DC600 Wide Angle Lens In Shot

[brucekrymow]

I bought a new DC600 Elite & was trying it out - I found that all my shots w/ the wide angle lens are showing part of the lens in each corner of the photos.

Why might this be occurring & what can I do to prevent it?

[cdreamer]

It's a design flaw. The only way you can use the wide angle is without the strobe.

[divengolf]

It's a design flaw. The only way you can use the wide angle is without the strobe.

I had a DC500 with the same WA lens and there is a way around this problem. Make sure that you're set for SEA mode, not AUTO or MACRO.

But you're right, the internal stobe doesn't do much with the WA lens attached.

MOD: Shift this thread to the Sealife section so Denise can see and respond.

[ScubaSteve]

So this problem is different from vingenetting were you simply have to zoom in a little to eliminate the problem? I only ask because this sounds somewhat similar by description/definition and what I experienced with my WA lens (Mine is Nikon with Ikelite). If it is different, sorry for the confusion.

[brucekrymow]

Actually, this issue has nothing to do w/ the strobes or shooting modes other than Macro. The strobes & W/A in the Elite system are designed to work together & normally do.

I learned from Pioneer Research that this known issue is vignetting sometimes revealed caused by the camera lens position in the housing w/ relation to the stand-offs.

The housing stand-offs that hold the camera into position are sometimes off in size due to the way the polycarbonate cools during the molding process. This results in a larger gap distance between the end of the camera lens & where the W/A is mounted on the exterior of the housing, thus affecting the field of view.

The workaround for this is to TAP (not press or hold) the zoom button. Anything more than a tiny tap will result in shots in Macro mode will change the focal distance to something undesired for the subject distance.

[divengolf]

So this problem is different from vingenetting were you simply have to zoom in a little to eliminate the problem? I only ask because this sounds somewhat similar by description/definition and what I experienced with my WA lens (Mine is Nikon with Ikelite). If it is different, sorry for the confusion.

Based on my experience with the DC500, I believe it a different problem. The lens is made for the camera or vice versa, so there should not be any vingenetting. As I recall with DC500 (an earlier version of his camera), the problem is due to incorrect Mode setting, i.e., shooting UW with an above air setting.

Sealife Denise will know for sure.

[divengolf]

I learned from Pioneer Research that this known issue is vignetting sometimes revealed caused by the camera lens position in the housing w/ relation to the stand-offs. .

I found that if the WA lens was not fully seated on the face of the housing, vingenetting would occur. But my expereince was with the DC500, not the 600.

Also the WA lens had to be burbed to get rid of the air. Usually I would not attach it until I was in the water.

[brucekrymow]

According to Joe @ Pioneer Research (who makes SeaLife products), the W/A lens is made for the housing coupled w/ the DC600. The issue exists during the Sea or Strobe mode & the lens attached underwater & "burped".

There is not supposed to be vignetting in the DC600 + W/A lens, however, the FOV is slightly disrupted by uncommon occurences of stand-offs that are not sized exact to specification, creating a small distance between the camera lens in the housing & W/A lens that otherwise would not expose such vignetting.