Lens and lens dock ?

[midwestdvr]

Alright, heading to the Philippines soon and I've decided to get a lens to go with my setup. Will probably get a macro first and if I have enough, maybe a WAL. My questions regarding macro lenses are that does it allow you to take pics of small critters at a further distance than you normally would without it so that you decrease the chance of spooking the fish? Or does it allow you to get closer and still be able to maintain focus?

Also need a dock for a bayonet attached lens. I've heard about the digital lens dock but they're site says they're only for 67 mm threaded lenses. Any suggestions. Thanks, y'all.

midwestdvr

 

[Wolverine]

Macro lenses does let you get closer to focus as well as magnifying the normal macro mode on the camera. IE at similar distance, you get a bigger picture, but getting closer gets you a even bigger picture. As for lens docks, I think Inon makes one foy bayonet mount but don't think they will fit on the loc-line arms.

 

[Gilligan]

IMHO I think you should get the WAL lens first. You would be surprised at how much use you will get from it versus the Close-up lens. Using that WAL with manual white balance will get you some great shots as well as using it on larger critters in-close with the strobe.
I have both. The close-up lens is more difficult to use, especially the Inon UCL-165. The depth of field on it is very limited and therefore makes it easy to get blurry pics. You have to be very close to the subject to use it.
As for the lens dock, the GBUndersea has my vote hands down especially for the WAL. This dock has a leash on it that fits around the groove in the WAL. Believe me, if you drop that WAL it's history. Because of its weight it sinks faster than you can chase it.
I have two GBUndersea lens docks for both my wet mount lenses. You can't use the leash on the close-up lens as there is no groove to attach it to. Neither lens has ever fallen out of those docks.

 

[10X]

I agree with Gilligan, get the GB Undersea Lens Dock. I bought one earlier this year and on my second dive in Tahiti the wave surge was so bad that it moved me closer to the coral than I wanted. What I didn't see was the WAL caught on a piece of coral. Return surge stripped the lens from dock but the safety collar saved the day. Like the commercial says, "Don't leave home without it."

 

[midwestdvr]

I would love to get the lens dock from gbundesea but it says it's only for 67mm threaded lenses. My lenses will be bayonet. Is there any other choice or will the lens dock from gbundersea work with bayonet mounted lenses?

 

[Dee]

I'm another big fan of the gbundersea Digital Lens Dock, I don't take my rig in the water without it! I don't have a bayonet lens to test if it will work but the lens dock is about 1/2" thick, so maybe?

Send Greg Bunch an email and ask him about the bayonet mount. Click HERE for email.