WA Lens for LX-10 in Ikelite housing.

[KG Diver]

Getting ready for a Sea of Cortez trip next month and recently moved from TG5 to an LX10.

There's supposed to be potential for some big subjects in Sea of Cortez (whales, whale sharks, sea lions etc) which I'd love to get some video/pics.

So I'm shopping for my first wide angle lens. Unfortunately (?) my decision to purchase LX10 was based on Backscatter review which has for years touted it as the top dog of compacts for UW. What I feel they failed to mention is its shortcomings when it comes to WA lenses and having to zoom in 32+ to avoid vignetting. Though an argument can be made that when filming in 4K it crops to equivalent of 36mm so I suppose point is moot there, but when it comes to stills...that's a bit of a different story. So.....all that being said, this is where I landed.

Inon UWL-H100 Type 1. Without the dome I'm looking at advertised 100 degree FOV, which after zoom, is going to be significantly less. Adding the Dome Type II, would get me close, if not a little over, the 100 degree FOV; but that would nearly double the cost of the investment.

Another option, and one I haven't had the chance to thoroughly vent, is the Nauticam WWL-C. Those that have experience with the LX10, especially in an Ikelite housing, is the situation the same as with UWL-H100 and if it's better, it is worth the $400 premium vs Inon+ Dome.

What are your guys' thoughts? Any suggestions....are there better options (without getting rid of the LX10)?

 

[beldridg]

I posted two messages and some sample pictures of the LX-10 with the WWL-C (in a Nauticam housing) in my pool at various focal lengths in this thread on Wetpixel:

New Nauticam Wet Wideangle WWL-C

The bottom line is that you need to zoom in to about 30mm to avoid vignetting. I'm not sure what the equivalent FOV would be at that focal length with the WWL-C.

I can tell you that I use the WWL-C often with my Sony a6400 setup and it is a great wet lens.

- brett

 

[KG Diver]

I posted two messages and some sample pictures of the LX-10 with the WWL-C (in a Nauticam housing) in my pool at various focal lengths in this thread on Wetpixel:

New Nauticam Wet Wideangle WWL-C

The bottom line is that you need to zoom in to about 30mm to avoid vignetting. I'm not sure what the equivalent FOV would be at that focal length with the WWL-C.

I can tell you that I use the WWL-C often with my Sony a6400 setup and it is a great wet lens.

- brett

Thank you for your reply.

I've been doing some soul searching and I'm thinking about picking up the Wwl-c instead of the H100+Dome combo and leaving the MW4300 off the list to minimize the hit to the wallet. I'm going to stick with the BigBlue 2600 and my S2000 for this trip and hope the combination on of ambient lighting + 2600 + custom WB of the LX 10 would be enough.

 

[beldridg]

Thank you for your reply.

I've been doing some soul searching and I'm thinking about picking up the Wwl-c instead of the H100+Dome combo and leaving the MW4300 off the list to minimize the hit to the wallet. I'm going to stick with the BigBlue 2600 and my S2000 for this trip and hope the combination on of ambient lighting + 2600 + custom WB of the LX 10 would be enough.

Sure, no problem.

One benefit of the WWL-C is that it can be used with a lot of different camera/lens combinations so if you decide to upgrade or change in the future, you will likely be able to use it with your new setup (modulo full frame cameras which I think are better suited with the WWL-1).

- brett

 

[KG Diver]

Sure, no problem.

One benefit of the WWL-C is that it can be used with a lot of different camera/lens combinations so if you decide to upgrade or change in the future, you will likely be able to use it with your new setup (modulo full frame cameras which I think are better suited with the WWL-1).

- brett

So I just learned that I would need bayonet mount for this lens, which means I'd need one for the diopter,
so that's more money added. Got some figuring out to do, but will have to pull the trigger this week.