dr.rob

I believe it is the Kenko Teleplus HD DGX 1.4x. It is new this year and has newer electronics. According to Kenko's charts, it works on a greater variety of lenses, including several EF-S lenses such as the 60mm macro. I just ordered one on Amazon and can report back! cheers, Rob

Most would recommend start with the Canon 60mm, which is what I did. It is more versatile as you can back off and do fish portraits. The 60 mm also works better in low viz situations as already mentioned. It is also generally easier to use. I recently also got the Canon 100mm (the newer more expensive one with IS). It is a very nice lens (pricey of course). The longer reach works well for skittish subjects, but of course that works only in good viz. You can also get more magnification with it with a wet diopter (because the longer working distance is cut down). Keep in mind that without a diopter, they both do the same 1:1 magnification. It is just with the 100mm, you will be further from your subject. I don't know much about the Sigma 105 mm. Some people like the Tamron 60 because it can take a teleconverter but I don't have direct experience with that. Bottom line is I like both the 60mm and the 100mm. The 60mm because more versatile, and the 100mm for skittish subjects and ability to do super-macro with a wet diopter. Start with the 60mm, but eventually you will want to get the 100mm also! :-)

Very interesting. I am wondering how the AF on the GX8 would compare to a top-notch DSLR, say for example the Canon 7D Mii. I am growing increasingly frustrated by the slow AF of my current rig (Canon EOS M) and really want to get whatever is the best AF available.

And the Nauticam housing for the EOS M3 is finally here! http://www.divephotoguide.com/underwater-photography-scuba-ocean-news/nauticam-announces-housing-for-canon-eos-m3/?fb_action_ids=10153090476326828&fb_action_types=og.comments I have the original EOS M and housing, and now that the Canon 100mm macro IS lens is supported, I am looking forward to trying it underwater!

I am a little confused because the Nauticam USA site clearly shows a housing for the GX7: http://www.nauticamusa.com/news/2014/2/20/housing-for-panasonic-gx7?rq=panasonic I would expect they will soon make a housing for the GX8, as this seems to be currently the best m4/3 camera for underwater.

What are you upgrading from? Are you happy/unhappy with the image quality of your current set-up? IMHO, full-frame is overkill for underwater. The main advantage of full frame cameras is that they are better at gathering ambient light in low-light situations, but assuming you are using strobes, this is not really an advantage underwater. The image quality differences between FF, APS-C and m4/3 is really minimal for underwater shots, especially for macro. Before jumping into FF, think about costs, bulk and available lenses. If I was starting from scratch, I probably would go m4/3. If you look at the best underwater shots from m4/3 (i.e., Oly, GH4, etc), I don't think you will find a perceptible difference between those and the best UW shots taken with FF. Mirrorless vs. DSLR is a very interesting and debatable question. Advantage of Mirrorless is: less expensive, less bulky, same image quality. Advantage of DSLR is better AF (although that advantage is fast disappearing, I think many of the best mirrorless cameras have more or less caught up). Another advantage of DSLR is better lens availability, but that advantage is also disappearing. Another advantage of DSLR is better battery life, assuming you are using mainly the optical viewfinder rather than live view. For me, the advantage of smaller form is more important than better battery life. I would perhaps go out on a limb and say 2015 is the year that mirrorless caught up and surpassed DSLR, at least for underwater.

Interesting thread. I too have been considering making the jump to m4/3 because I am getting frustrated with how slowly Canon is moving with mirrorless. The Panasonic GX8 was released today, and is now the highest resolution m4/3 camera available (20 MP). It lacks on on-board flash, but perhaps this is not a big problem, I hope that Nauticam has (or will make) a flash trigger for it. Although quite pricey, the GX8 now seems to be the top dog in the m4/3 world, at least until the Olympus OMD EM-1 mark ii comes out (perhaps early next year?). It will be interesting to see what housing and port options become available for the GX8, and I look forward to reading the first underwater reviews for this camera.

A Japanese Nauticam website says the housing for the Canon EOS M3 is coming soon! http://www.fisheye-jp.com/products/mil/na_eosm3.html

Hey Troporobo, you may have to repeat your experiment underwater. The refractive index of air is less than water, therefore wet diopters will be more powerful in air than in water, and focus distance will be shorter. A strong wet diopter might seem almost unusable in air because of short focus distance (or even no focus at all), but then will work fine underwater.

Hmm, well yes and no. I am frustrated by the lack of mirrorless lenses put out by Canon, but the lenses they have put out so far are very nice, compact and very good value (I own them all). For underwater, all you need really is a wide-angle and a macro. The Canon EF-M 11-22 mm is actually a very good lens, especially for the price, and it works great in the kit lens port. I think it is a bit of a hidden secret, because as far as I know, I am the only one using this lens underwater. As for macro, there is an adaptor so that one can use any Canon SLR lens (although as I said in another thread, the AF is slow). If and when Canon decides to put out a native mirrorless lens, and put their dual pixel AF focus technology into a mirrorless body, this will be a fantastic system. If you are talking APSC system, there is of course Sony, but I have some reservations regarding their ergonomics.

I have heard from a good source that Nauticam will be making a housing for this camera. Expect an announcement in mid-August. I am very happy to hear this as I am fully invested in the M system (I have the original M and Nauticam housing and all the lenses). There is also a rumour that Canon has a new kit lens coming for the M, it will be an EF-M 15-45mm. So maybe there is hope after all that Canon will get serious with mirrorless. This is great news as I think mirrorless has lots of advantages compared to SLR for underwater.

Thanks for the advice Bill, Lee and all! I just found out today that Nauticam makes a port adaptor to convert 85mm diameter port (used on their mirrorless housings) to 120 mm SLR port size. I don;t know why Nauticam did not mention that to me when I asked (twice!) for any advice on how to adapt my housing to fit the 100mm lens. So maybe I can try that, and hope that next year Canon makes an EOS M4 with awesome auto-foucs and Nauticam makes a housing for that! I realize the 100mm is a bit long for our somewhat bad viz local conditions but I am hoping to give it a whirl in the Philippines as I go there regularly. I just feel like I've photographed almost every critter imaginable with the 60mm and need a new perspective to keep me motivated! :-) Bill have a great time in God's Pocket! Let me know if you have spare time in Vancouver in September and we can get together over a drink or 3! God's Pocket is great, same great diving as the Nautilus Swell. I was there a month ago and going back in October.

Thanks all for your input. The OM-D EM5-II certainly is a compelling option, especially with the super-macro capabilities that Bill has pointed out. Certainly the reduced cost and compact form are big advantages. But I feel that going to a 4/3 sensor is taking a step back. I really like the image quality that APS-C affords. I've thought about going all out to full frame, but from what I have been reading, APS-C seems to be the sweet spot for underwater macro. Bill and Vondo (and others who have used both APS-C and 4/3 underwater), how does the IQ compare between these two formats? I am quite happy with the image quality of the EOS-M. What is limiting me is the very slow focus and lack of a longer macro lens. I could go to Sony mirrorless, but I think I would rather just jump into Canon SLR. Despite the cost and bulk, I am really keen to see how the very sophisticated AF of a Canon 7D Mark II works when paired with a 100 mm macro lens. Thoughts?

I've been taking underwater photos for about 6 years now. I started as a total newbie, but I think I have a fairly good idea of what I am doing now. My first camera was a SeaLife DC1000, and I would not recommend that to anybody. I took an underwater photo course 4 years ago and started shooting in manual mode, and then my photography really improved. I then got a Canon S100, and found it much better than the SeaLife, and was able to get lots of great photos with that little camera. I was able to win a few small prizes in some photo competitions. I am a die-hard Canon fan now and will not consider any other brand. Of course, it wasn't long before I was craving a better set-up. Two years ago, I did a lot of research, trying to decide between Mirrorless and SLR. I decided then that SLR was eventually going the way of the dodo bird, and that one did not need an optical viewfinder underwater, and I was used to shooting in live view anyway, and I so I took the plunge into the Canon mirrorless system. So for the past 2 years, I have been shooting a Canon EOS M in a Nauticam housing. I am generally happy with the system, the image quality is great, identical to any Canon cropped-sensor SLR, and I appreciate the more compact form of this system compared to SLR. Not to mention significantly reduced cost compared to SLR. I own all the lenses and both ports for this system. My housing is now discontinued so there will be no more ports forthcoming. I am growing increasingly frustrated by Canon's lack of commitment to mirrorless, which translates into a lack of commitment from housing manufacturers to make housings and ports for this system. Canon came out with the M3 a few months ago, which has faster auto-focus compared to my M, but Canon has chosen not to release it in North America (I would guess it is because they don't want to cannibalize their SLR sales perhaps?). So the end result is Nauticam has no plans to make a housing for the M3. As far as I know, no other housing manufacturer will either. Reason given by Nauticam is lack of lenses suitable for underwater, which is a valid point. I use the Canon EF-S 60 mm macro SLR lens (with the adaptor so it can fit on the M-mount), and it works fairly well, albeit with slow auto-focus. Not a big deal for shooting nudibranchs, but I do miss some action shots due to slow auto-focus. I discovered on my own that the native Canon EF-M 11-22 mm lens fits in the kit lens port perfectly and actually works quite well as an underwater wide-angle lens. There are no problems with auto-focus and image quality seems great to me. However, my main interest is macro. I would love to try the Canon 100 mm lens, but there is no way I can get it to fit in my current housing, even with extension rings (I tried). Plus, since the 100 mm is not a native mirrorless lens, I think the AF will be even slower than with the 60 mm. This is frustrating to me, as Canon could make a native macro lens for their mirrorless system, but I might grow old waiting for that to happen (particularly something longer than 60 mm). Plus, they do have the technology of great auto-focus off the sensor (recently incorporated on the 70D and 7D mark ii), but when will Canon ever put that technology onto their M system? And on top of all that, I still would have to wait for housing manufacturers to get on board to make housings and ports. So now I am starting to second guess myself... Maybe SLR is still the way to go... I look at the 70D and the 7D mark ii, and enviously note that all the major housing manufacturers have made all sorts of ports to fit pretty much any lens one could use underwater for those cameras. Of course, good technique is the most important thing. But I am feeling limited by my current system, and think I may have to take the very expensive plunge into SLR to move forward. Since I love macro, I think that APS-C rather than full-frame is the way to go for me. I am starting to lust for a Canon 7D mark ii. Judging from the reviews, it seems to be the best cropped sensor camera ever made by Canon. Before I make the plunge, I want to hear some feedback from the experienced people here. Is SLR still the way to go? I don't want to buy Sony or Olympus. How long will it take for Canon to get serious about mirrorless? I note many people are migrating the other way, from SLR to either mirrorless or compact, since the smaller set-ups are getting better all the time, and the weight restrictions when flying are getting more strict. But for me, I am always craving better image quality, and would love to see how a very sophisticated AF system works underwater. Plus I would love the opportunity to try different lenses. I have shot the 60 mm a tonne, and want to try the 100 mm! I do use the Nauticam SMC with the 60 mm, and it's ok, but working distance is very short. I keep hearing the SMC works much better on the 100 mm. So what do you think? What is currently the best possible tool for underwater macro, taking into consideration not only the camera body, but availability of lenses, housings and ports? SLR? Mirrorless? Canon 7D mark ii? Or some other camera? Thoughts and comments appreciated!

Hey gang, My name is Rob, I am a very avid diver and underwater photographer. I live in Vancouver, BC Canada, so I spend most of my spare time diving either in the cold waters of British Columbia, or in the Philippines.