Using an Inon Close-up (macro) lens (UCL-165M67)

[ejg62]

I just bought this close up lens for my Olympus 5060 and I am interested to know how people use it.

I have tried the lens on land and am surprised at how close you have to be to the subject for the picture to be in focus. While there are many macro shots available on a dive not everything will be a macro shot. The lense easily screws on and off, is that what most of you do during the dive is take it on an off? Is there a way to attached the lens on to something when the lens is not mounted? Or should I just stick the lens in my pocket and hope it does not fall out.

Also, any tips on taking pictures? Is there much marine life (fish) that will alow you to get that close for a shot? In the past I zoomed in, but with this lense unless you are inches (cm's) from the subject the picture is out of focus.

I know the above message is very vague or general, but any suggestions on how to use the lens is appreciated.

Jim

 

[pakman]

Yup, depth of field is a problem with these closeup lenses... but you got the right idea... get a feel for where the "sweetspot" is for focusing with the macro lens on at various zooms. Eventually you'll get a hang of it. If you have some nudibranches in your area, try practicing with the lens on them. They make good subjects... happy shooting... I'll try to post some links to photos using that macro lens shortly...

 

[HowardE]

My wife uses the UCL 167 - she keeps it on this when not using it...

She has strobe arms, so it hooks on to that lens holder.... You can get those from http://reefphoto.com

Yes - the best way to use that lens is to zoom in and move the camera in and out to focus. Use it for critters, or other things...

Here's a few that she took with her Canon S70 and the UCL165

 

[pakman]

oh inon sells a holder for that that lens and the wide angle that sits on a strobe arm... I had one with my old setup. Makes it real easy to screw on and off.

edit: oops, howarde beat me to it!

 

[HowardE]

oh inon sells a holder for that that lens and the wide angle that sits on a strobe arm... I had one with my old setup. Makes it real easy to screw on and off.

edit: oops, howarde beat me to it!

Yes... The photo only shows one side... but they make a 2 sided lens holder, so you can get the WAL as well.

 

[alcina]

I use two macro lenses with the 5050...rarely use just one. I screw them together at the beginning of the dive to make sure there's no air inbetween them. I take them on and off throughout the dive.

Keep it in macro mode. Up to 80% or so zoom works just fine. Let the camera focus, lock focus then rock gently back and forth to nail it and shoot. Take several shots.

Close down the aperture - I like f8 a lot on the 5050! Watch your strobe placement - the closer you get the harder it is to light properly. You do not need two strobes - I still only use one and think I've done a pretty good job.

Yes, you have to be quite close to your subject so your diving and camera handling skills are going to have to be very very good to get the results you want - otherwise you'll scare the subject, knock into the reef/wreck and/or get a whole bunch of "well it's almost in focus" shots

I'm not nearly so high end as the others when it comes to holding my kit. I stick the lenses inside the front of my suit and zip it up. They aren't going anywhere and there's no way to bump them while sticking my camera in a hole

My WAL lives in a reel bag I got from a fishing tackle shop. It has a drawstring and I've put a ss ring on the drawstring so it clips to the inside clip in my pocket (bc). The bag is padded.

 

[Gilligan]

The close-up lens has a very limited depth of field. It takes some practice to find the right distance. As alcina said, practice with it.

gbUndersea makes a nifty lens dock. You may want to check it out. The leash won't work on the close-up lens but does with the wide angle lens.

I have two of the docks on my homemade tray.

 

[JTemple]

gbUndersea hasn't been selling since Katrina. Hope he's doing OK.

 

[Gilligan]

gbUndersea hasn't been selling since Katrina. Hope he's doing OK.

I didn't know that. I hope they are not out of business.