Nauticam Macro to Wideangle Lens 1 (MWL-1) for Full Frame

[simon bomholt 0]

Has anybody tested it with a non fullframe DSLR??

Want to run it on a 7d mark ii, if it works

[Phil Rudin 485]

Simon, On full frame the Nikon 60 macro has an AOV of 40 degrees, on M43 Olympus and Panasonic 30 macros have an AOV of 40 degrees with the 2X crop factor and all three go to life size (1:1). All three also have a 150 degree AOV using the MWL-1.

 

Zeiss 50 macro on APS-C has an AOV of 31 degrees with the 1.5X crop factor and focuses to 1:1. On Sony and Fujifilm the AOV is 115 degrees with the MWL-1

 

Canon does not currently offer a AF 60 macro for full frame. The Canon 60 macro for APS-C with the 1.6X crop factor has an over 24 degree AOV which appears to be too wide for the MWL-1 lens.

 

SMC-1 & 2 were designed more for full frame and APS-C while CMC-1 & 2 are more suited to M43 and compacts. The problem with the 30 macro on M43 V. the 60 macro on full frame is the difference in minimum focus distance. The 60 macro gives you around 18+cm while O&P 30 macros give around 10cm making the distance to subject very shallow even without the addition of a C/U lens.

 

The upside to the MWL-1 which is being overlooked by some is the superb image quality and corner to corner sharpness. In the case of M43 the closest lens with this image quality would be the Olympus 7-14mm F/2.8 zoom combined with a port of at least 180mm (200mm is better) and proper extension. I know many M43 shooters that have just that configuration and the cost is around 2870.00 while the cost of the MWL-1 with 30 macro and port is around $2450.00 with the more expensive Panasonic 30mm F/2.8 macro.

[simon bomholt 0]

I use the smc on my 60mm macro and it works ok, so dont you think this one would work as well??

[Phil Rudin 485]

What I have referenced above are the Nauticam recommended lenses (so far) and the reason I think your Canon 60mm macro on the APS-C camera may have been excluded. I suspect the lens may be too wide for excellent corner to corner sharpness with MWL-1. Does not appear that any Canon APS-C DSLR's work with WWL-1 either.

[ComeFromAway 7]

So it seems like the Nikon 40mm micro (macro) would work OK on an APS-C body like a D7500 or D500? Based on the ratios you provided above it would put a roughly 38-39 degree AOV of the 40mm micro at about a 142-145 FOV with the MWL-1. Can the 40mm micro also be used with the SMC adapters?

 

Just out of curiosity, what would happen if you put a Nikon 60mm macro on an APS-C body behind the MWL-1? (I know that's basically a 90mm FF equivalent and not 60, but just curious!)

[hyp 115]

I guess the predominant questions are:

1. Is very close focus capability required to use this lens?

 

No idea on this one, but the fact that the port chart offers the possibility of using it with a variety of compacts set to 60-65mm suggests it is not.

 

 

2. Is this lens able to take longer focal lengths to achieve a narrower field of view or is it designed to only work with one focal length?

 

Here the port chart suggests using the Zeiss 50mm Macro for Sony and Fuji APS-C (75mm Equivalent), so apparently a bit of flexibility exists. However it also states that the Panasonic Leica 45mm (90mm Equivalent) is not compatible, so maybe there is a limit to how far you can stray from the 60mm.

 

For compacts (and other zoom lenses) being close to the port glass is probably also important, which might explain why most of them have a suggested zoom setting of 65mm instead of 60mm.

[Nicool 30]

Just out of curiosity, what would happen if you put a Nikon 60mm macro on an APS-C body behind the MWL-1? (I know that's basically a 90mm FF equivalent and not 60, but just curious!)

That’s exactly what i am wondering. As many APS-C Nikon shooter, i own the AF-S micro 60mm lens, and i would be happy with a narrower angle, say 100-110 degrees maybe, as long as the image quality remains very good.

 

Also, i’d like to know what is the recommended aperture to achieve peak performance on APS-C (with distorsion on smaller sensors, the f/16 recommendation probably doesn’t apply)

 

 

Envoyé de mon iPhone en utilisant Tapatalk

[Draq 135]

It will probably need a buoyancy collar thing like the wwl-1 does and a hard cap.

[Phil Rudin 485]

I had an opportunity to use the MWL-1 with the new Nauticam NA-Z7 housing and Nikon Z7 camera two weeks ago. The system was outfitted with the Nikon 60mm macro for DSLR's and the Nauticam SMC-2. The lens ships with a neoprene dome cover and my test unit had the Nauticam dual flip adapter. My test unit did not have a buoyancy collar and I used float arms which seemed to offset any imbalance. The Nauticam housing for this camera is excellent. The Nikon Z7 has the same growing pains found with the first generations of the Sony A7 cameras and other mirrorless offerings. Build quality of this camera is superb the best of any mirrorless I have used so far, excellent weather resistance. I only had the system in the water for about two hours so hardly enough time for a full review. I did like the idea of being able to cover from 150 degrees AOV down to 4X in macro. Attached are MWL-1, 60 macro and 60 macro with SMC-2 photos.

If you would like more information go to UWPMAG.com and download the latest free issue for my thoughts on this system.

Edited November 2, 2018 by Phil Rudin

[Marsh 9]

For those of you who are shooting Sony APS-C, I have a Nauticam #36203 macro port that uses the Canon 60 macro (1:1) and Metabones Mark II adapter which should work perfect with this new MWL-1 WA macro wet adapter, since it's designed for 60mm macro lens. The angle of coverage might be reduced however, since it's an APS-C 60mm macro. Update: In reading some of the above posts, it may not be compatible since the C60 has a 1.5 crop factor. I would contact Nauticam to check on compatibility if you're planning on using the C60 cropped macro with the MWL-1.

 

If I hadn't already moved to a Sony 90 macro and other wide angle options, I'd keep it for the MWL-1, but I had to rob a bank to get the other gear and can't afford to hang on to it. LOL. Plus, the port has the only manual focus control for APS-C macro control in this range. It's in mint condition and you can buy the entire system for $750, which is basically the cost of the port new from Nauticam.

 

It's listed on Scubaboard classified too.

Edited December 29, 2018 by Marsh

[Matt Imm 0]

Has anyone tried using the MWL-1 on a housing other than Nauticam? It looks like it should easily fit onto anything with an M67 thread, but Im wondering if the slightly different distance to the lens may affect image quality? I would imagine given its ability to work across platforms several different lenses this wouldnt be an issue, but Im curious if anyone tried it?

[Divebiddie 2]

I have had this lens for 2 two week dive trips.  Used with Nauticam housing on a Nikon Z7.  I really like the flexibility.  Unfortunately on my last trip, one at a time the flips seized up.  Just got back, and will try to find the cause and  cure.

[Dutch_Diver 0]

On 12/20/2019 at 12:29 PM, Divebiddie said:

I have had this lens for 2 two week dive trips.  Used with Nauticam housing on a Nikon Z7.  I really like the flexibility.  Unfortunately on my last trip, one at a time the flips seized up.  Just got back, and will try to find the cause and  cure.

It's been quite a while, but did you manage to find a cause & solution?

As Matt mentioned: has anybody yet tried the MWL on other brand housings? Ikelite possibly? The cost difference between Nauticam & Ikelite is big enough to pay for the MWL with room to spare...

[Humu797 21]

Chris, Andrea - reviving this old thread. It seems the MWL-1 died on the vine. I didn’t see that the few early reviews wowed anyone. Any updates on this? 

[ChrisRoss 150]

I've only seen a handful of reviews on this lens, and then only on full frame.  One of the downsides seems to be the need to stop down to f16 at least on full frame.  I've not seen anything about what aperture is required on APS-C or m43 cameras.  The reviews mention the optical quality is very good at f16.  reviews are here:

https://www.scubapix.com/pages/mwl-1-and-nikon-z7-review.html

and: https://wetpixel.com/articles/review-nauticam-mwl-1-conversion-lens-by-jack-connick

the other issue with m43 is the 30mm macros are really only usable to about 1/2 life size and wet diopters are not an option,  I could see it being a useful lens but I'd really like to see a review on smaller formats.

 

[hyp 115]

There is a fairly indepth review on Bluewater Photo of the new Kraken/Weefine WFL-09s which seems to be a similar design. It has a shot of the same anemone at different apertures which is quite interesting. Generally it seems that you keep the reduced DoF from the macro lens, so stopping down is required for depth of field more than for corner sharpness (although both go hand in hand). This allows for an interesting look. I felt the Bokeh was quite busy though...

I've also received some test shots from Marco at Uwcamerastore.com that he shot with the Olympus 30mm macro. Sharpness across the frame was very good at f20 or so. At f8 I felt the depth of field was already quite shallow, so the MFT depth of field advantage seems to be smaller than I personally expected. Interestingly the Bokeh on the Olympus lens was much nicer than on the Nikon in the Bluewater review. The lens is also compatible with the Olympus 12-50mm zoom and (according to their compatibility chart) even with the 12-45mm PRO zoom. 

I think it could still be a perfect one lens solution for dives that you don't know what will happen and also for close focus macro, but I'm not convinved, yet. 

 

[Divebiddie 2]

I have been using the MWL with Nikon Z7 and a f 60mm lens.  I do need to stop down to at least f/16.  It's a beast to carry, but properly floated underwater, is easy enough.  Benefit is you can get right to the dome port for  CFWA shots.

 

Edited August 4, 2021 by Divebiddie