hyp

It is not required that the lens is a macro lens but in my opinion it makes no sense to use it with a standard zoom that can work with a more standard wide angle converter. The point of this lens is real macro and fisheye in one dive, but unfortunately this has quite specific requirements.

The whole point of forcing USB-C everywhere is that hopefully down the line, that is the only cable you will need.

Also, not having a front dial was kind of a bummer on the first version, so not having access to that in an old housing does not seem desirable for me.

GN28 is quite a bit higher than Inon S-220 so I wouldn't consider them direct competitors. 700$ sounds pretty decent to me.

Thanks. Any info on price for this one?

Does it really matter? You’re not going to see it anywhere. I guess if you want to sell it after a while.

I thought it was GN22 on the lowest power strobe?

Would make more sense to upgrade to the om1 if af improvements are your main goal. Remember that with a FF camera you need 2:1 macro to get the same image as with your 60mm macro at max magnification. Keeping ports and lenses the same will make the upgrade a lot cheaper. I do think the original em1 is old enough to justify an upgrade in any case. There have been plenty improvements in usability (UI/AF/small but useful features). Image quality has improved too but maybe not that much if you’re staying with MFT.

As far as I know, no domeport exists that allows use of the macro function of the 12-50, although I think the 4" dome could maybe retrofitted with a gear similar to the one on the dedicated port. I may explore that option at some point in time, because I'm still looking for a decent all-round solution. I'm doing a lot of vacation diving that often is very unpredictable in terms of subject choice. I just returned from a trip to Elba and had dives where I was told we were going to a specific dive site in the afternoon and then plans got changed because they had to also accommodate some snorklers. Focusing on either macro or wide angle often leaves me frustrated, because generally most european dive sites are not that target rich, so you need to shoot what you get to see. Unfortunately with a small kid, overseas destinations are not going to be in my travel plans for the next years. The 12-50 (even in flat port, as I'm currently using it) is still one of the best jack of all trades options out there. It allows 12mm Flatport FoV all the way to 1:1 Macro with a wetlens. Apparently, with the 4" dome you can still add a Wetlens and get up to 0.8x Magnification, so it seems like a clear upgrade to me and I will explore this option before my next dive trip (hopefully next year).

Not sure if the resolution gain of the 12-45 PRO is worth it against the Olympus 12-50 which is actually tested in the port. Surely the 12-50 is not the sharpest lens in the Olympus lineup, but it's not that bad. On the other hand, no one can say if Nauticam just decided to never try the lens in the 4" port. Btw, what is the FoV difference between 12mm behind Flat Port vs Dome Port? I use the 12-50mm in it's dedicated port and sometimes 12mm doesn't seem that bad, although obviously corners are nothing to be proud of... Quite often it's just not wide enough though, so I'm considering investing in the 4" port.

I’ve never had much luck with TTL so I would choose the ys-02.

I think there are arguments in favour of custom batteries (more power mostly) but apart from that you are absolutely right. Can’t imagine Inon withdrawing such a successful product without replacement, so here’s to hoping.

Pretty much none that is worth using. I decided to buy an MF-2 as a third strobe and can recommend it.

The Ys-01 is actually much more powerful than it’s reputation. There was a comparison s few years ago and in terms of power it performed only slightly worse than the Inon Z240. Obviously more power is better and sometimes even needed, but for most wide angle scenes the ys-01 is fine.

I've used the Panasonic 45mm Macro in the Olympus 12-50 Port which is about 20mm too long. It's fine. You lose some working distance obviously, but otherwise I don't think it's any problem. I think you can save the 500$.