Lens for S95/Ikelite housing

[matt19849]

I've recently bought the S95 and Ikelite housing and love it to pieces. Im now looking at buying some lenses but I really don't know where to start looking etc.

Can someone tell me the difference between a fisheye lens and a normal wide angle lens, does the fisheye distort the picture at all (make the look curved)?

What make should I be looking for also?

Cheers everyone

 

[Nemrod]

A fisheye lens, by definition, renders straight lines as curved except for through the exact center of field. A rectilinear lens, wide angle or otherwise, will render a straight line as a straight line. Your camera has a rectilinear lens.

The "wet" wide angle lenses such as the Ikelite W20, Inon WAL100 etc. behave as a fisheye lens above water. Underwater, without the optional dome (Inon), they behave as a rather compromised fisheye lens. By this I mean there is corner distortion, a curved field of focus (most noticeable in close focus shooting), other oddities. A dome corrects much of this. For the most part, underwater, most P&S users do not care. If you do, there is the dome equipped Inon lenses.

I do not know of any add on "wet" wide angle lenses that are truly rectilinear.

N

 

[matt19849]

Brilliant thanks for that - it sounds like a dome one will be best for me, is there a certain make you would recommend?