PHIL RUDIN
Contributor
I also had a chance to shoot with the Panasonic 8 mm fisheye while in Placencia, Belize using the Nauticam NA-EPL3 housing and 4.33 inch dome port.
This lens is very well suited to underwater photography but requires time to master due to the wide AOV. I have ended up with my fins in the photos as well as strobe heads and cords, diver parts, excess empty space and much more. These lenses because they are so wide offen include the sun perticularly when shot vertical. This can cause the sun to burn a hole in the image as in the upper right corner of the gorgonian image below. With the Jelly shot I put the sun to my back to avoid the problem and with the vase sponge I got low and close putting the sun behind the sponge. These lenses also destort objects with stright lines like wreckage, large animals and more, see the boat photo. Because the lens is so wide it may fool the auto focus system as well. See in the photo below how the lens in auto focus chose to focus on the water drops on the surface of the dome (yes, that is how close these lenses focus) rather than the much larger boat.
The Olympus 12mm and the Panasonic 8mm fisheye lenses are not cheap, however they can both be used with the same Nauticam 4.33 inch dome port. These lenses give two distinctly different wide angle options and offer first class sharpness across the entire lens. Both lenses are very small and well suited for travel as is the Nauticam NA-EPL3 housing.
Phil Rudin
This lens is very well suited to underwater photography but requires time to master due to the wide AOV. I have ended up with my fins in the photos as well as strobe heads and cords, diver parts, excess empty space and much more. These lenses because they are so wide offen include the sun perticularly when shot vertical. This can cause the sun to burn a hole in the image as in the upper right corner of the gorgonian image below. With the Jelly shot I put the sun to my back to avoid the problem and with the vase sponge I got low and close putting the sun behind the sponge. These lenses also destort objects with stright lines like wreckage, large animals and more, see the boat photo. Because the lens is so wide it may fool the auto focus system as well. See in the photo below how the lens in auto focus chose to focus on the water drops on the surface of the dome (yes, that is how close these lenses focus) rather than the much larger boat.
The Olympus 12mm and the Panasonic 8mm fisheye lenses are not cheap, however they can both be used with the same Nauticam 4.33 inch dome port. These lenses give two distinctly different wide angle options and offer first class sharpness across the entire lens. Both lenses are very small and well suited for travel as is the Nauticam NA-EPL3 housing.
Phil Rudin
