a bit more lenght so I don't think that it is that much more cumbersome than the 105mm (when using the compact port). I did have a problem getting the custom gear from Sea and Sea as Sea and Sea never replied to my dealer regarding availability of it. My dive buddy ended up hacking his 105 manual focus gear to make it a bit shorter so it will fit the 70-180 zoom mechanism.
I use the AF/MF gear 56140 for 105mm lens without any modification as a zoom gear for the 70-180 which works well but no MF though. However I find AF on 70-180 works pretty well for what I need most of the time.
Thanks, that was what I was looking for!
Craig has a brand new 70-180 for sale if you decide to get one. You can PM him or me for details.
The reason the 70-180 is so good is that you can shoot whole fish or fish portraits from the same spot. You always want to shoot fish from as far away as you can, especially if they are skittish, and this lens gives you compositional flexibility. I used mine w/ teh Aquatica port which traps a lot of air and helps buoy up the lens in the front. HTH
I don't see using mine again.
