OM-D rig step by step

[Wisnu]

the macro with 50mm is not bad if you use wet lens. That's the reason I use the flip diopter for 4" dome port. With single Inon UCL 165M67, not very difficult to shoot pigmy seahorse.

 

[Storker]

BTW, here's a couple more I was kind of happy with:


Underwater meadow by Størker, on Flickr

Shot at only a couple of meters' depth, while holding onto a kelp stipe with my left hand and operating the camera with my right.





Cuvie by Størker, on Flickr

 

[Storker]

Another trip with the OM-D, this time a wall dive using the 9-18. Still no flash, so it's ambient light all the way. At ~20 meters, the light is pretty low here, so I'm very happy with both image stabilization and high-ISO IQ. The picture is taken at 1/25 sec, f/4.0 at 1600ISO. I've cropped the picture to get a better composition, so it's not obvious that the 9-18 gives very soft corners with the 4" dome at f/4.0. Oh well, mushy corners are better than motion blur. Guess I'll have to test the 9-18 in shallower water to be able to use smaller apertures and see if it's field curvature or something else that gives me the blurry corners.



Underwater landscape by Størker, on Flickr

 

[guyharrisonphoto]

I like the underwater meadow, very nice. The landscape could have benefited from a flash to highlight that interesting thing in the foreground. MORE $$$$$ TO SPEND!

 

[Storker]

I like the underwater meadow, very nice.

Thanks.

The landscape could have benefited from a flash to highlight that interesting thing in the foreground. MORE $$$$$ TO SPEND!

Yup, I know. Still saving for a strobe, but after I've tried one with a GN of ~10m, it seems as if I need some more juice for my WA shots than what the normal small strobes can deliver. I've decided to save up for a more powerful one, probably the Inon Z240. It'll take some more time before I can afford that one, but I believe I'll be happier with it than with the S2000 I was considering initially.

 

[Linder]

All this info is making it even harder for me . I am now torn between 3 options (all options are with the Nauticam housing):

A: 12-50 with the Austrian zoom gear and 4" semi dome with subsee +5 or +10 in a flip diopter. This will be a versatile set-up with better WA but I am worried that the macro will suffer compared to the 12-50 gear/port where I have access to the macro button and have a flat port.

B: 12-50 with dedicated flat port/gear. Versatile and good macro with access to the macro button but will suffer on the wide angle due to flat port.

C: Getting just the hosuing without 12-50 (saves me a bit) and buying the Oly 9-18mm WA and the 60mm macro lenses with gear in the 4" semi dome, suprisingly this isn't that much more expensive than option B. I am worried about the macro results in the semi dome as I have never shot macro in a dome before but as I see it I trade versatility for two better lenses.

Any thoughts?

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[Storker]

Any thoughts?

I don't have any specific advice, but IMO you should think carefully about what type of shooting you'll be doing the most. I did that, realized that the correct choice of gear for me can only be given by myself, and ended up with D: 12-50, 9-18 and 4" dome. I'm not heavily into macro, and besides, my buoyancy control and maneuvering skillz aren't good enough for the precise positioning required for heavy macro shooting with paper-thin DOF.

There's also the option of taking one step at a time: Buy only some of the things you want now, thinking about expanding your gear as you learn to use the equipment and realize what your style of shooting will be.

 

[Mario V]

Hi Storker.
The 12-50 lens will fit perfectly inside the Macro port 65 for the Oly 60mm
you can set the the lens to macro and before your dive and use it on auto focus. Is an inexpensive option for macro, the port is about 1/3 of the price and can be used with wet diopters.

 

[Linder]

I'm having a hard time finding sample uw photos of the 12-50 in a flat port at the widest 12mm mode. I am more or less set on getting the 65 macro port and Austrian gear + Subsee but if a Manta shows up on a dive (going to the Red sea in June) I want to make sure I can get the shot. I realize it wont be an optimal lens for bigger things such as mantas/bigger sharks but I need to know that it will work ok (I just want to be able to document these encounters if I am lucky enough to get in such a situation).

I've gone through a lot of reviews and albums but usually they test the OM-D with several lenses and the WA-shots comes form a different lens than the 12-50, such as the 8mm or the 9-18mm. Any tips on where I can find photos with the 12-50 @ 12mm or just a testimonial of it's WA capabilities behind a flat port would be great!

 

[Joti]

Linder, have you had a look around the WetPixel forums?