Barmaglot 250 Posted June 13, 2019 Heading to the Philippines in October - ten days aboard the Philippine Siren going around Cebu, then another ten days split between Puerto Galera and Anilao. Bringing my Sony A6300 with 10-18mm and 90mm macro. As the Philippines in general and Anilao in particular is rich in macro and supermacro subjects, I'm considering augmenting my 90mm with a diopter, but not sure which one to choose. Mainly, I'm looking at Weefine WFL05 and Nauticam SMC-1, costing $359 and $480 respectively. There is also Weefine WFL03 at $199, but descriptions say that it is designed for compact cameras, so I'm afraid that it will vignette on APS-C, and I can't find any reviews to confirm or deny that. There is a single review of Kraken KRL-05S, which is the same thing as WFL05, but it's light on details. I could also try importing a Fantasea UCL-09F from US (locally, it's more expensive than getting an SMC-1 from China), as that one is confirmed to work with A6500 and 90mm. Has anyone here had personal experience with Weefine/Kraken lenses? Thanks. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Manta88 0 Posted November 3, 2019 (edited) Hi there my friend Barmaglot, it’s Alex here from Scubaboard! How was Anilao? Did you get your macro in the end? I dry tested the UCL-09 and found it was not much harder to focus (at least on land and with an LX10) than the lower power CMC-2. Unless you have a Nauticam housing, the AOI lens is also easier to find compatible flip adaptors for from both AOI and Saga at only $200. Edited November 3, 2019 by Manta88 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Barmaglot 250 Posted November 3, 2019 (edited) I ended up getting the Weefine WFL05S. Aliexpress was running a sale at the time and I got it for $305, with free shipping and no import taxes. I spent most of October in the Philippines, total 43 dives, although only three days (10 dives) out of that were in Anilao. I got to use the lens on several occasions, although not too many. As far as the lens performance goes, there was no vignetting that I could see. Working distance is quite short, about 2-3cm from the lens front element. Frame width is about 1cm. I used it with a magnetic adapter, and the lens has a protruding rear element that matches the adapter perfectly - the rear element sits completely flush with the adapter's threads that go into the port. If one were to use the lens without an adapter, it comes with a spacer that goes over the protruding element, allowing the lens to be screwed directly into the port without bumping into port glass. Autofocus tends to hunt for a while, but is manageable as long as the camera is held still. Some uncropped samples: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1P7h8a7szaeFI0PAiANZ-6w5dZe0NpQZK https://drive.google.com/open?id=1edgltAMZF1Jvj9nl9HNvlZfPNUbVlJns https://drive.google.com/open?id=1T4fNAKJaA_8ow9qFJmA60IVALPJ42ofd https://drive.google.com/open?id=1U7lmAS9QJ63W0tj2C7jXxxIUXfz_uNBv Edited November 3, 2019 by Barmaglot Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Manta88 0 Posted November 3, 2019 Thx Barm. I dry tested the CMC-2 again today and got a focus range of 6-9cm working distance. Nice shots. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
