wet wide lens

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rwe

Contributor
Messages
75
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Location
Palm Coast, FL
# of dives
1000 - 2499
I would be interested in getting info on comparison of Fantasea UWL-09F and Kraken KRL-01 wet wide lenses? I am probably going to buy one of them but it is unclear what the pro and cons are of each. Thanks,
 
Both are super wide and it depends on what housing with 67mm threads you plan to mount it on plus the camera inside. Both have an optical polycarbonate dome which minor scratches (inevitable in time) will fill in with water once submerged.

I have the Fantasea UWL-09f plus the QRS quick bayonet system which is great for "burping" the lens underwater to remove any air bubbles on the rear element and housing port front element. Full disclosure; I'm a Fantasea and Ikelite dealer but use the same equipment I sell.

The Kraken is a bit heavier (1433 grams) compared to the Fantasea UWL-09f (1033 grams) and underwater both lighten up a bit due to the ai trapped in the dome but not a lot.

The Kraken says full zoom through and the Fantasea allows some (1/2 - 2/3 of a camera's focal range?)

I'm not sure you'll be able to zoom as an example a Canon G7X II camera's 24-100mm lens all the way through and have it focus without edge blurring, etc. The optical challenge of a 100mm telephoto to focus on a super wide group of optical elements seems almost impossible.

Why you would even want to do that as it won't be any true macro close framing. Putting a WA lens on means you want to shoot wide scenics, big animals, dive buddies, etc.

Just one old guy's thoughts :)

haas
 
Even though this post is a bit old, I will post a reply which may benefit future readers who are considering these two lenses. I have recently purchased both. I bought the Kraken KRL-01 brand new and the Fantasea UWL-09F used on eBay. By the way, these two lenses are branded under different names in different countries. For example, the Fantasea is branded as AOI UWL-09F. The Kraken is branded as Weefine WFL01. For me, from a users point of view, there are 3 main differences. (1) the SIZE and WEIGHT. The Kraken is SIGNIFICANTLY bigger and heavier than the Fantasea. For me, the Kraken is too big and too heavy and I find it unwieldy. (2) Vignetting. I use a Canon G7X MKII in a Fantasea housing. Unfortunately, there is a significant amount of vignetting with the Fantasea lens. This means you need to zoom in to eliminate the vignetting. As a result, you lose a fair amount of the wide angle/fisheye effect, which is disappointing. *Note this won't be a problem for Sony RX100 users and users of other cameras. This is something you will need to research. On the other hand, the Kraken has NO VIGNETTING, even on my Canon. (3) The Fantasea is designed for 28mm lenses, the Kraken is designed for 24mm, which means it wider than the Fantasea. When this is added to the vignetting you get with the Fantasea (for the Canon g7X MKII), the result is a much wider wide angle effect with the Kraken. My conclusion would be this. If you don't mind the size and weight, go for the Kraken. If you don't mind some vignetting, or if vignetting isn't a problem for your camera model, go for the Fantasea. As a final note, I would strongly recommend looking into the Inon UWL-95 C24 M67 + the optional Dome Lens Unit. I just had the opportunity to try out this lens and I loved it. In fact, out of all 3 wide angle lenses, this would be my first choice. Feel free to PM me if you would like to know more about my experiences with these 3 lenses. Happy Diving! :)
 

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