michaeltsantos

Dear Kevin, Just to confuse you even further, I choose the following options for the EM-10 in a Nauticam housing: Nauticam 4" wide angle port for the following lenses: - Oly 9-18mm with nauticam zoom ring and a +2 diopter for better corner sharpness - Oly 60mm (no need for zoom gear as AF is fast and reliable). No corner distortion with this lens and wide-angle port. I also made a DIY flip diopter holder for the CMC for about $10. But Nauticam also sells a flip diopter holder for this port for about $400. eventually, I added the following: Nauticam 4.33" dome for for a Samyang/Rokinon 7.5mm fisheye lens. I use the zoom gear for the 9-18mm lens to manual focus the lens. But, aperture is set pre-dive. Thus, I can only adjust with SS and ISO during the dive. Had a very limited budget but I find this set-up adequate for most shooting conditions (fisheye, wide angle and macro). Hope this helps. Happy shopping! Mike

Just to play devil's advocate... I use both the Oly 9-18mm wide and the Oly 60mm macro with the Nauticam 4" wide-angle dome. I find it a good entry level set-up that gives me both wide and macro options with the same port. (BTW, both lenses are on sale now at a $200 discount at the Olympus store). For wide angle, I add a +2 diopter to the 9-18mm lens for better corner sharpness. For macro, I just leave the 60mm lens on full range since focus is quite fast. I also made a $10 DIY flip diopter holder for the Nauticam CMC for super macro shooting (the original one is almost $400!). As I bonus, I was able to attach the zoom gear for the 9-18mm lens on a Rokinon 7.5mm fisheye lens. This allows me to manual focus with this lens when used with the Nauticam 4.33" dome. Hope this helps! Happy shooting!

Looking forward to your seeing your pictures! Thanks!

Sorry guys, don't have a nice pic available. I'll try to do a better test this month and post pictures later.

Hi! Attached are some some test shots (sorry again for the bad quality). Will try to do a serious pool test soon. Test Photo 1: No vignetting when the focus area is closest to the camera. Slight vignetting when the focus area is furthest from the camera. I guess this is because the front element moves in and out during focusing. Hope this helps!

Hi! I find that it's still important to be able to focus during the dive. It's very easy to put a focus gear on the Rokinon lens. Please see the pictures below: (sorry for the bad picture quality, not sure why the images are posted up side down) Oly 9-18mm lens with Nauticam zoom gear Rokinon 7.5mm lens with rubber band and "shims" (cut from a motorcycle tire inner tube) Rokinon 7.5mm lens with rubber band and "shims" mounted on the focus ring Rokinon 7.5mm lens with Nauticam 9-18mm zoom gear mounted (just the outer ring) Rokinon 7.5mm lens in Nauticam EM-10 housing. Focus can be adjusted with the zoom gear! Hope this helps!

Hi! I just started using the Rokinon/Samyang 7.5mm fisheye with the Nauticam 4.33 dome port. This is in combination with the Nauticam housing for the Olympus EM-10. There is almost no vignetting with this set-up. However, corner sharpness can be a problem. Since you can't change the aperture during the dive, I usually just leave it at f11 for better corner sharpness. Still not that sharp, but (in my opinion) acceptable for a fisheye lens. I just adjust exposure by playing with the SS and ISO. What's more difficult is maintaining proper focus during the dive. I was able to mount the Nauticam zoom gear for the Olympus 9-18mm on the Rokinon using thick rubber bands. I use this, in combination with "focus peaking", to adjust focus during the dive. I'm still experimenting to get the best settings. Hope this helps...

Dear Storker, I was on a budget as well and ended up getting the Rokinon/Samyang 7.5mm fisheye paired with the Nauticam 4.3mm dome port. The lens is only $250 and is even sharper than the 8mm Panasonic lens! I also got a good deal on a second hand dome. The pair ended up costing much less than the price of a new 8mm Panasonic lens alone! I put a thick rubber band (cut from a motorcycle inner tube) around focus ring and was able to mount the Nauticam zoom gear for the 9-18mm lens. I can now focus manually using the zoom gear and focus peaking. Since this is a fisheye lens, there's a lot of leeway for focus anyway. It's great for close focus-wide angle shots as well. The pictures come out really sharp. The only disadvantage is not being able to change aperture during the dive. I usually pre-set it to somewhere between f8 and f11 depending on the intensity of the sun and the expected depth of the dive. Manual focus is also slightly slower but not really an issue. Hope this helps! Mike

Hi Guys! Thanks for the comments. Still undecided for now but I'm trying to get official feedback from Nauticam. I'll update this topic in case I get a reply. Thanks! Mike

Hi Guys! I'm thinking of getting the Nauticam housing for the Oly EM-10. I already have the Oly 9-18mm wide angle lens and I'm thinking of getting the Samyang/Rokinon 7.5mm fisheye lens. Based on experience, can anybody comment on the following?: - What extension port should I use with the 9-18mm lens so it will fit with the 4.33" dome? - Since the front of the lens moves as you zoom, are the corners sharp at both 9mm and 18mm with this set-up? - Would putting a +2 or +4 diopter on the 9-18mm lens help with corner sharpness? - Externally, the dimensions of the Samyang/Rokinon 7.5mm fisheye lens is similar to the Panasonic 8mm fisheye. How is the performance of this lens with the Nauti 4.33" dome? Are the corners sharp? - I don't think manual focus will be an issue with such a wide lens (I'm thinking of just setting focus to about 5 inches in front of the dome before the dive). I'm I correct to assume this? Would it be better if I had a zoom gear with this lens? - Will the new "pancake" Oly 14-42mm EZ zoom lens work well with the 4.33" dome? - Again, would putting a +2 or +4 diopter on this lens help with corner sharpness? - Any other port recommendations? Since my budget is tight, I don't want to buy 2 domes (The 4" for the 9-18mm and 4.33" for the 7.5mm as recommended). I already buying the 60mm macro port as well. Thanks! Mike

Dear Xander, Thanks for the info. Lokks like this will be on my shopping list soon. Best regards, Mike

Dear Xander, Great pictures! I would like to ask if there is any vignetting with the FIX UWL-04 at full wide, or do you have to zoom in a little? Does it have a 52mm thread, thus the need for a 67mm adaptor? Thank you. Mike

Another thing to consider with the GH2 is strobe synch. I can't get my GF1 to synch with my Inon Z240's in manual mode. I always have to use optical cables in STTL mode. This limits the shutter to just 1/160. Cycle time is also slower since the camera's internal flash has to charge up. Bummer! I assume the GH2's flash protocol is the same as the GF1.

Dear Jack, Big improvements on the 10BAR housing for the GF1! Is the port for the 7-14mm the same as the 14-45mm? Also, I'm thinking of getting the Oly 9-18mm, does 10 BAR have a port that will work with this lens and the GF1? Thanks! Best fishes, Mike

Looks like a great lens! But, at almost $1,000! WTF!