Now that I have replaced my 100mm macro for the 150mm macro, it became obvious that I needed a lens between 15mm and 150mm. As I can't stand the look of shots from the 18-55 any more. (have been spoiled by these expensive lenses)
So this week I added a 3rd lens to my underwater line-up. 50mm f/1.4. The choice of the 50/1.4 rather than 50 or 60mm macros was easy. I allready thad the 50/1.4 and in theory the 50/1.4 should have much faster AF than a macro lens.
I used the lens in my Ike dome port, 5503. The same port used for the kit 18-55 and the 15 FE (on crop sensor cameras). Used +4 diopter since the lens not being a macro lens will not focus at 12 inches.
The results were excellent. AF was near instant and worked well even in the shade of caves and ledges without need for a focus light. Was perfect for fast moving wrasses and butterflyfish and larger fish such as angelfish. All of these shots were impossible with the 150.
So, after my inital test found that the lens worked under water (and as a bonus I didnt need to buy anything) I decided try this lens out on a night dive to really test it's low light AF abilitys.
Turns out it does work well on night dives, though it does need some light to AF, but i'm really kicking my self for not making that dive with a proper macro lens.
Here's a 100% crop from that night dive.
I cant ask for a better image at 100%, but if only I had my 150mm macro I wouldnt need to crop it.
