Which Inon UWL-100? Type 1 or 2 for L&M Tetra 5050?

[livewire]

Hi Everyone:

So I have a Light and Motion Tetra 5050 housing for my trusty Oly C-5050. I also have the Light and Motion 67mm threaded Wetmate lens, which I believe was originally made by Inon. I'd like to buy the Inon UWL-100, but confused as Inon has the Type 1 or the Type 2. Descriptions for the two types on the Inon web site do not mention the L&M housing, but the Type 2 description does say "Olympus PT-015 C-5050Z No adapter, mount directly to port" while the Type 1 description mentions it only in passing when referring to a different camera/housing combination.

So have any of you attached this Inon lens to the Light and Motion Tetra housing, and if so, which one did you use?

Also, what's the difference between type 1 and type 2?

Thanks in advance!

 

[H2O Photo Pros]

The Type 1 is used only when using the Inon PT Housing Adapter Ring. If you are mounting the lens directly onto a camera housing with a 67mm thread, you want to use the Type II. Other than that, lens is the same as far as specs go.

 

[livewire]

Thank you so much for responding Mike. Congratulations on the new place, too by the way, I've been meaning to come down to Newport to check it out since it opened! Follow up question, just to be clear on your advice:

The Tetra Wetmate Lens Adapter is not strictly an adapter ring, but a flat port with 67mm threads on it. Looks like this:

As you can see there's glass, and there would be a small gap in between this glass and the add-on lens. The lens would not attach directly to the housing, but to this 67mm adapter, with water filling that gap. So in light of this, is Type II still the right choice?

Thanks again, Mike!

 

[Mark Rupert]

LMI originally bought Type 1 lenses, on an OEM basis, which they refitted to their housing products, which have a bayonet mount on the port end, as shown in your image. LMI would install their own bayonet lens adapter to the UWL-100 so it could be installed on the port end. You should check with LMI to see if they can provide you with the appropriate bayonet lens adapter for a UWL-100 lens, before you buy a UWL-100 lens.

The only difference between Type 1 and Type 2 lenses is the thickness of the 67mm threaded mount ring, which itself is mounted to the lens body with small screws. If you obtain the LMI bayonet lens adapter ring, you could then remove the original Inon threaded ring and replace it with the LMI adapter ring. In this case you could start with a Type 1 or Type 2 lens, since you would be taking the 67mm threaded ring off anyway.

Good luck.
-Mark Rupert / Inon America, Inc.

 

[livewire]

Thanks tremendously for your reply, Mark. This clears up a lot of confusion for me as I've been getting different answers to this question from different places. Your response completely sorts this out, so my many great thanks!

 

[livewire]

Here's a follow up on this thread for the archives and for all of you Tetra owners out there who stumble upon it. The question appears completely resolved now. I emailed Light and Motion as Mark Rupert suggested, and Paul Barnett of LMI responded with the following:

Hello Santiago,

We only made one adapter for the Inon lenses. The sticker on the adapter reads, “Tetra Wetmate Adapter 823-0475”. This adapter is the bayonet mount adapter Mark refers to. If you have this adapter, then you can use the Inon Type 1 wide angle lens.

Best Regards,
Paul Barnett
Light & Motion

 

[Richard Hartford]

Looking to purchase a Wetmate Lens #823-0475 adapter for a Ultra Wide Angle lens #823-0491 for a L&M Tetra 3030 housing.