dwood 0 Posted October 27, 2007 For years I've used an Olympus C-5050. Overall, it's been a great camera. However, there are certain aspects that are frustrating. Macro focusing is one. To get an in-focus shot of something small, like a nudibranch, often I have to shoot a bunch of pictures and hope one is spot on. If I add my Inon UCL-165 macro lens, it has an even harder time focusing. For that reason, I rarely use it. I'm wondering what people's experience with macro focusing is with the Canon G7 or G9, with or without a wet mount macro lens. If there were a big improvement over my C-5050, I'd replace it with a G9, but I'd love to hear what people have encountered with these cameras. Thanks Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dhaas 26 Posted October 27, 2007 daw, Read my reply on the other thread regarding the Canon G9. This macro add on lens thing always cracks me up, too All the Canon P&S cameras have good macro capability BUILT IN to their cameras and I believe UW shooters should explore them FIRST before they think about magnifying the lens MORE. One limitation of the BUILT IN macro setting (flower icon) choice is these little digicams allow closer focusing when set at the WIDE ANGLE zoom position. So you have to zoom in a bit to allow for strobe aiming room and determine how close you can get and still get an AF lock at various zoom positions. Mid-way zoomed on many Canon models you are back say 6" - 8 ". At full telephoto maybe 10" - 18". It's all spelled out in the individual camera manual specs page. The bet part is if you practice above water you will know what you shoujld be looking for as far as the GREEN box or boxes popping up indicating an AF lock has been achieved...... Good luck! David Haas Haas Photography Inc. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ce4jesus 1 Posted October 28, 2007 (edited) "All the Canon P&S cameras have good macro capability BUILT IN to their cameras and I believe UW shooters should explore them FIRST before they think about magnifying the lens MORE." While this is true, you can't argue with the excellent macro shots provided by the inon lenses when added to a P&S camera. Daw, Your camera has a tough time focusing because of the paper thin DOF that you end up with when adding macro lenses. You will still have a tough time focusing with addon lenses even with a new style camera. My suggestion would be to add a focus light. Edited October 28, 2007 by ce4jesus Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dhaas 26 Posted October 28, 2007 Gary (and DAW), My point exactly! Most people can't hold still enough in the water to aim the dang camera when shooting macro with the close focusing built in to the camera. So adding the fine sharp UCL 165 lenses, singly or stacked isn't going to help them get good macro shots. The only other advantage of adding an external macro lens is you don't have to hit the Macro button (flower icon) to get into a closer shooting range. But as I previously explained, you will still be limited how close you can get AF to lock on, depending on where you are in the zoom range from your subject. Plus forget about backing up to shoot that grouper olooking over your shoulder ONce yu put the close up lens on you are in the macro world unless you take it off, another fallacy promoted that don't happen so fast UW. My firmly based opinion teaching people with dozens of different P&S cameras is they have no clue how close they CAN get or SHOULD get when trying to take macro photos. Because they never play with their camera above water.... Only practice will help that! YMMV dhaas Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dwood 0 Posted October 28, 2007 My firmly based opinion teaching people with dozens of different P&S cameras is they have no clue how close they CAN get or SHOULD get when trying to take macro photos. Because they never play with their camera above water.... Only practice will help that! Thanks for the replies. I've had my Olympus C-5050 camera since 2003 and have shot thousands of pictures, above and below water. At least half of these are macro. I have a good idea of what distances are appropriate for macro shots. I always use a focusing light. I'm also aware of the very shallow depth of field issues. I'm not asking a general question about what I can do to make compact digital cameras perform better. I'm asking whether the newer camera, G9 specifically, will perform better in these situations. Thanks again. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Islandbound 1 Posted October 29, 2007 I have no trouble with the G7 in very close macro mode. Works well! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ajay 12 Posted October 29, 2007 ...Thanks for the replies. I've had my Olympus C-5050 camera since 2003 and have shot thousands of pictures, above and below water. ... I'm asking whether the newer camera, G9 specifically, will perform better in these situations. Thanks again. I recently switched to G7 after using an Oly C5050 for several years. In air, both C5050 and G7 work great for macro; this comparison does not transfer easily to UW, since my G7 housing (canon WP-DC11) has a longer nose, and therefore more gap from lens to subject unless I am zoomed in (which I don't do with macro). If you wish to see what I could get from either cam, check some images from my trip-report site my trip-report site. Good macro examples for C5050 are in the Layang/Layang or Sangalaki trip reports; the last three trips on the page are with G7. Two things I like about G7: 1. If close focus fails, I can step out a bit, and crop image (more pixels in image). 2. For relatively mobile small objects, I can stay away, use 6x zoom, and get a decent image, like this Cowfish Best, Ajay. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
aussie 0 Posted October 30, 2007 So what bennefits does an added macro lens have? I'm after one more for the fact that it would allow me to have more 'zoom' (I'm considering the Inon ULC165 - or is this too much?), allowing me to get closer photos without having to use the camera's optical zoom. Haven't really had any problems focussing my G7. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
vetdiver 8 Posted October 31, 2007 I use my G7 to take macro images plenty - and I have not had a problem getting very close to small things with the macro mode setup. I do tend to take lots of shots to ensure the autofocus is hitting exactly where I want it to hit, but I imagine I'd be doing this regardless. I don't find it difficult to get sharp shots with autofocus. Here is a pic I took this August (macro mode and autofocus) - not zoomed in post-production, only cropped and white-balanced: No laughing, you guys, this is the first pic I've put up here. I recently purchased a UCL165, and while I got some great shots with it, I also found it more difficult to autofocus, and there seemed to be little added benefit. I decided I can take more shots to get what I want without it. Funnily enough, I currently am lending it to a friend who uses an Oly 5050. It really improves her camera's ability to focus closer to a subject. Hope this helps you out. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
