Dome Port

[chris196]

Yes, I do like the 60mm behind the dome.
It's so nice not to change the port. I can decide last minute which lens I'm taking.

 

[PHIL RUDIN]

To the original post and some of the others, a flat port reduces the angle of view of the lens and makes things look closer and bigger just like your mask does underwater. The dome port retains the original AOV of the lens.

ZEN Underwater make four optical glass ports for the Olympus PT-EPL housings, a Panasonic 8mm fisheye port, a Panasonic 7-14mm port, an Olympus 9-18 and 14-42 port and a Panasonic 45mm macro flat port.

Look at link to see them all.

Zen Underwater : Reef Photo & Video!, The Underwater Photo Pros

Phil Rudin

 

[deeper thoughts]

Yes, I do like the 60mm behind the dome.
It's so nice not to change the port. I can decide last minute which lens I'm taking.

View attachment 170713View attachment 170714

Those are very nice

 

[gert7to3]

The 14-42mm lens and the 60mm macro are both fairly long lenses, approximately 4 in./10cm length, and they both work behind the Zen dome. I haven't seen the 9-18mm zoom though that's supposed to be the sweet lens for this dome.

A dome lens simply corrects for the magnification factor caused by the greater index of refraction of water vs. air. If a lens is capable of focusing closer than 12 in/4.5 cm, then it should be ok behind the dome. A long time ago I as looking at an u/w set up and the kit lens required a plus 2 diopter magnifyer because it could not focus closer than 12 in/4.5cm.

 

[deeper thoughts]

Yes, I do like the 60mm behind the dome.
It's so nice not to change the port. I can decide last minute which lens I'm taking.

View attachment 170713View attachment 170714

No matter how I tried I could not get the 60mm to autofocus behind the zen port

 

[BlueDevil]

I am contemplating buying a dome so would be interested in any other feedback on using the 60mm and 12-50mm with the dome.

It would certainly be handy to have one port that covered all my lenses, but I don't want to compromise on image quality (or autofocus capability as per 'deeper thoughts' post above) for macro shots.

 

[deeper thoughts]

I am contemplating buying a dome so would be interested in any other feedback on using the 60mm and 12-50mm with the dome.

It would certainly be handy to have one port that covered all my lenses, but I don't want to compromise on image quality (or autofocus capability as per 'deeper thoughts' post above) for macro shots.

It focused fine above water but not even once under

 

[sooke]

It focused fine above water but not even once under

I use a EPL-5 in a Oly PT-EP10 housing with the Zen WA dome and the 60mm lens and have very clear focused photos.
I set the 60mm lens range at .9 meters to infinity and shoot away. If the dome gets too close to the subject then the lens never focuses properly.
I back up focus, move in and rock the housing back and forth with the shutter lever at half way point until the screen shows very clear focus and push the shutter down all the way.

 

[chris196]

I am using the Zen WA100 dome with an epl2 oly housing. I set the 60mm for .19 to infinity.
I really can't recall how close I got to things, but focus was not an issue. It usually achieved focus quickly. But, not sure if I ever tried to put something just a couple of inches from the dome. The magnification would be quite high at that point.

I have never tried the 60mm with the original flat port, so can't comment on the image quality of 60mm behind that port. Behind the dome, I think the quality is excellent and I don't feel the need for greater magnification which is what the flat port would give you.
Like I said before, the beauty of this setup is if you also use the 9-18. You can go from macro to 100 degree view all without changing the port.

 

[deeper thoughts]

I am using the Zen WA100 dome with an epl2 oly housing. I set the 60mm for .19 to infinity.
I really can't recall how close I got to things, but focus was not an issue. It usually achieved focus quickly. But, not sure if I ever tried to put something just a couple of inches from the dome. The magnification would be quite high at that point.

I have never tried the 60mm with the original flat port, so can't comment on the image quality of 60mm behind that port. Behind the dome, I think the quality is excellent and I don't feel the need for greater magnification which is what the flat port would give you.
Like I said before, the beauty of this setup is if you also use the 9-18. You can go from macro to 100 degree view all without changing the port.

Ok I guess I will give it another go. I just checked and had the setting on .4 to infinity. Maybe that is the reason?