Going to Fiji. Wide Angle needed?

[ml3456]

Going to Fiji soon, and was wondering if wide angle lenses are recommended. I'm shooting a Oly EM-10 in a Nauticam housing with a 12-50 mm zoom, and wondering if 12 mm is wide enough. Have dual YS61 strobes.

Thanks

 

[mjh]

Fiji has amazing soft corals that IMHO make a fantastic backdrop for WA. These pics don't do it justice but taken with RX100 and Inon 100 and dome.
http://www.aquabluedreams.com/#/gallery/fiji/dsc00942/

 

[hammerhead man]

You will definitely have multiple opportunities for both wide angle and macro shots in Fiji. I've been there 2 times and it is one of my favorite places to dive in the world. BTW MJH's are awesome! I can only dream of taking such beautiful pics.

Bill

 

[mjh]

Thanks. The H100 with Dome is a 145 Degree view. I think the 12-50mm is about 80 degrees at it's widest. So usable but not the same. When I shot the EM5 I loved the 8mm fisheye but I know Oly has come out with even more lenses. I see the ocean in "wide angle" and given the number one rule in underwater photography is: get close, get closer, get even closer...wide is good and your fins are your best zoom gear. If you have a pair of YSD1s that is plenty of power, they are what I use.

 

[tursiops]

Going to Fiji soon, and was wondering if wide angle lenses are recommended. I'm shooting a Oly EM-10 in a Nauticam housing with a 12-50 mm zoom, and wondering if 12 mm is wide enough. Have dual YS61 strobes.

Thanks

I've been to Fiji, but not with my M10, and I've dived with my M10 and the 12-50 zoom (in the Nauticam macro port) at other places, and I'd say the 12 is not really wide enough (at least in the flat port) for Fiji. Many terrific reef scenes with fabulous coral and sponges and fish and topography and colors.....I could barely take it all in turning my head around and looking, much less have done it with the 12mm/flat port on the M10. If I go back to Fiji I'll treat myself to something wider, with a dome. Maybe the 12-50 in a dome woujld be OK, but I doubt it.

 

[hammerhead man]

mjh, just noticed your whale pics, where did you take them?

Bill

 

[mjh]

Don't mean to hijack the thread...We went to Tonga with Tony Wu. Tony has been going there for years and runs great trips. Without a doubt it is one we are going to repeat. It was a bit stormy when we where there, their winter, and the whales always seemed to be on the move. But I had my most memorable experience in the ocean, ever, when I got dropped in the middle of six males in a "heat run" chasing a female. For about 40 seconds, swimming like a mad man, I was dead center, they saw me, adjusted for my being there, simply amazing.

Not a great shot but it was all I could manage swimming that fast, should have shot video. This was taken with a 11mm lens.
http://www.aquabluedreams.com/#/gallery/tonga/heatrunbw/

 

[diver 85]

Yes & no--------yes for some wreck pics/amazing wall shots/ or the shark dive......(as you can see, I was without --& wish I had my now setup then, '09 I think....)

[/URL]14 ft. Tiger shark...Beqa Lagoon, Fiji by GEAUXtiger, on Flickr[/IMG]

No-----for the great macro shots you can/will get........

EDIT.:....we were @ Beqa Lagoon Resort

 

[bvanant]

To answer the original post: No the 12 mm end of the 12-50 is not very wide, it is the equivalent of a 24 mm lens on 35 mm film (what is film?)
I would look at the 8 mm fisheyes and a dome port.
Bill

 

[ml3456]

Thanks all for you input. Had to step it up and got a pany 7-14mm zoom and Nauticam dome from the great folks at ReefPhoto. Lens was on sail and Kevin is quite helpful. Won't oversell you. Be wet in 4 weeks!!