OMD-EM5 lens/port advice...

[boletus1973]

Hello, i'm new in the Olympus pond!
i shooting many years with different cameras.. dual strobe and wetlens(macro-fisheye), fuji e900... canon s90 s95, one year with canon 600d(10-17+100mm) and two years with the lovely sony rx100... i do UWP only during the summer holidays... :depressed: but i try to do my best!!
ten days ago i find a friend that sell all his EM5 equipment... really lighty used.... and i buy it... duble battery EM5 body, nauticam housing with tray/handle and two ports.... one for the macro 60mm with focus gear and one 4' dome with zoom gear for oly 9-18...

now i've to buy some lens.... i don't have any! i want buy the oly 60mm... and after? umh... i'm thinking not buy the 9-18... because is really expensive for what it is and isn't a real fisheye... i shot one year with toki 10-17 and i love it! but i understand that there isn't a similar lens for the M4/3...:depressed: i can buy the pana 8mm and sell my 4' dome and zoom gear.... but, i read somewhere that the 8mm can be used with the 4.33' dome and also with the 3.5', what is better??
after the 60mm which optics you can recommend to a new M4/3 user, also for land?
thanks!!!
fabio

 

[Byte Me]

I used to shoot the Panasonic 7-14mm but ended up selling that and buying the 8mm fisheye. I REALLY like this lens!! I think if you like other fisheyes you'd like this. I can't find a 4.33" dome for the 9-18 but do show a 4.33" for the fisheye so you may be covered there. Here's a snip from an uwphotographyguide.com review of the 8mm:

Compared to the Tokina 10-17mm

The Panasonic 8mm fisheye is a fixed focal length lens, where the Tokina is a zoom lens. When compared to the Tokina at 10mm, they both have the same 180 degree angle of view diagonally, and the same 35mm equivalent focal length.


I also shoot the 60mm macro and really like that lens as well. The only other lens I use underwater is the 14-42 kit lens. You can get away with using the 60mm port with the 14-42 but you won't be able to pull the lens all the way back to 14mm.

Above water the only other lens that spends much time on my camera is the 20mm 1.7 lens. Awesome for low light and I use that a lot shooting my wife's band. I've got a long zoom that I don't use much.

Here's a link to the review I mentioned: Panasonic 8mm fisheye & Precision Dome port |Underwater Photography Guide

 

[jd950]

I am quite fond of the 8mm fisheye, but keep in mind that it is not a zoom like the Tokina. If you would be okay with that then that is a fine choice and yes, it works in both the 4.33 and 3.5" ports. The 3.5" allows slightly closer focusing but there can be slight vignetting in the corners.

Another option for the 8mm fisheye is a 100mm glass dome from either Athena or Zen.

You might not want to sell that 4" port just yet. Wait and see what lenses you settle on and what lenses you may want to add. No point in selling the port and then wanting to replace it. Some folks are very fond of using the 60mm in the 4" port and it also works with the 12-50 as well as the 9-18.

 

[MB NZ]

this may or not be useful, but i've just got a panasonic 8 mm fisheye lens for my epl5. the dome port hasn't arrived yet, but i've been playing with it on land and absolutely love it!

 

[pallse]

Lumix 8mm is a fantastic lense. You will love this trust me.

"Calypso" by Dimitrios Maroulakis / 500px

 

[victor]

Andrew
Are you using the Olympus housing?
If so what port works for this lens?
Thanks

this may or not be useful, but i've just got a panasonic 8 mm fisheye lens for my epl5. the dome port hasn't arrived yet, but i've been playing with it on land and absolutely love it!

 

[MB NZ]

this photo was taken with the camera outside of the housing. however, i do have the olympus housing and have a zen wa-100 dome port on order.

 

[EskilJ]

For over water use, I love my Oly 45mm portrait lens. It's cheap and great quality. The new 25mm is supposed to be like it, a little more expensive though. These two lenses are not of much use under water, minimum focus distance is long.
The 12-40mm pro lens gets fabulous reviews everywhere. Sharp like primes, focuses very close. It is said to be great under water, but it calls for a giant port. 1000USD.

 

[boletus1973]

thanks guys!!! plenty of advice.... ok.. i've to buy the panny 8mm and oly 60mm macro... i've time to find used lenses but i think to buy the panny new... difficult to find one used..
ok i don't sell my 4" dome.... can be usefull in the future... with 12-40.. when i became rich

 

[R-balljunkie]

dont discount the 9-18 lens....albeit not a fisheye....its great underwater. If your into macro, get the 60mm. its a superb lens that can really capture the minutia. Keep in mind, your stuck with it for the whole dive. its not good for capturing larger pelagic creatures and has a tendency to want to hunt and seek on focusing. i used it once under water and found that i enjoy looking at macro pics more than i like taking them....sold it and bought a 9-18 which is the lens i take with me 90% of the time now. I'm more of a landscape, WA corally kind of guy.
The 9-18 is a great walk around (on land) lens, especially on holidays.

If you buy the panny, or any wide angle lens for that matter, you'll need to match it out with a proper dome lens to get the most out of it.

more $$.