Anyone using or used a 12-40 f2.8 pro lens UW?

[Ardy]

Hi Guys I can pick up one of these fairly cheaply but just had a thought if it had a use UW. I note if's min focus distance is 0.2m or 7.8".

 

[WS007]

I am using it for long. Optically it belongs to the best I own. Regarding focal length it is neither macro nor very WA, so a little bit out of mainstream for UW use. I regard it the optimum for taking fish portraits and also like it for night dives.
It will not perform well behind a flat port. I use it behind Zen DP-170 (N120 version) plus 60mm N85/N120 adapter (in Nauticam housing)...

Wolfgang

 

[Ardy]

Thanks Wolfgang, Been reading about it today and not sure if it adds a lot to what I have at the moment.

 

[vsc]

Hi Guys I can pick up one of these fairly cheaply but just had a thought if it had a use UW. I note if's min focus distance is 0.2m or 7.8".

I utilize the Olympus 12-40 f2.8 Pro behind an Olympus PPO-E02 flat port. I concur the lens works well for fish portraits and in a pinch usable for smaller objects.

 

[Furnari]

This is my most used lens underwater- it's kinda wide, kinda long, and a great option for those dives where you don't know what you're going to get. I've used it with an Inon 170mm dome for the last several years, first with an E-m1mkI in an Olympus housing, and I've now got exactly one dive in the books with my E-m1mkIII in an AOI housing. The bummer is that I used the same set up with the Panasonic 8-18, but that combo won't work in the AOI housing. That led me to purchase the Olympus 8-25, but the edge performance is lousy so now I'll have to get a different dome and hope it also works with the 12-40.

 

[rmorgan]

This is my most used lens underwater- it's kinda wide, kinda long, and a great option for those dives where you don't know what you're going to get.

Same here, with the Zen 170. The 12-40, the Panasonic 8mm, and of course, the Olympus 60 are my happy places. The 8-25 doesn't fit in Nauticam housings anyway, but it's my understanding that all wide rectilinear lenses have corner issues behind domes.

 

[BoltSnap]

The 8-25 doesn't fit in Nauticam housings anyway,

No, it uses a dome port and a ring. Check Nauticam's updated port chart for m4/3.

 

[rmorgan]

Roger that, Boltsnap. I'd forgotten; I have the Zen 170/ii, which has a long neck which won't accommodate the 8-25 due to the permanent mount of the lens shade. Thanks for the correction!

 

[BoltSnap]

I am saving my pennies for the 8-25 lense with the port etc.

 

[vsc]

This is my most used lens underwater- it's kinda wide, kinda long, and a great option for those dives where you don't know what you're going to get.

This is exactly my impression of this lens as well, matching a passage in Martin Edge's Underwater Photography book. With respect to performance behind Olympus's recommended flat port is very good in my experience.