Dann-Oh

Thanks for the info. I ma just now learning macro in pretty turbid waters of Southern California. I'm thinking the shorter working distances would be better for me. I am on a quest to photograph the many nudibranch around here so getting close isn't an issue as long as the sea is forgiving. I'm going to review Alex's book tonight to make sure I'm understanding working distance correctly.

Hey there Wolfgang, Yes I agree, I think the shorter working distance of the 30mm will allow me to get closer. This would eliminate a lot of the "junk" floating in the water between me and the subject. AM I thinking about working distance wrong in this context? For reference I had my strobe in the Frankenstein position pointed back at me and I still have lots of backscatter in the images. So 10-15m is approximately 33-50ft, I cant remember a dive in a long time where I had that good of visibility. We are happy when we get 20ft or 6m. Unfortunately, I am using the Olympus EPL10 inside the AOI housing. It has the PEN port on it and I can not use the 12-40, which would be sweet. I currently have the options of the Panasonic 8mm Fisheye, 14-14EZ, 60mm macro; I also have the 9-18 and 30mm macro (it was on sale so I ordered it last night) but I do not have a port for the 9-18 nor 30mm. I was planning to try to photograph nudibranch on this dive outing however one of the members in the dive group brought a friend who was not certified to the depths we anted to go so we had to change dive plans and I was stuck with my macro lens, it is what it is. I have been on the fence about getting the AOI housing for the EM1-3 but I can not find a solid answer if the 12-40 or the 8mm f1.8 fisheye will fit in it. the EM1-3 housing is supposed to also have the PEN style port.

Okay So I have 2 clips that I can share. shaky footage warning. There you have been warned these clips are not very good. The water conditions were really poor. I was trying to hand hold the EPL10 with the Olympus 60mm macro while using a single Backscatter MW4300 for lighting. Clearly I need more practice. I will continue to try to add more video clips as I can collect them, I am not totally sure what the camera settings were as I just hit the record button. I have attached the link below if you want to download and play with the files. I hope you don't judge this camera by my poor attempt at video, I have another thread I posted where I share some photos captured with the same subjects and camera set up. Link P5260053.MOV P5260056.MOV

This past weekend I was able to get out for some diving so I decided I wanted to try out my 60mm Macro on my Olympus EPL10 (See photos below). Conditions were pretty poor in terms of visibility even though there were only 6 divers in the area. I'm not too sure the 60mm macro is for me, the angle of view and the distance to subject was tough to manage with such poor visibility. Plus I haven't seen creatures small enough to justify the the 60mm, I'm looking to try out the 30mm macro in the near future. What are the groups thoughts on the Olympus 30mm macro? My favorite is the tube dwelling anemone, I just cant get enough of them.

Im a big fan of On1 PhotoRaw. Yes they come out with a new version every year but you dont have to update every year. I have been using it since about 2018 and I just now bout 2022 because it has the new AI Resize and NoNoise features that is useful for us smaller sensor users.

Yes the standard port is flat. Im guessing I dont fully understand when there is the need to change from a flat to a dome port.

I was thinking I could use the 9mm on my Olympus EPL10 in the AOI housing with the standard port, the 14-42 EZ is 61x48.2mm (dia x length) where the 9mm would be 60.8x52mm. I'm pretty sure there is the extra 4mm in the housing to allow the 9mm to fit. This would be a major plus for wide angle over the 8mm fisheye as I wouldn't have to bring along another port if I were to use the fisheye.

Does anyone think this would be a good lens to use underwater? It is physically nearly the same size as the Pana 8mm F3.5 fisheye lens. What makes a lens good for underwater use?

I am heading out for a macro photography dive on 5/26. I will see if I can get some video for ya, I do have a macro video light. Please be gentle on the review though as I don't really know video nor the right settings.

The only main differences from the EPL9 and the EPL10 are the additional "art filters" for JPEG use B&H Compare. Backscatter does mention this in their video. If you can get the EPL9 for a better price then do it.

I know this isn't going to help you now but I am planning to try my hand at video this summer. After I finish up my Sidemount and DM training Ill have time to play with my camera more. If you have any questions about the EPL10 I can try to answer them.

It should be the CRI 90 version. I can double check later tonight when I get home.

Has anyone gotten their hands on the AOI EM1-3 housing yet?

Any chance your gear has come back to you? Im not trying to get you to buy my gear but just hoping my faith in humanity is not dead.

I Understand that. How do you use the PEN adapter WITH the 12-40?

Does anyone know of a place that rents out dome ports? I would love to try out the AOI DLP-04P for my Oly 9-18 (id also need the zoom ring ol-260542) before committing to buying it.

I mean I believe you but Im just confused, Il like to use the 12-40 underwater if it does fit but the internet searches (which never lie;-)) say it shouldn't fit.

Are you sure you used the Oly 12-40 on the AOI housing? AOI says that the 12-40 is too large of a diameter to fit the port opening. The Zen 100 is for the Olympus housing which might have a different diameter port opening.

I would love to see some of your photos with this lens. I have it but I haven't pulled the trigger on the port, I keep going back and forth on it. I have too much photography gear just sitting around from these kind of waffling purchases.

If you know you are going to be only shooting wide angle take a look at the 8mm F3.5 Fisheye from Panasonic with the AOI DLP-06 dome port. I really like this option. I also go back and forth about getting the AOI DLP-04 semi-dome port for my 9-18 lens with but I don't think there is much of a benefit for using the 9-18 over the 8mm fisheye (maybe I'm wrong).

I have a Hrdra 5000 that Im selling if you cant get yours back. I am located in Riverside Ca and frequent the dive park often.

You might have better luck over at DPReview.com

Yes that correct I was talking about the LED Trigger, I typed it out in my head but not no the keyboard.

@Pomacentridae Is there any chance we could get side by side photos comparing the EM1iii to the EM5iii and EPL10 housings?

This is a more compact design and its only $100 more, that's totally worth the price.