Lens swap, Panasonic Lumix LX10 in Ikelite housing

[Marty Bess]

I think this is where I should have posted my question which is I've been using a GoPro for 6 years and want to move on to a basic compact camera so I picked the Panasonic Lumix LX10. Yet to order.

The question is, does anyone know if I can put a wide-angle lens on while diving? Say to the Ikelite housing?


Thanks!!

 

[Barmaglot]

So long as your port has threads (and the Ikelite LX10 housing does have 67mm threading), you can put on and take off lenses whenever you want. Some caveats apply though:

• Threading and unthreading lenses underwater can be a bit awkward and it's very easy to cross-thread them. For close-up lenses, consider a flip adapter or a set of magnetic rings. Wide-angle lenses tend to be too large and heavy for those, so you will need a bayonet adapter. Nauticam M67 to bayonet adapter probably won't fit the Ikelite port (it has a narrow groove for the port front flange to go into, and the Ikelite port looks too thick to fit in), but AOI/Fantasea bayonet adapter should be okay.
• If you are detaching lenses underwater, you need a place to store them safely, without exposing them to the danger of scratches. Most people mount lens holders on strobe arms, but larger wet lenses such as Nauticam WWL-1 tend to be too bulky for that. You can get a bridge to put across your tray handles and put a wet lens dock there, but this produces another problem - typically, when you take off your wide lens and attach your close-up lens, you're shooting macro, and you want to look over the camera to find the subject - and now you've got a socking great chunk of a wet lens blocking your view.
• This is specific to LX10, but, if I remember correctly, its lens sits fairly deep inside the port at shortest focal lengths, producing significant vignetting when wet lenses are attached, which necessitates zooming in and losing angle of view. This is less of a problem with video, since it has a significant crop there, so you're losing AoV anyway.

 

[Marty Bess]

Thank you for the reply.

Can I ask you what camera and housing would you recommend with a budget of 2k??

I have been using a Gopro for 6 years now. It does a pretty good job at wide-angle videos but that is about it. Smooth as well. I only do videos, my wife does pictures. My video's are more of a Vlog of the dive. Wide-angle scenes of other divers, the reef overview that tells a story. - Marty

 

[Barmaglot]

Is the camera for both you and your wife, or do you own separate rigs? If it's the latter, and you're strictly after video, then why not invest in good lighting for your GoPro? Something like a pair of SUPE V6K Pro v2 or similar.

 

[Marty Bess]

You can not zoom

 

[Barmaglot]

Yes, GoPro has a fixed lens, but what problems are you seeking to solve via a zoom lens? Remember that underwater, the golden rule is to get close to your subject, and then get closer - doubly so for video, where the lights have a much more limited range than photography strobes.

 

[Marty Bess]

Yes on deep dives anything over 3 feet away color is a challenge. But the Gopro set to wide angle like I shot anything 2 feet away looks more like 4 feet away. With zoom as an option, you can get a nice tight shot and have color.