What supplementary Lenses?

[adder]

I owned a photographic studio for 15 years and have been a keen diver for the past seven years.
Now my training is finished (Adv Trimix) I felt it was time to get myself a decent camera. I have had an old point and shoot Nikon toy camera till now and thought with my past photographic experience having owned and used everything from 35mm to 10 x 8 plate cameras I would have "no problem" selecting my new gear.
How wrong can you get?
I am retired and my budget is "limited" a bit.
I finally decided on a S100 with a recsea housing. Good camera and housing good to 100m. I have purchased the S100 and need the rest before Nov 16th when we leave for a 2 month diving holiday.
My mate has a S95 with the recsea housing and Inon UWC-165AD and a UWL105AD so I thought I would go this route.
Then it got messy. Every shop told me that the UWL105AD was not the lens for the S100/Recsea due to Vignetting, one told me I would get no wider with 105 after cropping vignetting than without any extra lens.
I really wanted the 165AD close up lenses as they stack without any additional adaptors. I was thinking Recsea Housing > Dyron AD Adapter > Inon UWC-165AD.
The trouble is then what do I use for wideangle/fisheye lens?
The shops suggested using an LD system (lockable bayonet) but the 165LD lenses don't stack without adapters (more cost) and the Recsea Housing to LD system seems to require two adaptors. More cost.
Am I being silly trying to avoid threaded adapter lenses? It's just that I can remember screwing filters on the front of my hasselblad and I didn't fancy trying to do it underwater with gloves.
I guess my question really is...What is the least expensive but very satisfactory way to achieve close up macro shots and also wide angle stuff with an S100 and Recsea? Or should I reconsider my housing.
Can anyone who has gone down this route offer suggestions? Help!

 

[Nemrod]

I cannot speak to the S100 but the S90 and S95 can effectively use the AD lenses. It is required, with those cameras to zoom from 28mm to 35mm, or one step, to eliminate vignetting. Since the lenses are designed to operate with a 35mm camera lens, there is no loss of field. But, for the S100, not sure, BTW, I would choose the Inon UFL165AD fisheye, not the UWL105AD for wide angle.

You used to shoot a Hasselblad underwater---!! and think you will be satisfied with a S100?

The FIX UWL-28 or previous generation UWL-04 would be the best choice for wide angle. These are threaded lenses. If you want to go from wide angle to macro to plain port in one dive you will need either adapters or AD lenses . The link in my sig takes you to a camera store that has adapters for use with threaded lenses. You will need to ask them how they work. I would also recommend the Sony RX, just based on good vibes, with Recsea housing, looks like a winner.

N

 

[Warmwater Wank]

Adder--Lucky us that it is such a "problem" to decide on new gear, eh? (Oh and welcome to SB!) If you haven't already, check the UW Photographers website. Plenty of great info and this particluliar article by Victor Tang on the S-100 & housings may be of help: Canon S100: In-Depth Thoughts And Housing Reviews|Underwater Photography Guide. Scott Gietler & crew do a great job w/ info and photos on that site and his Bluewater Photo store could also be a useful resource as well.

No input on choices, it does have to be a personal decision of course. However if you plan on a 2 month diving extravaganza get the camera & housing well before that. Amazing how different the camera is when uw in a housing. Not to mention getting used to strobe placement, settings etc. Just to add to your buying challenges, you are getting strobes yes? // ww

 

[adder]

Firstly Nemrod, thanks heaps, your reply got me searching further. Ohh and my blads never went near water. Started diving well after stopping working. Firstly the lens problem. I was going to use the Inon UCL-165LD lenses but I found that the UCL-165LD have a 67mm thread on their front making underwater stacking and unstacking very difficult. So I am back to UFL165AD lenses.
Warmtater wank: thanks, I have read that review, unfortunately it doesn't review the RECSEA S100.

I have another question!

Has anyone had experience using the DYRON RECSEAS100 housing to AD converteron a S100 housing with the INON UFL165AD?
This one:-
Dyron Quick Adapter for Recsea S95, Recsea S100 and Fix S90 | Bluewater Photo & Video
Will there be much vignetting?

 

[Nemrod]

Firstly Nemrod, thanks heaps, your reply got me searching further. Ohh and my blads never went near water. Started diving well after stopping working. Firstly the lens problem. I was going to use the Inon UCL-165LD lenses but I found that the UCL-165LD have a 67mm thread on their front making underwater stacking and unstacking very difficult. So I am back to UFL165AD lenses.
Warmtater wank: thanks, I have read that review, unfortunately it doesn't review the RECSEA S100.

I have another question!

Has anyone had experience using the DYRON RECSEAS100 housing to AD converteron a S100 housing with the INON UFL165AD?
This one:-
Dyron Quick Adapter for Recsea S95, Recsea S100 and Fix S90 | Bluewater Photo & Video
Will there be much vignetting?

The S100 will likely require zooming with any accessory wide angle lens because it is a 24mm native lens and the accessory lenses are generally intended for 28mm (UWL-04 and UWL-28 and Inon UWL-H100) and 35mm (Inon UFL165AD, Inon UWL100-67) etc. The S90/S95 do not require zooming with the first group, one notch with the second, the S100 I imagine requires one or two notches of zoom for all of them to prevent vignetting. There is no real loss of field when the camera is zoomed to the native requirement of the accessory lens as long as it is also located at the correct or optimal distance from the camera native lens.

I have a similar adapter made by FIX for my older FIX90 housing and it works fine. I would ask Scott however if he has any thoughts, I think they will work, just an educated guess but not an absolute certainty.

N