ED 12-50mm lens with WWL-1: does it work? Is it worth it?

[E.G.P]

A question that I have seen addressed tangentially in some past posts, but wanted to ask more directly here before making a purchase:

How well does the ED 12-50mm lens work as an 'all-purpose' setup when shooting behind the WWL-1 (assuming I buy the nauticam port which lets me turn on/off macro function)? I am sure this setup won't match a 60mm macro lens behind a flat port, or my usual 12-42mm EZ lens behind the WWL-1 for wide-angles, but I am not sure just how much worse the 12-50mm/WWL setup will be. Is the macro function still reasonably workable behind the WWL? Is the vignetting significant with the longer port needed for the 12-50mm when shooting through the WWL?

I am traveling to Ningaloo in a couple months, will need to travel lightly, and want a versatile (even if imperfect) option for dive days that are likely to include a wide range of subjects. Any opinions/personal anecdotes would be appreciated!

 

[BoltSnap]

A question that I have seen addressed tangentially in some past posts, but wanted to ask more directly here before making a purchase:

How well does the ED 12-50mm lens work as an 'all-purpose' setup when shooting behind the WWL-1 (assuming I buy the nauticam port which lets me turn on/off macro function)? I am sure this setup won't match a 60mm macro lens behind a flat port, or my usual 12-42mm EZ lens behind the WWL-1 for wide-angles, but I am not sure just how much worse the 12-50mm/WWL setup will be. Is the macro function still reasonably workable behind the WWL? Is the vignetting significant with the longer port needed for the 12-50mm when shooting through the WWL?

I am traveling to Ningaloo in a couple months, will need to travel lightly, and want a versatile (even if imperfect) option for dive days that are likely to include a wide range of subjects. Any opinions/personal anecdotes would be appreciated!

I'd suggest that you communicate with Nauticam directly. Your questions are too technical, only Nauticam can answer them correctly.

They are very good about answering questions but it may take few days for them to get back to you with an answer.

 

[BoltSnap]

A question that I have seen addressed tangentially in some past posts, but wanted to ask more directly here before making a purchase:

How well does the ED 12-50mm lens work as an 'all-purpose' setup when shooting behind the WWL-1 (assuming I buy the nauticam port which lets me turn on/off macro function)? I am sure this setup won't match a 60mm macro lens behind a flat port, or my usual 12-42mm EZ lens behind the WWL-1 for wide-angles, but I am not sure just how much worse the 12-50mm/WWL setup will be. Is the macro function still reasonably workable behind the WWL? Is the vignetting significant with the longer port needed for the 12-50mm when shooting through the WWL?

I am traveling to Ningaloo in a couple months, will need to travel lightly, and want a versatile (even if imperfect) option for dive days that are likely to include a wide range of subjects. Any opinions/personal anecdotes would be appreciated!

Did you get an answer from Nauticam or anyone else?

The Nauticam port charts I found don't list the WWL-1 as compatible with the 12-50mm lens.

 

[jlyle]

If you want to travel lightly, be forewarned the WWL-1 is very, very heavy!

Why not the 8mm lens behind a small dome port?

 

[Barmaglot]

In general, to work well behind a wet wide lens, a lens needs its entrance pupil to be positioned as close as possible to the front element. While the exact details of lens internal design are usually somewhat difficult to come by, the size of the front element is generally a good proxy - the smaller it is, the closer it is to the entrance pupil. Lenses that work well with wet wide lenses tend to have a very small front element - look at the M43 14-42mm, Canon EF-M 15-45mm, Sony E 16-50mm, Nikon Z 16-50mm, Sony FE 28-60mm; all have a tiny front element. The Panasonic 12-50mm front element, by contrast, is quite large, suggesting that it is not a good candidate for wet lens adaptation. If you want to use wet wide lenses on micro four thirds, your choices are either 14-42mm with a regular wet lens targeting 28mm focal length (AOI UWL-09, Inon UWL-H100, Nauticam WWL-1) or 30mm macro with a macro to wide lens (Weefine WFL09S, Nauticam MWL-1).