GH4 - Nauticam Macro Lens/Port Thoughts

[thetrickster 328]

I've spoken with XIT404 to see what they say -getting back to me later...

 

I did look at their quad adaptor - but don't know if you can remove the current rear ball mount? If you can, this is the solution! - I think :-)

 

Looking at it, having the adaptor on its side (so facing backwards) this would be the ideal config - Backscatter Linky

Edited December 22, 2014 by thetrickster

[thetrickster 328]

What about this configuration:

 

Trying to keep it as clean and clutter free as possible!

 

 

[Nick Hope 151]

That's actually not so bad is it. Nice mock-up! In that configuration the triple clamp could just be kept really tight unless you need to move the Shogun, although if I was running that setup I'd probably have the short ball arm sticking out backwards or upwards a lot of the time. I like to get the camera really low to the seabed a lot to get a low point of view and lots of distant background. A possible downside is more allowance for movement and vibrations because of the extra linkages. Important when shooting super macro like I want to do. A specifically-designed tray would be better, but nevertheless this is a reasonable workaround.

 

I was looking at the Xit 404 camera tray. There are actually 2 holes off to each side on it, presumably to allow you to use 4 legs. That would free up the one in the middle at the back for just the Shogun. However those holes are in a vertical orientation to the balls would be pointing straight down under the tray, preventing the low positioning I was just talking about.

 

I expect I'm going to end up designing my own tray and getting it built, unless someone comes up with just the right thing. There's a lot of personal preference involved.

[thetrickster 328]

Where I am, getting custom made stuff is hard (then there is the anodising finish etc) - so making the best of off the shelf stuff is my only option!

 

I think I'm going to bite the bullet and go for it! Barring any better suggestions!

[thetrickster 328]

There is a great review of the Shogun from a 'Stefan Czech' -

 

http://vimeo.com/stefanfilm/atomos-shogun#t=1423s (GH4 part starts at 23:43mins)

 

And a good example of the benefits of 4:2:2.

Edited December 24, 2014 by thetrickster

[kc_moses 142]

Have you experiment with this technique?

 

http://www.eoshd.com/2014/06/cure-banding-dslr-footage-gh4-4k-holds-key/

 

Also, there was a rumor that GH4 may get internal RAW recording through firmware update. But that was a while back ago.

[thetrickster 328]

I really don't see the GH4 getting internal RAW video (I mean I would love it thou!) when its bigger brother the X1000E doesn't do it either, and that has twice the processing power.

Great link. Will have a play with that!

Just ordered the whole tripod set from Jack at OpticalOceanSales, who has been excellent with email help, it was near on 800€* for a tripod - I hope its worth it!!

 

*Delivery was 150€ !!

Edited December 24, 2014 by thetrickster

[scubavid1 0]

I just came back from Raja Ampat where I used my GH4 for the first time. I have an Olympus 9 - 18 zoom which was fine for wide angle. For macro I had the Olympus 60mm macro lens and I too had tremendous problems getting it to focus. I though I was going crazy until I read your thread here. I too found the minimum focus length to be too far away. I was told that the lens would focus as close as 8 inches from the subject underwater. That was not my experience. I had to be about 2 feet away in order to get any sharp focus. To me this 60mm lens is a close up lens but not what I would consider macro. I was also told that I should get a diopter either +7 or +10 to shoot small stuff. Does anyone know how close I could get to the subject with a +7 diopter?

 

 

[Interceptor121 773]

I just came back from Raja Ampat where I used my GH4 for the first time. I have an Olympus 9 - 18 zoom which was fine for wide angle. For macro I had the Olympus 60mm macro lens and I too had tremendous problems getting it to focus. I though I was going crazy until I read your thread here. I too found the minimum focus length to be too far away. I was told that the lens would focus as close as 8 inches from the subject underwater. That was not my experience. I had to be about 2 feet away in order to get any sharp focus. To me this 60mm lens is a close up lens but not what I would consider macro. I was also told that I should get a diopter either +7 or +10 to shoot small stuff. Does anyone know how close I could get to the subject with a +7 diopter?

 

 

Between 9 and 16.5 cm approximately with an inon ucl-165

However at those distances the magnifications is so high that depth of field is really small and focus gets difficult (you have probably experienced that already)

The 60mm makes a fine lens for stills but for video I would think you need to use it on a tripod and in raja except few places there is nowhere to position a tripod

[escape 84]

I just came back from Raja Ampat where I used my GH4 for the first time. I have an Olympus 9 - 18 zoom which was fine for wide angle. For macro I had the Olympus 60mm macro lens and I too had tremendous problems getting it to focus. I though I was going crazy until I read your thread here. I too found the minimum focus length to be too far away. I was told that the lens would focus as close as 8 inches from the subject underwater. That was not my experience. I had to be about 2 feet away in order to get any sharp focus. To me this 60mm lens is a close up lens but not what I would consider macro. I was also told that I should get a diopter either +7 or +10 to shoot small stuff. Does anyone know how close I could get to the subject with a +7 diopter?

 

 

 

Check your focus range switch. This lens focus very close.

 

[thetrickster 328]

It's weird this lens.

 

Everything i read about it. Says it's brilliant. Not quite on par the 50mm from the E-1 era, but still an amazing lens.

 

Yet I've heard elsewhere about it focusing poorly underwater and I was actually recommended to swap it out for the Panasonic 45mm. Which is weird as topside it's pretty quick....

 

I just leave it on 0.19-0.4. Otherwise it hunts for focus really badly. Going in/out, in/out.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[peterbkk 110]

I just came back from Raja Ampat where I used my GH4 for the first time. I have an Olympus 9 - 18 zoom which was fine for wide angle. For macro I had the Olympus 60mm macro lens and I too had tremendous problems getting it to focus. I though I was going crazy until I read your thread here. I too found the minimum focus length to be too far away. I was told that the lens would focus as close as 8 inches from the subject underwater. That was not my experience. I had to be about 2 feet away in order to get any sharp focus. To me this 60mm lens is a close up lens but not what I would consider macro. I was also told that I should get a diopter either +7 or +10 to shoot small stuff. Does anyone know how close I could get to the subject with a +7 diopter?

 

 

In the case of the Olympus 60mm, I decided that it was just not the right choice of lens for what I was doing. The plane of sharp focus is quite narrow and quite a long way from the front of the flat port. For good results, it must be very stable and focused exactly right. That might be doable for still photography when it only needs to be still for the 1/10,000 of a second during the strobe flash. But for a 10 second video clip, keeping it still enough and the subject in focus is very difficult, even with a stable tripod. If there is any subject-camera distance movement, it'll move out of focus.

 

It’s a great lens but not for video macro...

For macro, I went a different way. I bought the Panasonic 14-45mm PZ lens and then added a +5 Subsee wet lens on a flip holder. Works very well for video macro. I usually set the zoom to about 35mm then focus as close as possible. The +5 works for “nudibranch-sized” critters. I have an Inon +10 for the more tiny stuff but rarely use it. With the zoom set to 14mm and the wet lens flipped out, it can shoot fish and medium sized critters.

Regards

Peter

Edited December 28, 2014 by peterbkk

[escape 84]

 

In the case of the Olympus 60mm, I decided that it was just not the right choice of lens for what I was doing. The plane of sharp focus is quite narrow and quite a long way from the front of the flat port. For good results, it must be very stable and focused exactly right. That might be doable for still photography when it only needs to be still for the 1/10,000 of a second during the strobe flash. But for a 10 second video clip, keeping it still enough and the subject in focus is very difficult, even with a stable tripod. If there is any subject-camera distance movement, it'll move out of focus.

 

It’s a great lens but not for video macro...

For macro, I went a different way. I bought the Panasonic 14-45mm PZ lens and then added a +5 Subsee wet lens on a flip holder. Works very well for video macro. I usually set the zoom to about 35mm then focus as close as possible. The +5 works for “nudibranch-sized” critters. I have an Inon +10 for the more tiny stuff but rarely use it. With the zoom set to 14mm and the wet lens flipped out, it can shoot fish and medium sized critters.

Regards

Peter

 

Hi Peter,

Do you meant Panasonic PZ 14-42mm?

I might try that lens.

Cheers,

[peterbkk 110]

 

Hi Peter,

Do you meant Panasonic PZ 14-42mm?

I might try that lens.

Cheers,

 

Hi EunJae,

 

Yes, you are right. I did mean the PZ 14-42mm. (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?N=10818962&InitialSearch=yes&sts=pi)

 

It works fine as a macro lens with video lights providing enough light to shoot in the middle of its f-stop range.

 

And, if a larger critter comes along, you do have some options for catching some footage - although it is definitely not a substitute for a good WA lens and a dome port.

 

The only downside is that the PZ does not have manual focus underwater. So, you have to do an AFL and nudge the housing to fine tune the focus. (hopefully, with the Shogun and its big screen / focus tools, small focus adjustments are going to become much easier for people like me with ageing eyes)

 

 

Regards

Peter

 

PS. Love your "Christmas eve in East Sea of Korea" video. I was driving down the east coast of Korea around Gyeongju last year and saw some people going out in a dive boat. If I had have known that the diving was that good, I'd have brought my dive gear and camera. The visibility looks great and the water is such a rich, deep blue.

Edited December 28, 2014 by peterbkk

[kc_moses 142]

I can confirm what Peter said. I recently tried out the 14-42mm pz lens, with a +5 and +7 diopter. I even tried stacking the +5 on top of the +7, it's very usable, and I will have a video up soon so you guys can check it out. Focus distance could be as close as 8 inch. The 14-42mm lens is versatile enough that it could function just like a point and shoot, for macro and wide angle. As for super macro, that probably would be another story.

[Nick Hope 151]

There was a firmware update to version 1.1 for the Olympus 60mm macro in September. "MF shooting operations have been improved." Might be worth trying for those having trouble.

[escape 84]

There was a firmware update to version 1.1 for the Olympus 60mm macro in September. "MF shooting operations have been improved." Might be worth trying for those having trouble.

 

You can find firmware here (Oly 60mm update for Panasonic camera body).

http://www.olympus.co.jp/en/support/imsg/digicamera/download/software/pana/m_ed6028macro.cfm

Edited December 28, 2014 by escape

[ScubaBob 37]

The 60mm macro lens is an absolutely fantastic and sharp lens - but I can't see using this lens much hand-held - especially at close focus (which I usually do between 1-4" for small subjects). In 4k, the lens is equivalent to ~83mm on a APS-C sensor, 138mm on FF - hardly a fish portrait lens. That being said, I can't really see using any macro setup much without a tripod or some sort of stabilization to get decent video. Neither OIS nor IB stablization is likely to eliminate that need. I'm just starting to use this lens more, and although it can be challenging, especially in surgy conditions, I'm loving the video I'm getting from it!

Edited December 30, 2014 by ScubaBob

[peterbkk 110]

The 60mm macro lens is an absolutely fantastic and sharp lens - but I can't see using this lens much hand-held - especially at close focus (which I usually do between 1-4" for small subjects). In 4k, the lens is equivalent to ~83mm on a APS-C sensor, 138mm on FF - hardly a fish portrait lens. That being said, I can't really see using any macro setup much without a tripod or some sort of stabilization to get decent video. Neither OIS nor IB stablization is likely to eliminate that need. I'm just starting to use this lens more, and although it can be challenging, especially in surgy conditions, I'm loving the video I'm getting from it!

Hmmm, maybe I should give it another try....

[scubavid1 0]

At which airport did SQ check the weight of your carry-on bag? Did they check everybody's bag weight?

 

I live in Singapore and Thailand and travel on SQ, TG, MI, GA, MH, KR, VN, etc. all the time and have never had my carry-on bag weighed. My underwater camera fits in a maximum-size backpack and weighs 15kg and it has never been weighed.

 

In fact, apart from the budget airlines, I've never even had a problem with overweight checked luggage. Just chat friendly with the staff, tell them what you do and they are usually very cooperative.

 

Maybe you need to hone your chatting technique...

 

Regards

Peter

Peter I just returned from Raja Ampat. Amazingly enough Singapore Air weighed my ThinkTank Camera Backpack at JFK before the start of my trip. They made me take my Nauticam Housing out of my backpack and put in my luggage. Luckily nothing got broken and all my luggage arrived ok.

[kc_moses 142]

Seems like it's common for Singapore Airline to weight carry on bags at the gate for outbound flight from US. Did they give you the choice of gate check your Thinktank backpack?

[peterbkk 110]

Peter I just returned from Raja Ampat. Amazingly enough Singapore Air weighed my ThinkTank Camera Backpack at JFK before the start of my trip. They made me take my Nauticam Housing out of my backpack and put in my luggage. Luckily nothing got broken and all my luggage arrived ok.

 

Maybe it's a JFK airport policy. The staff who insisted were probably not even SQ people, just their ground handling agent.

[mintakax 0]

I see its been about a month since anyone has posted to this thread. So ..... is the Oly 60mm still problematic for underwater video ? There was a FW update mentioned a few posts back, but no further inputs. With the GH4 4K crop factor, I can't imagine using a 60 in anything but absolutely still conditions with a firmly planted tripod.

Assuming that the 60mm is still difficult for video, is the 14-42 PZ + diopters the best option for GH4/Nauticam housing macro/micro ? I may be able to sell my Oly 60mm and 65 Port and replace it with a proper setup for not too much more.

Edited February 9, 2015 by mintakax

[Nick Hope 151]

I have shot quite a lot with the Oly 60mm underwater and I like it. The quality of the image is good. The only problem I have with it is the focus gearing. It takes 30 full turns of the knob on the Nauticam housing to move through the whole focus range. In reality that's about 60 half-turn operations of the focus knob. Expect your subject to get very bored waiting for you to manual focus or to swim away. I wish the focus gearing was MUCH more coarse, but I can see that would be an engineering challenge to design. So I find myself having to use autofocus a lot with it, if only to get in the right focus range before fine tuning in manual mode.

 

It's a very tight lens so if you want wider establishing shots of anything bigger than a small nudi then you're going to be a long way away. To fit in a full-body shot of a ghost pipefish I was something like a metre away.

 

I will only use this lens in the future for a change/gamble or when I have a specific small macro subject I'm diving for (e.g. pygmy seahorse). For general "small stuff" dives I'm using the Olympus 12-50 in the special Nauticam port that allows switching to the 43mm macro mode. I like that setup, but the Oly 60mm has the edge for very small subjects. I guess the 14-42 PZ + diopters would give a similar sort of range. On the plus side it has OIS which the Oly 12-50 hasn't. I guess it's cheaper too. On the down side, flipping a big wet diopter is not as neat as switching to macro mode with the Oly 12-50.

Edited February 9, 2015 by Nick Hope

[thetrickster 328]

I've moved from the 60mm to the 14-42PZ (plus a flip thingy and a INON UCL-100) - its changed my 'small' stuff diving for good. I have to thank Peterkk for that.

 

The 60mm is just too 'macro' I know that sounds stupid, but you really have to know you will only be shooting macro if taking this lens, no diver portraits, no shots of octopus - its made for Nudi's and anything smaller - and I've never tried it with video locally, too much swell.

 

Now I have a more all round lens and yet can still get the small stuff. I'll still take the 60mm diving (so keeping all the ports and gears) - but only if I know I'm going to be going super macro.

 

I agree on the MF aspect too - its way too slow...