c8080/c7070 versus c5050

[herman]

From what I understand, no, this will not work on the 7070- all the rest it will work on. So far I have found no one who has made it work and at least one SB poster indicated that they had been in touch with Oly and they confirmed the 7070 can not be made to fire in SM.

 

[DrSteve]

Damn!

I'm trying to remember the difference between Macro and SMacro modes. It's the distance from the subject for effective focus in each mode and the SM locks the zoom doesn't it? I'm just wondering if regular macro can be made to do the same thing as super macro.

 

[herman]

You got it. For really small critters you will want super macro or you can add macro lens to the housing. The C5050's min focal distance in macro is around 10in and 1.5 in supermacro. I don't know what they are for the others but I would assume it's close to the same.

 

[Wolverine]

Well, I know how difficult it is to shoot any critter at full zoom with an add-on lens and I think it will be just as difficult to use Supermacro. I actually can live without the supermacro u/w as I can achieve the same with add-on lens and NOT have to go full zoom.

Look at my take on the C7070 and some of the shots I managed to squeeze off over the weekend.

 

[herman]

Nice photos.
I like the supermacro just because I don't have to use add on lens. I don't have to worry about installing and removing them or dropping it. I can switch from SM to regular shot in a couple of seconds if needs be. This is really just personal preference with neither right or wrong. What distance were the christmas tree worms shot at?

 

[DrSteve]

Well, I know how difficult it is to shoot any critter at full zoom with an add-on lens and I think it will be just as difficult to use Supermacro. I actually can live without the supermacro u/w as I can achieve the same with add-on lens and NOT have to go full zoom.

Look at my take on the C7070 and some of the shots I managed to squeeze off over the weekend.

Awesome pictures. Not only do you have a good eye for spotting those well camouflaged critters you know their names as well! Did you use the macro lens for the close ups, or were they shot in the macro mode?

 

[Wolverine]

Nice photos.
I like the supermacro just because I don't have to use add on lens. I don't have to worry about installing and removing them or dropping it. I can switch from SM to regular shot in a couple of seconds if needs be. This is really just personal preference with neither right or wrong. What distance were the christmas tree worms shot at?

The x'mas tree worms were shot at prob less than 10inchs but even then I had to crop the picture. At supermacro the worm would have just run back into the tube. I was using 2 Inon UCL165s.

 

[Wolverine]

Awesome pictures. Not only do you have a good eye for spotting those well camouflaged critters you know their names as well! Did you use the macro lens for the close ups, or were they shot in the macro mode?

I used Macromode + the close up lens. Depending on the critter and big I want the shot, I use 1 lens or stack 2 together. That way, I don't have to get too close to get a decent size shot. Also, it helps with the focus as the DOF is larger.

 

[f3nikon]

Nice photos.
I like the supermacro just because I don't have to use add on lens. I don't have to worry about installing and removing them or dropping it. I can switch from SM to regular shot in a couple of seconds if needs be. This is really just personal preference with neither right or wrong. What distance were the christmas tree worms shot at?

That’s only a minor concern on an “add-on” lens. The bigger problem I am seeing is the degrading image when using an “add-on” close up or wide-angles.

Olympus went through pain staking designs to optimize the optics for maximum color saturation and focus, attaching an “add on” lens particularly an unmatched, low cost unit, may have just thrown those designs right out the window.

I am not saying that the Inons are “cheap” lenses, but since they are “wet” lenses, is there the same multi coatings on the glass that you see on the primary lenses and since one is attaching the “add-on” to the UW housing, how can you be sure that the “add-on” is absolutely parallel with the primary lens and CCD sensor?

If you compare the images taken with a C-8080 as in Nick’s photos, no “add-on” lens I believe, just the primary lens. The colors are pleasingly saturated, no color shift; the focus is very sharp (easy to tell where the sharp focus begins and ends.) and I don’t see a light “haziness” effect in the images. Now the C-8080 does have a wider primary lens but this may not matter because I have seen good color saturation even with a C-5060.

http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=101516&page=1

More reading:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromatic_aberration

http://www.vanwalree.com/optics/chromatic.html

 

[f3nikon]

I used Macromode + the close up lens. Depending on the critter and big I want the shot, I use 1 lens or stack 2 together. That way, I don't have to get too close to get a decent size shot. Also, it helps with the focus as the DOF is larger.

Great lighting balancing on the blue water. Did you use the add-on lens on all your close ups?