topflowerrubberforever
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why can't the 28mm or the 15mm lenses be used above water? what would happen? has anyone even dared defy the sacred manual? 
Jay
Jay
nikonos lens and above water use
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garyfotodiver
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diver371:why can't the 28mm or the 15mm lenses be used above water? what would happen? has anyone even dared defy the sacred manual?
Jay
Sure; there are distortion and focus issues. You should try it and see for yourself.
These lenses are "underwater only" in that they were designed for a glass-to-water interface, and are sharpest when underwater.
The 28mm can be used above water. Setting focus at about 1 meter (actually a tad less) will become "infinity" above water. Slowing down the shutter, to give a bigger depth of field, will help cover for the inexactness.
There is no similar focus kluge that I've found (or heard of) for the 20mm or 15mm.
All the best, James
The 28mm can be used above water. Setting focus at about 1 meter (actually a tad less) will become "infinity" above water. Slowing down the shutter, to give a bigger depth of field, will help cover for the inexactness.
There is no similar focus kluge that I've found (or heard of) for the 20mm or 15mm.
All the best, James
Hi Jay:
I hope you didn't throw away the 35mm that comes standard with almost every Nikonos rig. For years I have used it for above water shots after dives or when I want to bring a camera into a wet environment and do not want to risk damaging a landlubber camera. Yes, it is limited and manual, but works just fine. I will try to dig up and post some pics.
---Bob
I hope you didn't throw away the 35mm that comes standard with almost every Nikonos rig. For years I have used it for above water shots after dives or when I want to bring a camera into a wet environment and do not want to risk damaging a landlubber camera. Yes, it is limited and manual, but works just fine. I will try to dig up and post some pics.
---Bob
Jay:
Shot by my wife, Lynne, with my Nikonos III and 35mm lense.
---Bob
Shot by my wife, Lynne, with my Nikonos III and 35mm lense.
---Bob
oldpeanut
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diver371:why can't the 28mm or the 15mm lenses be used above water? what would happen? has anyone even dared defy the sacred manual?
Jay
Hi Jay,
The Nikonos 28mm f/3.5 UW-Nikkor actually can be used above water. The front element of 28mm lens is a concave lens for correcting some of the underwater optical aberrations. So it's a very sharp lens underwater. If you shoot topside scene with the 28mm lens, the horizon will appear curved unless you place the horizon at dead center.
The front glass of Nikonos 15mm f/2.8 UW-Nikkor is a small dome port. The dome port is acting as a strong concave lens underwater for correcting underwater optical aberrations. The focusing scale of this lens is designed for underwater use only.
I have actually used 15mm lens for topside photos with fairly sharp results. Here is how I did it:
Set your 15mm lens to infinity, close down the aperture to f/22 and place the dome port to nearly touching the subject and shoot with a Nikonos SB-105 setting at TTL. You can try it out yourself and expect to get some extreme wide angle close up shots.
Cheers,
Terry
By the way, the 15mm is probably the greatest optics for UW.
The 35mm is one of the most memorable lenses Nikkor ever made, with not only a great history under its name, but based on one of the most famous land lenses and an ingenious project, where you can have perfect control of the aperture and depth of field, not leaving a single drop of quality falling on the ground.
The 35mm is one of the most memorable lenses Nikkor ever made, with not only a great history under its name, but based on one of the most famous land lenses and an ingenious project, where you can have perfect control of the aperture and depth of field, not leaving a single drop of quality falling on the ground.
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