G12 with Fisheye FIX g12 and wide dry dome

[P Stickman]

Hey folks. I have seen some very helpful posts in this sub-forum so I am looking forward to tapping your great minds and experience base.

I currently have a SeaLife DC800 with a single SL961 strobe and a Fisheye FIX 1000DX focus light.

I am thinking of an upgrade but cannot yet afford the DSLR unit I want (5D). Sooo, while exploring alternatives, I found the G!2. Since I am impressed with my fisheye light (and with what I have read in the forums), I am focussing in on the Fisheye housing. As well, I think the Wideangle dome will certainly add another dimension to my pics.

All that said, I have not been able to find a user manual or info on the wide air lens for the G12.
I gather that one has to remove the standard port and install the wide port? If that is the case, it would seem that it introduces a new possible point of failure.

So what is actually involved in the changeover?

Is this something that can be done on a boat or surface interval? What tools are required?

I was reading that the G12 can yield vignetting at wide angle because of its design (not being extended at wide). The FIX housing, even with the standard flat port seems to have a big lense so I am wondering whether that is an issue. I assume it is not an issue with the wide port???

And finally... If anyone has SeaLife and Canon G-series experience, I would appreciate knowing whether this idea of mine is any good... or whether I would be better off just updating to the SeaLife DC1200.

Well, any help will be greatly appreciated... Thanks in advance,

Paul.

 

[slowhands]

I am not a wide angle poobah. But I owned a G11 briefly and went to the Canon S90 instead. The S90 and S95 have a lens that is better suited for wide angle use in a housing. The simple reason is that at its widest zoom, the lens is very close to the glass of the port, very desirable to avoid vignetting. Take a look at the FIX S95 housing. It has 52mm threads that allow you to add wet mount ultra wide lenses easily without surgery on the housing.

The G12 has a 28mm wide lens, like the S95. But the position of the lens at its widest zoom is farther back from the port glass, if the port glass is positioned to allow maximum long zoom where the lens gets longest. If you are willing to forgo the longest zoom, use a short port on it. Then the lens is very close to the glass at widest setting. Avoid long zoom, it's not nice to make the lens bump the glass and may cause the lens gears to become indisposed. :mooner:

Ahh, but where do you get a short port? It turns out that Ikelite had short ports for older G series cameras, but not the present G11/12. So another company made one.
M67 short port for Ikelite housings | DyronStore | Underwater accessories
This short port accepts any M67 wet mount lens, wide or macro, and there are many nice ones. Of course you are wedded to the Ikelite housing -- which has pros and cons, not going into that here. But this hybrid allows full use of the wide angle capability of the G12.

FIX also has a combined short port and wide lens for its G12 housing; you replace the standard port with this unit.
http://reefphoto.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&manufacturers_id=9&products_id=4003

 

[Nemrod]

It is not an air dome for the FIX or Recsea housings. The "port" you want is a dry lens system. You remove the standard port and install the wide lens port UWL-04/G10. Minor vignetting is common and requires a notch of zoom. The resulting DFOV is about 130 degrees. The system works just fine. It, of course, unlike the S series housings from the same companies cannot be changed while underwater.

See number three in the link below:

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[P Stickman]

Thanks for the info. I am surprised that the vignetting occurs even with the wide lense system. That said, am I right in thinking that the 130 degrees FOV is vignette free due to a touch of zoom? And if so, that 130 FOV is equivalent to most other wide andle systems out there, yes??

I understand that it cannot be changed underwater, but what is involved with the actual changeover? Does it require tools? If it involbes screws, is there a tendency for the repeated replacement to cause wear? If it does not involve screws, what kind of connection does it use?

I watched an installation video from H2OphotoPros at http://www.vimeo.com/10130265 .

The video shows installation of the Fix UWL-04 on a FIX S90 housing. The standard ports on the S90 and G12 housing are quite different so I am wondering how the installation on the G12 differs.

 

[bajaki]

I have the very camera housing lens combo you are asking about - took it for it's first swim last week.

There are no tools required to change the ports.
You can do it on a boat or on shore.
It is a bayonet mount - sealed with an "O" ring.
There is a small "button" on the housing you press that allows the port to be rotated clockwise by hand for release.
click below to see my first 4 images taken with this setup - the vignetting is only very slight in my opinion.
I haven't measured the FOV but as far as I am concerned there is plenty.

Flickr: Brendan Shepherd's Photostream

 

[P Stickman]

Brilliant Bajaki. Looing forward to my next purchase then.

 

[BluewaterPhoto]

There's also a short port option made by Dyron for the Recsea G12 housing, which is the same company that manufactured the FIX Fisheye G11 housing. It's quite simple to change the ports, like mentioned above.