Fisheye FIX for the S90

[ozziworld]

Hi Nemrod,

I see you got some nice shots from your recent trip. Interesting to see your shots taken with both the Inon UFL165AD and the Fix UWL-04 Lenses. Both seemed to have performed well for you.

I was finally able to get my rig in the water but the conditions were not cooperating. Viz was not very good with a lot of particulate matter floating around. Cloudy the whole day.

This is the first time I have had my Inon UFL165AD in the water with the Fix S90+ Fix28AD Adapter + Inon s2000 strobe all shot at 35mm (still shows some vignetting at upper right corner). I did observe that some shots did not show any vignetting. The two photos with the cross show no vignetting while the others have some on upper left of image (upper right of camera in landscape)

I was having such a terrible time trying to deal with lens flare. It was so bad at times that it was so readily seen from the lcd screen while framing a shot. Noticed it was worse on portrait shots vs. landscape shots. Have not really figured out how to deal with the lens flare when pointing the camera up. The only way I could minimize it was point the camera down with the sun (in this case cloudy skies) behind me.

The attached photos show the consistent flare at the lower portion of the frame.

This really disappointed me as I have been so excited to get the set up in the water. Got to the point I was so flustered I realized I was just firing away to find a shot that did not show the lens flare :crazyeye:

Got me wondering if all Ultra-wide lenses are prone to lens flare. Then again, your shots from both UWL-04 and UFL165AD do not show any signs of flare or ghosting.

I guess I have to re-think what I had done wrong and see what adjustments to make.

 

[Nemrod]

Yeah, well, I don't know Ozzie, I do have the same issue with both the UFL165AD and the UWL-04. The UWL-04 has some weird issue where odd rings show up sometimes, I can make them appear by boosting levels. I think in part the reason these two lenses have these ghosts is the plastic domes, I believe the UFL165AD is worse about it due to the small size/diameter.

I have learned to avoid certain situations and also placement of my strobes to minimize the ghosting. Frankly, I have not fully satisfied myself there is not some fogging on the port in some of them but dang if I can see it so I guess not.

Strong light to the front and overhead and tilting the lens partially upward will produce that ghost flare. I guess I should experiment with different lens petals/extensions. I have used my hand a few times to act as an additional shield and it seem to work.

What I think the flare is, light from overhead entering the dome and reflecting from the the curved front dome element made worse by light from the strobes if they are not kept well behind the camera, way behind and pointed outward. Since rotating the camera does not eliminate the flare but instead the flare always is in the bottom of the photo this seems to be my only working explanation for the phenomena.

Occasionally I can get the UWL-100 with dome to do the same thing, pointed into the light, sun at about 30 degrees to the axis of the lens, but because this lens has a coated glass dome, it is much, much less likely to flare.

Underwater, it is challenging to keep track of where the sun is and where the strongest light is coming from, we are fooled because the lighting is somewhat diffuse and therefore we tend to ignore it. You cannot. Yes, sometimes there are photos that will not work because the light is just wrong, sometimes you can use the flare to effect, even a 2,000 dollars Nikon lens will flare if pointed into the sun and we have come to expect it as somewhat "artsy" in some cases.

Do you see the flare on your LCD before you take the shot or only after? I assume you have your single strobe positioned above the camera? If so think about it, you are adding light from exactly the place that makes the lens prone to flare, I use two strobes positioned actually well to the side and often slightly down and aimed outward. Do you get the flare when shooting WITHOUT the strobe?

You are right, many, most of my UFL165AD photos do NOT have the flare, it is because I have learned to avoid it, I have dual strobes, I avoid aiming my camera toward the light.

I suggest, try aiming more downward, get that strobe away from the camera and behind it and try to avoid strong front/overhead light.

Another thing, I have used the UFL165AD on three different cameras, the flare issue has been there with all of them, it is not the FIX housing or the S90 camera IMO.

N

 

[ozziworld]

I actually decided after the days diving that I will need to take more time and get familiar with the lens. I really need to slow down and get a feel for the lens before I raise my expectations of myself and this lens. I went into these dives after having used the FIX S90 and just the native lens and thought it would be as easy and simple to shoot with the wide.

I can actually see the flare even before firing the shot.


Interesting point about fogging. I did not check specifically for that but I did turn the camera around and noticed the flare did not follow the camera but rather was related to the light source location. I will check the fogging next trip out.

Appreciate the input regarding the lens having the same issue with other cameras.

I think the flare is not as bad on "landscape" format shots is because the petals of the hood are a little longer than the sides. At least that is what I observed.

My single s2000 strobe is actually below the camera when I take the photos in portrait orientation. I don't think it was a factor here. I get the flare with or without the strobe.

To be fair, I did get a lot of photos without the flare but I felt frustrated especially at first. Since I bought the lens used, I was wondering if this individual lens had the issue. I did read in other threads or this one that this lens was prone to lens flare. Just did not know what to expect and to what extent.

Thanks for the inputs.

 

[Nemrod]

I actually decided after the days diving that I will need to take more time and get familiar with the lens. I really need to slow down and get a feel for the lens before I raise my expectations of myself and this lens. I went into these dives after having used the FIX S90 and just the native lens and thought it would be as easy and simple to shoot with the wide.

I can actually see the flare even before firing the shot.


Interesting point about fogging. I did not check specifically for that but I did turn the camera around and noticed the flare did not follow the camera but rather was related to the light source location. I will check the fogging next trip out.

Appreciate the input regarding the lens having the same issue with other cameras.

I think the flare is not as bad on "landscape" format shots is because the petals of the hood are a little longer than the sides. At least that is what I observed.

My single s2000 strobe is actually below the camera when I take the photos in portrait orientation. I don't think it was a factor here. I get the flare with or without the strobe.

To be fair, I did get a lot of photos without the flare but I felt frustrated especially at first. Since I bought the lens used, I was wondering if this individual lens had the issue. I did read in other threads or this one that this lens was prone to lens flare. Just did not know what to expect and to what extent.

Thanks for the inputs.

I think I have mentioned flare before in regard to this lens, I believe that Mr. dhass has also. It was never my intention to trick people into thinking any of this is easy. It is not and wide angle photography is actually, in the opinion of many, the most difficult type of photography.

I doubt it is your particular lens. Since you can see the flare before the shot why don't you observe what conditions make it worse or better and then try to use that as a guide. I really think this lens needs an improved petal design and additional interior anti-flare coatings. An extended, DIY upper petal might be in my future experiments.

On the fogging, I am not saying that is a cause, just please check it out to eliminate it, as I have.

The vignetting being sporadic, that is I am pretty sure related to the IS float. The camera must also sit slightly crooked in the housing as mine also tends to vignette, when it does, on the upper right corner. I would not get to worried about it, it is minimal and easily cropped or Photoshop-ed away. You might also notice it is reduced by going to F5.6 or above.

The FIX28AD kit seems to be worse about vignetting than the 10Bar and FIX67mm threaded kit I use.

Make sure your lens, front dome and rear element, is clean, make sure your port lens is clean on both sides. I had an issue with my port being dirty and it definitely made the flare worse and also reduced contrast.

I use slightly damp, new, micro fiber cloths to gently, gently, wipe the lens elements and dome and port.

Just as a point of elimination, make sure there is no fogging inside that lens, a leak is a possibility though highly unlikely.

Oh, one other thing, I have been dealing with the "dome lens flare" for several decades, lol, my first Ikelite housed Nikon FM using both the Nikkor 20mm and Nikkor fisheye 17.5mm lens would show very similar flare, an uncoated, molded, plastic (acrylic) dome.

One other thing, if you must shoot into the light then go ahead and let the light hit the full dome, contrast will be reduced more equally across the dome, essentially the entire dome will ghost, but at least it will be more uniform.

There is a simple solution, don't use fisheye, ultra wide angle lenses and dome ports or dome equipped lenses, but, then what fun would that be.

N

 

[Nemrod]

Let me give you one more, one more thing, ha, ha, OK, when shooting a dome lens, don't just pan around and shoot willy nilly. Put the lens right up to the subject, use the UFL165AD unique ability to focus right down to the dome and put your subject right at the dome, no more than three feet away and use the subject to shield the dome from extraneous light, use your strobe from well behind the camera to light the subject, let the background go ambient. Try that and tell me if it don't reduce your ghosting issue? This is what I do, I think it is my main dome lens trick, tell me if I am wrong and it does not help you?

N

 

[fongalv]

...
An extended, DIY upper petal might be in my future experiments.
...
N

Thats just what I had in mind but the earliest chance to wet the setup again will not be until the end of the year, so do share your tests/results with us when you eventually decide to do it!

ozziworld: If it does help quell your worries, I also do get the funny horizontal ring of light at the bottom of the frame that flares upwards using the FIX90+UFL+single strobe, so its not exactly the fault of your unit. And as Nemrod has mentioned, the vignetting issue could be much improved when using the 10bar adapters from "some shots do not vignett" to "rare shots vignett", but whether that justifies a change in components is entirely up to you.

 

[Nemrod]

A few more with the Inon UFL165AD, 10Bar adapter:

Happy chaos:

Cruising:

Minnow waterfall:

Fish clouds:

Sponge still life:

None are copped, some Photoshop color correction, minimal ghosting/flare, minimal or no vignetting.

N

 

[Nemrod]

BTW, JFYI:
_______________________________________________________________________________
2011 Canon models,

G12
Backlit CMOS sensor
10mp again
HD Video
Minor ergonomic changes

S95
Same as the G12, with some ergonomic changes.
________________________________________________________________________________

N

 

[Nemrod]

Not a good photo but a good example of lens flair, Inon UFL165AD, the culprit is obvious, notice the multiple reflections and the odd ghosting in the bottom:

Not so much here, I think this was the UWL-04:

N

 

[95_9C1]

I doubt it is your particular lens. Since you can see the flare before the shot why don't you observe what conditions make it worse or better and then try to use that as a guide.

has anyone shot any motion tests using the video function of the S90 ?

could be a good way of observing the flare issues ...