Shooting larger FL (60mm) behind dome port

[Alan Humphreys 0]

Hi,

 

I am purchasing a Sea & Sea housing for a forthcoming trip (RDX-500) and am very restricted for luggage space so I can only take one port. The Tokina 10-17mm will be my main lens, so I will be getting a dome port for this (either the 7 or 9" diameter).

 

However, I would also like to use my Canon 60mm (macro) lens in this setup, not for close-up macro, but for medium-sized fish portraiture. I'm getting very mixed messages on this. Some people say it will be fine (although I will lose the magnification effect of the flat port) and some people say that all the images will be soft and one should never shoot a larger FL lens behind a flat port.

 

Has anyone got any input on this? If so, would there be any difference between the 7 and 9" ports, as the 9" port will have a larger radius of curvature (and thus be slightly flatter in the field of 60mm view).

 

Thanks

 

Sashka

[gravity 0]

Ryan from Reef Photo mentioned to me recently that I could use my 60mm (nikon) behind my 8" dome port without an extension. He said he used that setup in British Columbia to shoot wolf eels.

 

I have tried it, but only one dive so far and no problems. If you try to get too close to 1:1 with it, you run the danger of bumping/scratching your port, but works well for some larger creatures, eg mimic octopus or fish portraits. I have only done it once, so I can't give a lot of advice about it, but I didn't experience any softness.

[stever 0]

you will need to be very careful as the macro will allow focusing very close to the dome

 

subjectively, i think it's harder to get near small fish with a dome than a macro port, but that's really another issue

[Alex_Mustard 0]

Depends what you want to use it for.

 

A 60mm will work fine behind your standard dome. And for the subjects you want to shoot - medium sized fish it is fine. The dome only becomes a problem when you want to manoeuvre the rig closer for certain shots, or want to have the strobes tighter to illuminate macro scenes. Given your restrictions on luggage, I guess it is OK to compromise your shooting possibilities.

 

Where are you going with such strict allowances? It is always useful to know where to avoid.

 

Alex

[Rocha 0]

I have used a Nikon 60mm macro behind a dome port for a long time in my film camera for different ($$) reasons. It works fine, and I couldn't find noticeable difference in image quality. Limitations are, as already said, that you will lose magnification and it will be harder to maneuver the camera around and position strobes.

 

Having said that, I don't see how adding a single flat port for a 60 macro lens would change your luggage volume (or weight) in any noticeable way. When I have space restrictions I travel with my 60 inside it's port (padded of course) and that only changes my luggage volume by a few millimeters, hard to imagine what difference this would make.

[sgietler 1]

I've used my 60mm lens behind my compact dome port, and I did not experience any softness. I think it will work great for medium-sized fish.

.

 

Scott

[Alan Humphreys 0]

Thanks for your input - it's good to get confirmation that this setup will work ok as at least one person told me this would be completely unworkable. I'm starting to realize that the world of underwater photography is not an exact science...

 

I'm traveling to the Tuamotu Islands in French Polynesia (Rangiroa and Fakarava) - Air Tahiti only allows a 17x13x7" carry on. The problem is that I'm also into bird photography, so want to take a 500/f4 lens plus other equipment (FF second body, 16-35, 70-200) so I'm already going to pushing their limit - I hate to check bodies or camera equipment. At least I don't need a housing port for the 500mm!

 

Sashka