Need advice on EM1 + Nauticam system

[lofish]

There is no set rules on how to pick the lens and ports, but why would i prefer a dome port when i am shooting supermacro?

end of the day as long as you are happy with your choice, that is what it matters.

 

[Wisnu]

I agree
I have both 4" semi dome and 65 macro port. Although I'm happy with the 4" semi dome port for 60mm macro shots; but if I plan to shooting supermacro only, then I will put the 65 macro port with 1 or 2 diopters

 

[andy2667]

There is no set rules on how to pick the lens and ports, but why would i prefer a dome port when i am shooting supermacro?

end of the day as long as you are happy with your choice, that is what it matters.

understand. I always think about minimizing no of ports. Need to adjust my mind set.

 

[watboy]

I remember when I started out taking pics, the desire to have lots of flexibility to take wide and macro underwater seemed very compelling. I'd try to take pictures of anything and everything... 60-80 pics a dive, only by chance would I get a decent pic. As I got more experienced, I spent more time thinking of the shots I want and setting up the camera specifically for that shot. I think I take 20-30 shots per dive now and i'm much happier w the results. Too much flexibility can be a bad thing. I pretty much just use 2 lenses now, 60mm macro and 8mm fisheye. I used to use the 9-18, but i've been really enjoying the fisheye, personal preference. For the 12-50, its an ok lens, but I couldnt bring myself to pay $800 for a port, not because it has quality glass, but because Oly decided on a funky interface. Its a neat engineering solution for a problem that shouldn't have existed. The 60mm macro is a great lens. The 60mn and 8mm fisheye are the 2 best reasons to use MFT over other mirrorless underwater IMO.

 

[chris196]

The reduction of ports is a great advantage of the 4" semi dome. I use the Zen dome on an oly housing and the versatility is nice.
I pretty much only use the 9-18 or the 60. I agree with watboy in that choosing the lens and sticking with it for a dive is actually nice as you're not jumping around from subject to subject with a bunch of mediocre shots.
I do wish at times I had the fisheye, but that would involve changing ports. The versatility of the 4" dome is amazing in what it can do. It can also handle the kit 14-42 lens, but I rarely use that lens. If the 12-50 had a way to electronically zoom, I would probably give it a try, but I have a feeling I'd still use the 9-18 and 60 90% of the time.

BTW, the 9-18 is quite versatile as it can focus very close. So, if there is a small, not shy subject then the 18mm (36 equiv) can do a decent job.

 

[KCrofoot]

I remember when I started out taking pics, the desire to have lots of flexibility to take wide and macro underwater seemed very compelling. I'd try to take pictures of anything and everything... 60-80 pics a dive, only by chance would I get a decent pic. As I got more experienced, I spent more time thinking of the shots I want and setting up the camera specifically for that shot. I think I take 20-30 shots per dive now and i'm much happier w the results. Too much flexibility can be a bad thing. I pretty much just use 2 lenses now, 60mm macro and 8mm fisheye. I used to use the 9-18, but i've been really enjoying the fisheye, personal preference. For the 12-50, its an ok lens, but I couldnt bring myself to pay $800 for a port, not because it has quality glass, but because Oly decided on a funky interface. Its a neat engineering solution for a problem that shouldn't have existed. The 60mm macro is a great lens. The 60mn and 8mm fisheye are the 2 best reasons to use MFT over other mirrorless underwater IMO.

Guys,

I appreciate your perspective and one day I hope to have the experience and portfolio you guys have. This is just an entry point for me. I was able to pick-up the 12-50 lens for $300 and the Deepshots gear for $120 so the cost was not that high.

I will be able to reuse the 4' port and diopter holder with either the 60mm or 9-18 lens as I have the funds to invest in more toys.

I am assuming that I will have full range of the 12-50 lens with the deepshots after market gear with the focus knob on the nauticam housing.

 

[andy2667]

Hi,

Thank you all for the valuable advices. I have just pull the trigger and bought the Nauticam EM1 housing, with the 65 Macro port for my 60mm Macro lens, and a vacuum valve. Waiting for their delivery in mid of next week and can just meet my travelling schedule to Manado/Bunaken in end of next week. May add dome ports for the 12-40 pro lens or other wide lens in the future.

In addition to the above housing and lens, I have an Inon Z240 to complete this Macro rig. I am now figuring what float arm I need to incorporate in this system. I would want a nearly neutral buoyant system with only very little negative buoyancy. Not sure if a single Nauticam 60X200 float arm is adequate or I need a 60 X250 or.... I would like to keep the rig as compact as possible and not want to add long arms or use 90mm float arm.

I would very much appreciate it if you could share your experience or advise your view.

(P.S. I prefer carbon float arms to Stix foams which may be compressed with depth or not as durable/robust as carbon float arms. However, using some Stix may be inevitable for fine tuning the buoyancy I need. I am now using an Aluminium float arm for my EMP1 rig)

Thanks.

 

[bvanant]

I think you will find that you need a lot more float than you think. I have an em-1 with the same port. With an Ipro video focus light it is way negative. Using 1 12 inch stix float and 3 divinycell (12 x 1/4 x 3 inches) I have a total of 1000 grams of lift and it is still negative. 2 of the 60x 200 arms will give you about 600 grams of lift. 2 of the 90x200 arms will leave it (with the focus light and some strobes) about 75 to 100 grams negative but it depends on your strobes.
Bill

 

[NautilusCairns]

I concur with Bill that you may be surprised on how much flotation even a fairly compact rig needs. I have come to the conclusion that I will trade off some flotation for compactness. I have an NA-EM5 housing and with the macro 65 port and two S2000 strobes I use 2 60X200 Nauticam float arms and a couple of stix floats. It takes some of the weight off but still significantly negative.

 

[Wisnu]

For my EM-1 we use 4 large stix foam + 2 Inon stick arm float S, significantly negative. I'm thinking to replace with 2 Nauticam 90x200
For my EM-5 (typicaly for macro) we use 2 x Nauticam 90x150 CF float arms, slightly negative, very comfy.