12-50 mm lens -- ports and gears?

[randini]

@Wisnu: Do you know if the Fn button can be set to toggle between macro and WA in older cameras like the E-PL1? All the reports I've seen on it are with the OMD.

 

[Wisnu]

@Randini - the fn button for epl-1 does not work for 12-50m
I hv this camera in 10bar housing with semidome port. Here is this solution for 12-50mm

 

[EskilJ]

Hi Peter

When the lens is in macro, you can't zoom. You mentioned to zoom from wide to "mini-macro"? I don't understand this. The focusing distance for the 12-50 is much longer than the 14-42's, so the 12-50 in 50mm setting is very far from a macro setting.

 

[Peter Guy]

Esk -- the "mini-macro" was my tongue-in-cheek way of saying -- zoomed out to 50mm and get as close as one could -- about 15 cm? for minimum focus. I'm guessing it would be very similar to the 14-42mm lens at 42mm -- which is often "good enough" for what I do.

Still playing around with stuff and trying to figure out a way to have my cake and eat it too.

Will someone please figure out a hack to allow a "function button" to trigger the "macro" switch?

 

[Ardy]

Esk -- the "mini-macro" was my tongue-in-cheek way of saying -- zoomed out to 50mm and get as close as one could -- about 15 cm? for minimum focus. I'm guessing it would be very similar to the 14-42mm lens at 42mm -- which is often "good enough" for what I do.

Still playing around with stuff and trying to figure out a way to have my cake and eat it too.

Will someone please figure out a hack to allow a "function button" to trigger the "macro" switch?

HI Peter - just fooling around and wondering if anyone has tried the single fish mini macro button + the 2x button [which appears to be only a crop really?] underwater, and if that offers anything. I stupidly thought that the single fish macro was a full macro and was surprised at your 'mini' macro statement, so I just checked it and you are right. In fact it makes little difference using this setting as opposed to zooming to 50mm and close focusing. Maybe Wisnu is right and just use the option of a wet lens. It does seem a bloody waste to have a good macro lens and only have it work as a fixed lens 50mm macro lens. Don't think your hack hope has any hope. I suspect this is a manual lock that needs the button to be pushed and the lens moved forward to engage the macro mode.

This needs someone smarter than me to fix this problem. The cost of the Nautica port at $850 it strikes me I will be using the 12-50 as a 50mm macro lens for most of my dives.....

PS have not had the rig in the water yet and may have to wait until next year.

 

[EskilJ]

Peter,

Olympus M43 12-50 mm zoom [Archive] - ScubaBoard - Scuba Diving Forum - Diving Social Network
Phil Rudin writes that it is 28cm in front of the lens. See link. Under water, it will of course be further away.

Eskil

 

[deeper thoughts]

Just ordered the lens(249 used BH Photo) and the gear(160) for my Olympus housing. OMD EM5

Hope it works reasonably well. Was more cost effective for me than ordering the Nauticam housing and ports

 

[R-balljunkie]

Eskil,

do you have pics of the 60 mm zoom ring modification?

any tips to give before i start modifying a ring?

its not practical for me to order from Europe, it would take 2 months to get to me, no guarantees for arrival. i scored a 60mm zoom ring for 10 bux, so it wouldnt be painful, financially if i mauled it. you mentioned your lens took a beating doing the fitment. any way to avoid this?

thanks in advance

Chuck

I just took the 60mm macro focusing gear route. The 60mm macro seems to be around 3mm thinner than the 12-50. That's an awfull lot of butyl rubber to remove from the inside of the gear tube. You can't mill or use a lathe on the rubber. You need to sand it away.
Then you have the problem with those buttons, they are really in the way.
And as you remove all that rubber, it gets too soft, the gear teeth bend away. So you need to glue in some strenghtening hard plastic..
All the on and off testing on the lens is mechanically tough to the lens.

I succeeded getting a useable gear after a lot of work, but my lens is less pretty now. I don't recommend that route.

IF you should DIY the gear to save some money, I'd suggest making an extension to your 14-42 gear.

About the flip diopter - for the olympus you need that size converter from giant click-on to M67. It is really annoying to bring under water. It is a large thing to stuff away somewhere. I don't know a flip-up to mount directly on the olympus house, and you can't do wide through the size converter.

If there was a community that hacked the olympus software, they could probably make your hack. But I don't believe there is. Extracting the software and understanding it would take months for someone capable.

 

[Packhorse]

Plenty of 3D printable options here..... Search Thingiverse - Thingiverse