Nauticam Port x Lumix 12-35 mm

[Davide DB 484]

On Nauticam N85 chart, the correct port for the Panasonic Lumix 12-35 mm lens, is the 6" acrylic dome.

Is there a flat port that is compatible with this lens?

Thank you in advance

[ChrisRoss 150]

5 hours ago, Davide DB said:

On Nauticam N85 chart, the correct port for the Panasonic Lumix 12-35 mm lens, is the 6" acrylic dome.

Is there a flat port that is compatible with this lens?

Thank you in advance

Probably not at least not directly - the lens dia is 68mm and I just measured my 60mm macro port and the ID is 70mm - not much room to add a zoom gear.  I believe the bayonet lug on the 6"dome port is machined into the port metal instead of using the bolt on plastic bayonet ring so the ID is larger on the dome port.  My Zen 170mm dome is 76mm ID, so the lens will fit with a zoom gear.

You might be able to cobble something together with an N85-N120 adapter and a short N120 macro port, the 47mm N85 - N120 plus a macro port 12 would be close to the right length, but you would need to try it.  Are you wanting to use it in a flat port to use with a WWL?

[Davide DB 484]

9 hours ago, ChrisRoss said:

Are you wanting to use it in a flat port to use with a WWL?

Not really,

I actually bought a 14-42mm with a flat porthole and WWL-1B.  These days I'm doing some testing with the CMC-1 and the flip mount for macro.
I sold the 7-14mm and the 6" dome. From the tests I'm doing (I'm always talking about video) it seems to me that in the 12-35mm focal length range, the quality of this lens underwater is unmatched.

I've tried both the 14-42mm with the flat port along the entire focal length range and also with the WWL-1 zoomed in almost to its maximum (should be about 15mm). Yet the 12-35mm has really crazy detail resolution and even amazing color rendition.
Nothing scientific, mind you, but personal impression.

The only flaw is that even at 12 mm it is really too narrow for those wide-angle shots of great effect. But it must be said that at least for video, extreme wide-angle shots with improbable perspective are a bit 'out of fashion and for documentary use are very rare.

It's a misunderstanding that stems from one of the basic rules of underwater photography: as little distance as possible from the subject == less water == better quality. This is true, but people forget that video is made of moving images and the distortion caused by extreme wide angle lenses on video is not always pleasant, on the contrary! A documentary is mostly made up of medium and close up images.

I mean, since I still have the lens including the zoom ring, I'd still like to use it from time to time. That's why I was wondering if there was a quick alternative to the 6" dome. The 6" dome is really a pain to balance for video. You have to put at least 800g of weight on the tip and then fill everything with floaty arms to balance it out. (I've been using it for 10 years).

 

[ChrisRoss 150]

3 hours ago, Davide DB said:

Not really,

I actually bought a 14-42mm with a flat porthole and WWL-1B.  These days I'm doing some testing with the CMC-1 and the flip mount for macro.
I sold the 7-14mm and the 6" dome. From the tests I'm doing (I'm always talking about video) it seems to me that in the 12-35mm focal length range, the quality of this lens underwater is unmatched.

I've tried both the 14-42mm with the flat port along the entire focal length range and also with the WWL-1 zoomed in almost to its maximum (should be about 15mm). Yet the 12-35mm has really crazy detail resolution and even amazing color rendition.
Nothing scientific, mind you, but personal impression.

The only flaw is that even at 12 mm it is really too narrow for those wide-angle shots of great effect. But it must be said that at least for video, extreme wide-angle shots with improbable perspective are a bit 'out of fashion and for documentary use are very rare.

It's a misunderstanding that stems from one of the basic rules of underwater photography: as little distance as possible from the subject == less water == better quality. This is true, but people forget that video is made of moving images and the distortion caused by extreme wide angle lenses on video is not always pleasant, on the contrary! A documentary is mostly made up of medium and close up images.

I mean, since I still have the lens including the zoom ring, I'd still like to use it from time to time. That's why I was wondering if there was a quick alternative to the 6" dome. The 6" dome is really a pain to balance for video. You have to put at least 800g of weight on the tip and then fill everything with floaty arms to balance it out. (I've been using it for 10 years).

 

You can easily check if the lens and zoom ring will fit through a standard N85 flat port - I'm guessing you might have a port for the 60mm macro?  if it does fit Calculations indicate it will fit a Macro port 56 reasonably well, it should have about a 10mm gap to the port glass on the port for the 60mm macro.  The 12-40 range is nice - I use the Olympus 12-40 quite a bit in the Zen 170 mm dome port it's a nice combination.

[Davide DB 484]

27 minutes ago, ChrisRoss said:

You can easily check if the lens and zoom ring will fit through a standard N85 flat port - I'm guessing you might have a port for the 60mm macro?  if it does fit Calculations indicate it will fit a Macro port 56 reasonably well, it should have about a 10mm gap to the port glass on the port for the 60mm macro.  The 12-40 range is nice - I use the Olympus 12-40 quite a bit in the Zen 170 mm dome port it's a nice combination.

Good advice.

ATM I have only a flat port 35. Diameter is perfect so it's just a matter of correct lenght. I will see if I get a macro 56 to test it.

Thanks

[ChrisRoss 150]

8 hours ago, Davide DB said:

Good advice.

ATM I have only a flat port 35. Diameter is perfect so it's just a matter of correct length. I will see if I get a macro 56 to test it.

Thanks

You could actually measure it to double check.  On my macro ports for example the macro port 45 is 45mm from the port flange to point where it necks down to the m67 thread.  If you place the macro port 35 over the top of the lens in the housing the gap should be about 21mm, if it's greater than this you will probably need the next port size up.

[hyp 111]

If you want to go back to using the 12-35 maybe get a glass dome? They are much better buoyancy wise. 

[ChrisRoss 150]

6 hours ago, hyp said:

If you want to go back to using the 12-35 maybe get a glass dome? They are much better buoyancy wise. 

Agree, the Olypmpus 12-40 is quite well balanced with the 170mm Zen dome.

[Interceptor121 765]

On 11/22/2021 at 9:41 AM, Davide DB said:

Not really,

I actually bought a 14-42mm with a flat porthole and WWL-1B.  These days I'm doing some testing with the CMC-1 and the flip mount for macro.
I sold the 7-14mm and the 6" dome. From the tests I'm doing (I'm always talking about video) it seems to me that in the 12-35mm focal length range, the quality of this lens underwater is unmatched.

I've tried both the 14-42mm with the flat port along the entire focal length range and also with the WWL-1 zoomed in almost to its maximum (should be about 15mm). Yet the 12-35mm has really crazy detail resolution and even amazing color rendition.
Nothing scientific, mind you, but personal impression.

The only flaw is that even at 12 mm it is really too narrow for those wide-angle shots of great effect. But it must be said that at least for video, extreme wide-angle shots with improbable perspective are a bit 'out of fashion and for documentary use are very rare.

It's a misunderstanding that stems from one of the basic rules of underwater photography: as little distance as possible from the subject == less water == better quality. This is true, but people forget that video is made of moving images and the distortion caused by extreme wide angle lenses on video is not always pleasant, on the contrary! A documentary is mostly made up of medium and close up images.

I mean, since I still have the lens including the zoom ring, I'd still like to use it from time to time. That's why I was wondering if there was a quick alternative to the 6" dome. The 6" dome is really a pain to balance for video. You have to put at least 800g of weight on the tip and then fill everything with floaty arms to balance it out. (I've been using it for 10 years).

 

Assuming you find a flat port that fits it or build enough extensions for it there is going to be an issue of vignette and of course no wet lenses

[Davide DB 484]

On 11/23/2021 at 11:21 PM, Interceptor121 said:

Assuming you find a flat port that fits it or build enough extensions for it there is going to be an issue of vignette and of course no wet lenses

Do you think it will vignette at 12 mm?

[Davide DB 484]

On 11/23/2021 at 10:51 PM, ChrisRoss said:

Agree, the Olypmpus 12-40 is quite well balanced with the 170mm Zen dome.

The 6" dome is gone so I was looking for a quick and cheap alternative 

[ChrisRoss 150]

6 hours ago, Davide DB said:

Do you think it will vignette at 12 mm?

You can test that now, just placing the port over the front of the lens with a small gap and take a shot of a blank wall or the ceiling - this will show up vignetting.  Of course at 12mm the optical quality won't be fantastic through a flat port, but that's a different story.

[lutfu 118]

Hello Davide

I attached 20 extension to my macro port 35 for the 14 42 and i put the 12 35 in it. It seems it is ok but no room at all for zooming . i hope not but may be it even touches to the glass of the port inside. I attached the wwl1 and took that picture from a video for you. This was taken from a  24 fps video 

This is taken on surface obviously but i havent tried underwater yet. I dont know may be when water comes between the port and wwl1 it magnifies and the vignetting dissapears a bit.

By the way i dont live in a surrealistic home so my door and windows are actually straight

Edited November 27, 2021 by lutfu

[ChrisRoss 150]

1 hour ago, lutfu said:

Hello Davide

I attached 20 extension to my macro port 35 for the 14 42 and i put the 12 35 in it. It seems it is ok but no room at all for zooming . i hope not but may be it even touches to the glass of the port inside. I attached the wwl1 and took that picture from a video for you. This was taken from a  24 fps video 

This is taken on surface obviously but i havent tried underwater yet. I dont know may be when water comes between the port and wwl1 it magnifies and the vignetting dissapears a bit.

By the way i dont live in a surrealistic home so my door and windows are actually straight

 

That's a point I didn't consider - the lens gets longer so if you want to zoom in the port you need a a longer one or an extension tube and then it might vignette at 12mm perhaps,

[Davide DB 484]

1 hour ago, lutfu said:

Hello Davide

I attached 20 extension to my macro port 35 for the 14 42 and i put the 12 35 in it. It seems it is ok but no room at all for zooming . i hope not but may be it even touches to the glass of the port inside. I attached the wwl1 and took that picture from a video for you. This was taken from a  24 fps video so i think it will vignate even more with 50 or 60 fps modes. 

This is taken on surface obviously but i havent tried underwater yet. I dont know may be when water comes between the port and wwl1 it magnifies and the vignetting dissapears a bit.

Thanks for the test.
Would you be able to post a video frame without WWL-1?
It was not my intention to use the 12-35mm with WWL-1 but only with flat port. I think the ideal size is port-56 I'm just afraid for end of port which becomes narrower.

 

[Davide DB 484]

Next week I'll visit the Nauticam dealer so I hopefully could see if they fit for real.

I'm afraid that I would need a N120 port...

[lutfu 118]

Oh i see but when tou fully zoom with  the 12 35, the lens gets 22 mm longer and i think when you film at 12 mm it will vignate with n85 ports because of that 22mm distance behind the glass.. 

[Davide DB 484]

1 minute ago, lutfu said:

Oh i see but when tou fully zoom with  the 12 35, the lens gets 22 mm longer and i think when you film at 12 mm it will vignate with n85 ports because of that 22mm distance behind the glass.. 

Ok thanks. So it seems that if I want to use it I have to get a 6" dome again 

[lutfu 118]

seems like, but then wont be able to put a macro converter in front of the port either

by the way i tried in the water so it didnt vignate on that setting

[Davide DB 484]

Just now, lutfu said:

seems like, but then wont be able to put a macro converter in front of the port either

by the way i tried in the water so it didnt vignate on that setting

What focal length more or less?

[lutfu 118]

at 12 mm 4 4 2  10 bit 4k 150 Mbps  with wwl1

Edited November 27, 2021 by lutfu

[Davide DB 484]

This video from my buddy was shot entirely on 12-35 mm

 

 

 

 

[lutfu 118]

woow really nice . Which port is he using?

 

[Davide DB 484]

1 hour ago, lutfu said:

woow really nice . Which port is he using?

 

Aquatica housing with a large dome that usually he uses on the pana 8-18 mm

Edited November 27, 2021 by Davide DB

[lutfu 118]

nice movie though

Edited November 27, 2021 by lutfu