S&S wide angle lens review

[ChrisM]

See that you succumbed!

Amazing lens, isn't it, great shots!

Chris

 

[ikan bilis]

nice shots!

correct me if I'm wrong...Seeing that the close up shots works well...can this lens be used for macro work as well? hence can I save on the macro lens and go straight to the wide angle lens???

 

[Dee]

ikan bilis once bubbled...
nice shots!

correct me if I'm wrong...Seeing that the close up shots works well...can this lens be used for macro work as well? hence can I save on the macro lens and go straight to the wide angle lens???

I used it for marco as you can see. And you can always crop a photo for just a bit closer look.

From what I understand, the add-on macro lenses let you get the camera closer to the subject but you won't necessarily get a closer picture. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

For me, the WAL has the versatility I want and need in one lens.

 

[scorpiofish]

I'm not clear on the concept with the add-on lens. If I recall correctly the WA lens allows a 100 degree field of view or there-abouts. But it seems that the field of view is determined by the position of the on-camera zoom. I assume you only get the full angle of coverage with the zoom set to its widest point.

The first blenny shot doesn't look that wide, although it might be because the camera was so close to the subject.

Doesn't zooming in while having the WA on defeat the purpose, or is there some other advantage?

I'm curious at what point does zooming in with WA lens equal the widest setting of the camera and what difference there may be in optical quality between these two equal settings.

 

[Dee]

scorpiofish once bubbled...
I'm not clear on the concept with the add-on lens. If I recall correctly the WA lens allows a 100 degree field of view or there-abouts. But it seems that the field of view is determined by the position of the on-camera zoom. I assume you only get the full angle of coverage with the zoom set to its widest point.

Correct. This is especially apparent when shooting full WA reef or wreck scenes.

The first blenny shot doesn't look that wide, although it might be because the camera was so close to the subject.

Doesn't zooming in while having the WA on defeat the purpose, or is there some other advantage?

The first blenny shot was with no zoom so yes, it was wide in comparison to what you get when not using the lens and just using the macro feature of the camera. Yes, zooming in with the WA does defeat the purpose of the WA but when you're using it for close up WA work, if you want to get in really close (like for the blenny) you don't have to remove the lens. This close up WA shot was with no zoom and about 14" distance....I couldn't have gotten the whole fish without the full WA...

I'm curious at what point does zooming in with WA lens equal the widest setting of the camera and what difference there may be in optical quality between these two equal settings.

I don't know, I haven't done any tests for that. I've only used it on 4 dives. I only know at this point that I'm happy with both the coverage area and the optical quality. I'm not going to nitpik either one!

 

[clive francis]

Dee,

how did you get the photo's so clear?

was the water clear?

what settings in photoshop did you use?

 

[gaudencio]

Hi Dee, Jimmy here
Thanks for sharing info about this WAL.
But can I use this for my Ikelite housing (olympus 4040z)?

 

[Finesse]

gaudencio once bubbled...

But can I use this for my Ikelite housing (olympus 4040z)?

Jimmy...(and not to step on you Dee )...I have the 3040 and just received the Ikelite housing for it last week....This should be identical to the housing that you have .... the Ikelite 6130.xx The lens port will accept the Sea&Sea WAL 0.56x style L and threads directly onto it.....I just received this lens from U/W digital yesterday!!!

If its an older housing I cannot say if it would fit or not....best bet would be to contact Ikelite ( I've talked with them quite a bit recently.......and cant say enough for how helpful they are...more on that later)

Scott

 

[Dee]

clive francis once bubbled...
Dee,

how did you get the photo's so clear?

was the water clear?

what settings in photoshop did you use?

Compared to the local lake, yeah the water was clear. Compared to say, Cozumel, no it wasn't. Viz was about 60ft that day IIRC.

But with macro shots, you are deleting most of the water, clear or not, between you and the subject. It's one of the advantages of taking macros.

I don't use Photoshop. I have an old Adobe program called Photo Deluxe that suits me just fine. I seldom do any manipulation to my photos, ie. color correction, sharpening, light control, etc. I'll occasionally clone out the worst of the backscatter if there's any and maybe crop some photos to get a better composition but other than that I consider it cheating. If a photo needs all that much work to 'correct' it, it wasn't good to start with. That's my opinion only and a personal rule of mine.

 

[Dee]

Scott...step all you want! I'm not familiar with the requirements on Ike's housings for the add-on lenses. But since the C-xxxx series of cameras all fit the same Oly housing, I'm sure the same is true of the Ikelite.

BTW...Congrats on your new toys!