Close-up lens or strobe, or both?

[UFOrb]

Hi, looking for some advice on improving my compact camera set up. I currently own:

Canon G7X MkII
Fantasea FG7X II housing
Fantasea Radiant 1000x focus/video light
Ultralight TR-D tray & single Ultralight TR-DHB handle with ball joint

I’m mainly a warm water holiday diver and fairly new to underwater photography but enjoy taking videos, using the manual white balance (when I remember), and photos. So far I’ve been using the internal pop-up flash with diffuser for macro shots.

I’m looking at options for improvements for macro for both video and photos, so I’m thinking of getting a close-up wet lens or an external strobe. I’ve narrowed the options down to something like the Inon UCL165 M67 (+6 diopter) (possibly with a flip or swing adapter) or the Inon S2000 strobe (or similar Sea & Sea model).

I have also seen this Fuji Nano Flash that’s going cheap https://www.camerasunderwater.co.uk/fuji-nano-flash-unit.html I realise its not going to achieve the same results as a proper strobe but it’s a lot cheaper and I figured it should be better if set up on my handle than the internal pop-up, esp with a wet lens which could cause a shadow.

Should I (1) get a close-up lens and continue to use the internal flash (or get the Fuji Nano flash) (favoured option as it’s the cheapest), or (2) get a strobe and leave the macro lens for now…

or (3) bite the bullet and get both close-up lens and strobe together? (obviously most expensive so least favoured)

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[JahJahwarrior]

What do you like to take pictures of?

If it's smaller stuff then get the lens and light room.

If you can shoot it with your current lens then get the strobe and light room.

I think I would get the strobe, I think with just the lens your macro photos won't be what you expect unless you have the strobe. The strobe will help 100% of your photos and the lens might not. Downside is lenses have no batteries...

 

[VsubT]

Should I (1) get a close-up lens and continue to use the internal flash (or get the Fuji Nano flash) (favoured option as it’s the cheapest), or (2) get a strobe and leave the macro lens for now…

or (3) bite the bullet and get both close-up lens and strobe together? (obviously most expensive so least favoured)

I shoot a G7X in a Nauticam housing with a YS-D2 strobe, L&M 1200 video light, and CMC-1 wet lens, so my rig is pretty close to what you’re considering. If I were starting again with just the body and housing, I’d get these three accessories in order of:

• video light
• strobe
• macro lens

An argument can be made for a wide lens too, depending on where you dive and what subjects you like.

My reasoning for this order is that the video light will immediately improve both your still shots and video. It’s not a replacement for a strobe, but you can compensate with settings to get shots that are a lot better than what the internal strobe can produce. It’s also easier to learn than fiddling with camera and strobe settings simultaneously.

I’d go for the strobe next, which will keep you busy for a good while as you figure out settings and technique for lighting. Keeping the video light on another arm is good for fill lighting and backup/focus light, especially if you get one with a red light mode.

By the time you feel comfortable with both light sources, you’ll be in a good place to add a macro lens. At the same time, buy a muck stick. It’s a crutch, but when less than 1 cm is the difference between a really good shot and a blurry blob, you’ll be happy to have one.

I’m in the process of adding video lights and strobes for more versatility, and a WWL-1 for big stuff. Lots more to learn...

 

[UFOrb]

What do you like to take pictures of?

If it's smaller stuff then get the lens and light room.

If you can shoot it with your current lens then get the strobe and light room.

I think I would get the strobe, I think with just the lens your macro photos won't be what you expect unless you have the strobe. The strobe will help 100% of your photos and the lens might not. Downside is lenses have no batteries...

I currently don’t have a particular favourite type of subject - small stuff, big stuff, reef scenes, wrecks etc. I guess I may start to favour one thing over another as I get more experienced, both as a uw photographer and diver.

My frustration with macro has been getting close enough to make worthwhile use of the internal light. My lack of experience with manual settings doesn’t help that either, but I have taken some ok pics with the cameras lens, making use of editing software to crop and improve the images.
I also get frustrated trying to light up fish/coral/reef scenes with the internal flash.

So I’m leaning towards the strobe and leaving the wet lens(es) until I’ve had some experience with the strobe, and have some money, and less new stuff to justify to the Mrs!

But the close-up lens would be useful for video too and, as you say, lenses didn’t need batteries! hmmm

 

[UFOrb]

I shoot a G7X in a Nauticam housing with a YS-D2 strobe, L&M 1200 video light, and CMC-1 wet lens, so my rig is pretty close to what you’re considering. If I were starting again with just the body and housing, I’d get these three accessories in order of:

• video light
• strobe
• macro lens

An argument can be made for a wide lens too, depending on where you dive and what subjects you like.

My reasoning for this order is that the video light will immediately improve both your still shots and video. It’s not a replacement for a strobe, but you can compensate with settings to get shots that are a lot better than what the internal strobe can produce. It’s also easier to learn than fiddling with camera and strobe settings simultaneously.

I’d go for the strobe next, which will keep you busy for a good while as you figure out settings and technique for lighting. Keeping the video light on another arm is good for fill lighting and backup/focus light, especially if you get one with a red light mode.

By the time you feel comfortable with both light sources, you’ll be in a good place to add a macro lens. At the same time, buy a muck stick. It’s a crutch, but when less than 1 cm is the difference between a really good shot and a blurry blob, you’ll be happy to have one.

I’m in the process of adding video lights and strobes for more versatility, and a WWL-1 for big stuff. Lots more to learn...

Yeah, leaning towards the strobe. I also thought about just upgrading the video light and using it, along with my existing one (which does have a red light), for macro stills as well as improved video close-ups. A decent powerful video light costs as much or more than the s2000 strobe though.

Cheers.

 

[DivealotZA]

Hi UFOrb,

I had a Fantasea housing for my G7Xii and got some great results with the built in strobe and diffuser.

I then managed to get a steal on an inon Z240 strobe and the results are fantastic! You will need to get some arms, as the trick now comes in with a lot of backscatter and the correct positioning...

There are times when I wish I had also got a wet lens, and I'll get one in time, but I'm happy with the overall performance of the camera with a strobe, and cropping pictures...and then there are times when I didn't have a strobe that I wish I did...

I think the strobe is the better option for now, as this should improve your overall shooting, where the lens will only improve your close-ups...

 

[UFOrb]

Hi UFOrb,

I had a Fantasea housing for my G7Xii and got some great results with the built in strobe and diffuser.

I then managed to get a steal on an inon Z240 strobe and the results are fantastic! You will need to get some arms, as the trick now comes in with a lot of backscatter and the correct positioning...

So did you see a big difference with the quality of your macro after getting the strobe, or is the biggest difference with slightly wider shots of fish, coral etc?

 

[DivealotZA]

So did you see a big difference with the quality of your macro after getting the strobe, or is the biggest difference with slightly wider shots of fish, coral etc?

Obviously the larger stuff is way better now, the small stuff is nice because I can place the strobe in certain positions and create some cool effects, as for shot quality on the smaller stuff...it's negligible, like I said, the diffuser on the Fantasea housing works pretty well

 

[outofofficebrb]

Strobe for sure. It will make a much bigger impact on your photos immediately, even if on auto for both camera and strobe. The light will be better.

 

[Chris Ross]

definitely the strobe, if you have trouble focusing now the wet lens is only going to add an additional layer of frustration.