Adding macro and wide angle lens to S95

[addyngan]

Hello all,

I use the canon housing for the S95 and I'm considering to add wide angle (either WA-110, or Inon UWL-H100 28M67) and macro lens (UCL165) to the setup. (I have the ULCS arm and tray, an Inon D2000 and a sola focus light)

Two newbie questions:

1. When i have the wide angle lens on, can I zoom in and still get good pictures? Effectively does my 28-105mm lens simply become something like a 17-60mm lens, or it's only 'usable' at the widest zoom?
I am wondering whether i can keep the wide angle attachment on most of the time (or even throughout a dive). If it's like a 17-60 that's certainly doable, but if it's only 'usable' at the widest setting, maybe I could find it too wide in some occasions.

2. When i have the close-up lens on, i know one of the limitation is that i can't focus to infinity. But what's the farthest I can focus with the UCL165? Also other than the focusing change, does it limit my camera in another way? (e.g. vignetting at wide?). Again is it feasible to keep the lens on for a dive?

I guess generally I am asking - given the "pros" of the lens on, what are the "cons" when i don't need its capability. I don't mind committing to wide or macro or normal for any single dive, and if i can use it without removing, then i don't need to worry about where to put it when it's unmounted.

Thanks!

[Interceptor121]

With the canon housing you can't use the Epoque lens as that has a 67mm thread
So your only options is an Inon mount.
The UWLH-100 28LD does not vignette even at wide end. Zooming with a wide angle lens is not an option as the image gets blurred. Why would you zoom anyway??
For close up you should really get the UCL165 LD as the AD mount lenses require an adapter and are not designed for 28mm. Even this lens will vignette at wide end however you usually shoot zoomed in with a diopter. You can zoom to 100% and it will still be good

What you need to consider is that keeping the same lens on the dive will limit the pictures you can take. You should be looking at a lens caddy so that you can change underwater and even remove the lenses and keep them there. I would suggest a LD lens holder W that carries both lenses.

Alternative is to keep one of the lenses in a pouch. But this is really practically only for the close up lens, the wide angle at 380 grams weight in water is not something you can easily manage in and out a pouch

[addyngan]

Thanks for the info! I am planning to add the Dyron 67mm adapter, and use 67mm lenses like the Epoque, or the H100 28M67 and/or the UCL165 M67.

I've been shooting without lens attachment for ~70 dives, and it's true that i don't zoom usually, unless i am shooting skittish animals like blennies etc. So i guess for either lens i should expect there will be times when i need to unmount it underwater.

I've heard that the LD mounts are easier to operate - but it seems like the LD adapter for the DC38 is more bulky (and attach to the bottom of the plate which may interfere with the ULCS tray?), compared to the simpler Dyron adapter that just go on the front. So maybe i will stick with M67..

I've thought about the lens caddy - when people put the lens on that do they put a lens cap as well? If not would it be easy to accidentally damage the lens?

As for the pouch I haven't looked at them. Are there ones that simply clip on the D-rings?

Thanks!

[Interceptor121]

The dyron 67mm adapter is not strong enough to hold the weight of the lens is only designed for diopters, the lens is 370 grand negative in water a 67 thread should be avoided anyway
The inon base mount will attach to an ulcs by changing the spacer
Lens caddies are the best way forward as the lens you need is so heavy and bulky it makes inconvenient to use. A pouch
I have done a self made lens holder on a wrist strap but the lens is so heavy it is a real pain. If you have ultralight arms getting a caddy is the best option by far

[addyngan]

Thanks. Now i am more tempted to go the LD mount route with the inon mountbase.

If i have the mount base on top of the tray, would it make the camera / tray coupling less sturdy? Now the housing have a couple "feet" that touches the back of the tray making it impossible to rotate.

In this setup if i take the camera out (e.g. changing batter) do i need to disassemble everything? or can the mountbase stay with the tray as one unit?

Thanks again!

[Interceptor121]

the inon mount has got a flat part that fixes it to the tray no rotation
You can open the housing without removing the mount as well so no problems there

[BluewaterPhoto]

FYI - The WA-110 lens works well with the Dyron 67mm adapter for the Canon S95, it has no trouble at all holding the weight.

Here's a sample photo with the Canon S95 OMD housing:
126567

[Interceptor121]

Scott
If you say so it must be true still I personally would not entertain a screw thread for such a heavy lens
I have had the M67 version of the UWL100 that is slightly lighter than the époque and it was a real pain to remove the lens in water
Also to consider the wear and tear of the thread

[1thumper]

I have been really happy with my S-95 using an INON mount base, with 2 macro lenses and a WA lens. I am using an Inon S-90 base (there is another thread here about how to set that up with Canon S-95 housing). If you use the WA lens at full wide there is a bit of the mount that will show in the corner of the frame, so unless you want to crop the photo you will need to zoom in one stop. You also can zoom in more through the WA if necessary; when shooting big things like sharks/mantas it's easy to zoom to get good composition.

I don't use a lens caddy, instead have a lens pouch that clips onto my BCD and it's easy to access it to switch out lenses. Bayonet attachments are definitely the way to go, and many times during dives I will switch between macro, WA, and no lens depending upon what I am shooting.

Get a small focus lamp to put on top of the Inon mount and your low-light macro focusing will improve tremendously.

[chile7236]

Scott
If you say so it must be true still I personally would not entertain a screw thread for such a heavy lens
I have had the M67 version of the UWL100 that is slightly lighter than the époque and it was a real pain to remove the lens in water
Also to consider the wear and tear of the thread

in my case, it was never an issue removing/replacing the lens underwater (while on the bottom or hovering in 100+ ft)....then again, i was never really in a hurry either.

[Interceptor121]

I remove the wide angle when I have to shoot a macro and replace it with a diopter
If the weight or size of the lens is such that I can't complete the operation safely with one hand then I am not comfortable in currents or difficult conditions
Taking a pouch in and out a pocket requires two hands whilst using a lens caddy only requires one
Still the effort of unscrewing the lens, screwing it on the caddy unscrewing the diopter and screwing this on the port means 4 operations on threads for a single shot the lens being heavy doesn't help either
Compare this with taking lenses on and off a bayonet mount and them you can see you will miss less photo opportunities

[maria munn]

Buoyancy arms are a huge help as well for this kind of set-up to stop the weight of the lens tipping the camera housing forward. Stix or INON make great ones. I tried one out a couple of weeks ago, completely brilliant.

Best of luck and look forward to seeing some photos.

[Interceptor121]

I just sent addyngan a couple of STIX normal and jumbo floats that will adapt well to his set up
Not sure if he got a wide lens but those floats can definitely be arranged so that his camera+arm+tray+strobe is neutral

The lens remains an heavy item and requires its own float. I have modified a STIX one and now I also have designed a custom one however the lift is moderate