Nauticam 4.33" Dome Port - Nex 5R

[JimBabcock]

"Nauticam ports are designed for best results with the recommend lens/lenses for which it was made and trying to make one size fit all will result in less than the best image quality."


Agreed. I swapped out my 18-55mm for a Zeiss 24mm Prime using the original Nauticam 4" Wide angle port on a recent trip to Bonaire. On land, this lens on my NEX 7, gives tack sharp images. Undersea, with this port, not so much. Am going to try adding one or more diopters to see if I can fix this. A flat port, I'm told, would also work but it would also magnify the image.

More to follow

 

[Marsh]

Yes using zoom gear both for NEX7 and NEX5

Alien,

I think people get a little confused when reading about the 4" Semi-WA port vs 4.33 FE port. The prior works with the 18-55, the latter doesn't; it will not extend out all the way, as Anthony points out, at least not on my NA-NEX7 rig.

It would be nice, as Anthony mentioned, if the forthcoming Zeiss 12 worked well with the 4.33, I too am hoping for such. I'm currently using the Sony 16mm with both WA and FE adapters w/ the 4.33, but the image is softer than I would like, okay for video, but not for large prints. Has anyone used the Z24 in the 4.33 FE port? Phil knows his stuff and is pretty spot on, so I suspect he's referring to the semi-dome 4" port when using the Zeiss 24. Be great if both the new Z12 and Z24 worked on my already paid for 4.33. Now if the new soon to be released Zeiss 50 macro will fit into the Port 72 with my pricey 67mm swing mount with Aquatica +10 and F.I.T +5, that would be the cherry on the sunday

One last thing, I remember seeing a post, I think by Phil R that the forthcoming Zeiss 50 mm macro is going to have greater magnification than 1:1, typical of most macros. Did I read or interpret that wrong?

 

[PHIL RUDIN]

What Phil Rudin said is that the Zeiss 50mm macro which has again been delayed coming to the market place, (see 43photo.com) is reported to be a 1:2 lens, half life size NOT a 1:1 lens, life size or a 2:1 twice life size lens. This is common for Ziess macro lenses so it remained to be seen whzt the final lens will do.

Phil Rudin

 

[Marsh]

Thanks for the info Phil. Wishful thinking on my part for a 2:1 macro from Zeiss I would think Sony will release a 16-105 medium length zoom sometime soon, at least their roadmap chart suggests a medium range zoom is coming. Do you think such a lens would work for super macro with it's 105 reach using +10 and +5 diopters? Hopefully it might work with the Port 72 + Extensions.

 

[Marsh]

Interesting, the newly released specs for the Zeiss Touit 12mm show it being physically too wide for the Nauticam compact mini-port system, even with the hood removed. It looks like Nauticam will have to release a custom 2 part port to handle the lens?[SIZE=+4][/SIZE]

 

[alien]

New 7inch port
Ports, Extensions & Gears :: Mirrorless :: Dome Ports :: Nauticam 7in Dome Port for Sony 10-18 -

 

[Anthony A.]

Im debating to get this lens as zeiss 12 seems impossible with housing. The zen glass is an alternative to nauricam but double the price.

 

[huwporter]

Some of my photos taken with the Sony 10-18mm lens and the new 7" port with my NEX-5n in the Solomon islands:

Uepi Island Resort: Uepi 2013

WWII shipwrecks of Guadalcanal: Honiara 2013

I think I may have been the first punter to get my hands on the new dome in Aus, and I'm really happy with the results from the combination. It's certainly way sharper than the 4.33" dome with 16mm+W/A adapter. The only small minus is that you can't fit the lens with zoom gear attached into the port while on the housing - in order to use the zoom gear, you have to detach the port from the housing, install the camera and lens, then re-attach the port. The lens without zoom gear will just fit without removing the port - I ended up not using the zoom gear, and just leaving the lens at the wide end for most dives; so almost all the U/W photos were taken at 10mm.

Cheers,
Huw

 

[alien]

Thanks for that info Huw seems like it might be easier to just stick with the 16mm prime and the 4 inch dome then then? Seems odd it doesn't fit as this is what it was made for? or get the 12mm prime? I take it you can get it in but a fiddle?
Can you show us a pic of your set up?

 

[huwporter]

Hi Alien, well, that depends - I think there are a few pluses to the 10mm + 7" dome combination even without using the zoom gear; 10mm (15mm equiv) is wider than the 16mm lens with WA converter (which is 18mm equiv); it's way sharper, particularly in the corners, to my eyes; the 10-18mm includes image stabilisation which is good for low light and shooting video (I shot more video than stills on this trip - hours of editing to do...); the 7" dome is more positively buoyant which offsets some of the weight of my video lights. And you DO have the option of using the zoom gear (with the above fiddle) if you want - I just didn't bother on this trip, I left the dome assembled since it was working OK. The only real comparative minus is the 7" is a bit wider and longer than the 4.33".

Basically the 10-18mm lens is a lot bulkier than the 16mm, and it's a very snug fit in the housing which is already quite small. The aperture at the back of the 7" port is wider than the aperture at the back of the 4.33" port in order to allow the lens to fit at all, and with the zoom gear fitted you can't maneuver the bulk of the lens past the camera tray and zoom wheel into the port. It fits fine without the zoom gear though, I'll try and take a pic later.

Edit - this is with the NEX5n housing - I don't know how it would fit with other models, but I'd guess the same.

HTH,
Huw