OM-D with +5 or +10 diopter for 12-50mm Olympus?

[robert_t 0]

Hi everyone!

 

I got the following plan for taking the O-MD underwater:

 

Nauticam housing

4" dome port for 9-18mm and 12-50mm

 

With the austrian custom zoom gear I will be able to operate the 12-50mm behind the 4" nauticam semi dome.

That should have the advantage of the increased field of view on the wide end compated to operating it behind the standard 12-50 Nauticam port.

 

Since I will not be able to get to macro mode with that option, I want to add the Nauticam flip diopter holder to the port to add either a Subsee +5 or + 10 diopter.

 

Since I have no experience with diopters yet, I am however not sure which one to choose.

 

I also plan to get the Olympus 60mm macro in the near future. I have read in some other forum, that one will also fit behind the Nauticam 4" dome port as it's nearly the same length as the 12-50mm

That would then give me a very compact setup with only one port which would be ideal when I want/have to travel light.

 

So the big question now is which diopter to choose for this setup. The Subsee +5 or +10

 

 

I may in the future add the Nauticam port for the 60mm macro to have a dedicated macro port which would give some more magnification compared to the dome port. Alex Mustard also confirmed that the 12-50 can be operated behind this port without any restricions.

So here again I could add the flip diopter holder to get macro functionality on the 12-50 when operating it behind this dome.

 

Like I said I have no experience with diopters, so I have no clue if it would be better to choose the +5 diopter for this setup or go with the +10 diopter.

With the 60mm macro I will be able to get to 1:1 anyway, so I'm not sure if the +10 diopter may not be a bit of an overkill here and if it would be better to only have a +5 diopter.

For the 12-50mm I have no idea how much the difference between the +5 and +10 will be. Since I'm planning to get the 60mm for serious macro work anyway, I'm currently leaning more towards the +5 diopter because it will be enough to get good macro with the 12-50 but must not be 1:1 since I will have the 60mm for that anyway when needed.

 

Any input will be very much appreciated.

 

Many thank's,

 

Robert

[MikeO 5]

Will the dome work with the diopters? I would have thought you'd need a flat port . . .

[Karl 7]

Will the dome work with the diopters? I would have thought you'd need a flat port . . .

 

AFAIK - yes they will only work with flat port. I wouldn't even know how to fit a diopter to a dome port - if it is at all possible??

 

Why not get the Nauticam port for the 60mm as this should work very well with the gearing you have bought and you can screw the M67 wet lenses directly onto the front of the port.

 

Karl

[robert_t 0]

Will the dome work with the diopters? I would have thought you'd need a flat port . . .

 

Yes, there is a new Nauticam diopter holder for the dome port.

It's this one here at reefphoto for example

 

It is designed specifically for the Nauticam 4" wide angle port.

[robert_t 0]

Does nobody here have any experience with using SubSee diopters with normal (non macro) lenses??

[Alex_Mustard 0]

With a flat port I found the dioptre worked with the 12-50 through almost all the range (from 15-50mm). Wider than 15mm it cut off.

 

http://wetpixel.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=48650&st=40

 

Alex

[robert_t 0]

With a flat port I found the dioptre worked with the 12-50 through almost all the range (from 15-50mm). Wider than 15mm it cut off.

 

http://wetpixel.com/...pic=48650&st=40

 

Alex

 

Thank's for the information and that's good news.

With the wider view of the dome port I expect that I will have to zoom in a bit more, but should probably work at least from 25-50mm, which is good enough.

 

So for that purpose do you think the +5 diopter will be enough or is it better if I go directly for the +10 diopter?

I'm currently leaning more towards the +5 diopter since it will be smaller and lighter than the +10

With the 60mm macro lens I'm planning to get anyway, I think it should be good enough as I can go a bit more over 1:1 which is probably all I will need anyway.

 

 

But I may be wrong so I thought I'll better ask first

[troporobo 244]

I would be very interested in an update to this topic. I am interested particularly in maximum magnification and working distance. Does anyone know where I can find sample photos taken with and without the +10 diopter with the lens at 43mm macro or 50mm normal modes?

[troporobo 244]

OK, so I found a local dealer willing to let me test with my setup (Olympus m.Zuiko 12-50 lens in Nauticam flat port). I tried the SubSee +10 in the Nauticam flip adapter. My objective was maximum magnification (we consistently find pygmy seahorses on our local dives) so I did not test permutations at constant distance. As luck would have it I forgot to check my camera battery and it started flashing red on the first test shot so I had to rush, hand-holding a heavy housing over a poorly lit sales counter, hence these images are not very good, but they show the most important parameter which is maximum image size.

 

First, the lens at 43mm macro mode, no diopter. Closest focus is about 50mm from the front of the port. Horizontal image size is about 35mm:

 

 

Then, same 43mm macro mode with the Subsee +10. Closest focus is actually touching the lens, resting the front of the Subsee on the edge of the ruler. Horizontal image size is about 28.5mm:

 

 

Finally, for those without the Nauticam gear for this lens, I tried The Subsee +10 at 50mm (normal not macro mode). Closest focus was about 50mm from the port and horizontal image size is about 32mm

 

 

 

I conclude that this combination doesn't do what I was hoping, as the relatively small increases in magnification (about 25%) is offset by the loss of working distance, which would make approaching and lighting anything animate just about impossible.

 

Also for those hoping to save on the cost of the expensive Nauticam zoom port and gear for the 12-50 lens, it seems you can save $400 by buying the macro port and Austrian zoom gear, but end up at nearly the same image size as the 43mm macro mode, and need to spend about an extra $400 or so for the Subsee and flip adapter.

 

So for now I am going to stay happy with the versatility of the zoom lens, and buy the 60mm macro. Once I have that lens, then maybe the Subsee will produce the results I am after.