Wet lenses for G7X III

[vkalia]

I am trying to put together a compact camera system I can rent out to people interested in underwater photography. I happen to have a G7X III lying around and have picked up a Seafrog housing for it. Tray, arms and strobe, I also have extras.

To get the most out of the system, I thought I'd get a closeup lens and possibly a wide angle adapter (the port has a 67mm thread). Does anyone have suggestions for inexpensive units I can get? Trying to find a sweet spot between something that works well and doesn't cost $500 a pop (like I said, this is a rental setup, mainly for people new to photography). So no Nauticam - thinking Weefine, AOI, Seafrogs and such.

It's been 20+ years since I shot with a compact, so am a bit out of the loop as to what works well and what doesn't.

TIA.

 

[Barmaglot]

Keep in mind that dome front elements are quite vulnerable to scratches, which is going to be a significant factor for a rental unit. Consider Inon UWL-S100 ZM80 - it comes in a 67mm mount, and has a flat front with an optional dome unit. You can charge extra for the dome rental, and if it gets scratched, replacement cost is $135.

 

[vkalia]

Thanks - will check that out. Although my preference would be a single piece wide converter and a separate close-up, which I can mount on the arm or something.

Not too fussed about damages while being rented, b/c I plan to rent it only on trips that I am leading and when I am conducting a photo workshop.

 

[vkalia]

A quick update for anyone else in the same boat - I ended up getting a Weefine WFL12 wet lens for this housing, that is designed for 24mm lenses and is meant to increase the FOV from 84 degree to 90 degrees.

The issue is that because of the longer tele on the G7XIII, the port is longer and so the wet lens vignette quite badly at 24mm -requiring you to zoom in a little to get a full frame image, thereby defeating the purpose of the wet lens to begin with.

Otherwise, the system works well with an AOI Q1 strobe as a compact unit for learning u/w photography. I only took it out for 1 dive to test it, and due to it being a drift, didnt have a chance to spend too much time trying out the diopter. Some other time, perhaps....

 

[Jacob BV]

Yeah the issue with the g7x in non nauticam housings is the port length (nauticam have a short port). So for wide angle you can't get away with cheap, you need the most extreme lenses like 130 degrees so you still have a benefit after zooming in that bit. With a good wide angle you don't lose a huge amount and you then can zoom through the whole range, or pop it off, and even add a macro meaning you have a super versatile system. I'm selling two lenses if you are interested: a inon uwl-95s (with and without the XD conversions); and a AOI/Fantesea UWL-09f. Both worked well with my g7xii in a fantesea housing

 

[vkalia]

Hey, thanks for the offer - i am not really looking to sink more money into what is essentially a rental unit. I’ll likely pass on the WA lens to a friend who has started to get into the addiction with a RX100 housing.