Progressing with the 105mm/2xTC

[randapex 0]

Thought I'd share some of what I learned in Lembeh last month. Shooting almost exclusively with the 105mm and the Kenko Pro 2xTeleconverter.

 

I'm not trying to come off as "this is how it's done", more of, here's what I've found out by banging my head on multiple dives.

 

Until this trip, I'd been adding the TC to the 105mm lens, racking it out all the way and then using the "rocking focus" method to nail the eye or whatever part was the focus point. I've found that the 105mm racked, without the TC gets you the same reproduction ratio if you cheat back from your subject more than about 3" with the teleconverter attached so, what's the point of adding the 2xTC if you're not going to utilize it. Rack it out and leave it there for maximum magnification.

 

The huge issue with this technique, in particularly with Pygmy's (Which frankly, I didn't really shoot that many of this time) is acquiring your subject. It's just hard to find them with this high magnification.

 

So, this trip, I used the focus knob, cheating back until I spotted the critter then slowly move in, turning the focus knob at the same time until I'd bottom out. This worked quite well. It also gave me some flexibility for shooting a bit larger subjects that would over fill the frame at the extreme focus end. So, I've found it's Ok to cheat back, as long as there is method behind it.

 

Many people have asked me why not go with the 60mm and 2xTC to reduce the water column? My answer has been DOF is so thin, that if you're not careful, you'd be pushing your housing into the Seafan (Or what ever critter you're shooting) with such a short subject to port distance.

 

Towards the end of my week, and this is after doing perhaps 100 dives with the 105mm/2xtc over the last year, I decided to shoot the 2xtc on the 60mm. Having honed skills on the longer distance, and knowing quite a bit more on what it takes to acquire the subject, this to me is a next logical step. Although it was just one dive, I'm pretty excited about seeing results from the 60mm now as the water cloumn is reduced by several inches.

 

Also, it was mentioned to me a while back by someone here that they didn't much care for black backgrounds. Pretty much took the comment to heart as it was a goal of mine to find attractive negative space first, then hope like hell something would swim through it. I'll post a few shots for examples of the latest foray. The rest should be up on my website in a few more days.

 

First up, my favorite of the trip (fullframe):

 

 

My caption for this one: "A Fixlight is how much??"

Couldn't help a little black here.

 

 

And this odd ball shot of an Anemonefish, maybe a 1/2" big, swimming in the coral. Had I not left the power cord for my Laptop at home , and could have seen this shot large, I'd have definitely spent more dive time on working this.

Didn't want to detract by adding my copyright. The patterns are sooo cool. (cropped)

 

 

Rand

[bmyates 3]

GREAT stuff, Rand! I can't really say I like any one of those three better than the others! Just outstanding work!

 

And thanks for the detailed TC explanation. I haven't attempted to use my Kenko 2X TC underwater, but I think I'll take it along and give it a try (with either my 100mm or 150mm lens)! After seeing your shots, I can hardly wait to experiment myself!

[Scuba_SI 39]

Great Photos Rand,

 

Love the anemonefish one... Ive tried this technique a few times, with a tamron 2x converter, and never get sharp results.... Please could you let us know more about the settings used?

 

Cheers,

 

Simon

[james 0]

Hi Rand,

 

Thanks for sharing your results. I did one dive with the 105 +2xTC and threw my hands up in frustration. I think I held my breath that whole dive and came up w/ a ripping headache :-)

 

I'm encouraged to try this again w/ teh Canon 100 +2xTC

 

Cheers

James

[kdietz 0]

Thanks for the tips Rand....I used the 60 + 2X in Lembeh last month and didn't like the results from a couple of dives, so I punted and just kept the 60 on for the rest of the trip....I should have tried more dives with a 2X....

 

You may not get many keepers with the 2X, but when you nail one...it's a keeper

 

Well Done

 

Karl

[LChan 0]

Great Pixs Rand.

 

Question for you guys.

what is the point of using a 60mm with a 2xTC compared with using a 105mm?

[MikeVeitch 0]

Great shots Rand!!

 

I am shocked onthe depth of field to be honest, both mouth and eyes in focus on the gobies!

 

Sweet!

[randapex 0]

Should have mentioned that under any circumstances, it's not easy (well for me) to shoot this set-up. There's a lot of OOF crap too so, don't feel like you should nail a bunch of shots.

It's like anything really, practice and lots of it.

 

 

LChan, the 105mm gives you more working distance so, you don't scare your subject as easily but you sacrifice some clarity as the water column increases as you move back.

 

ScubaSI: Although it subject to change, my starting point typically is 1/100 @ f22. Then adjust. The Gobi with it's mouth open was f18.

 

Mike, one thing I've found as necessary to the point of being crucial, is focal plane. Learning to tilt the port so that the bits I want in focus are equi-distance from the lens is very important. Should have mentioned that. Thanks,

 

Rand