Fisheye FIX for the S90

[CompuDude]

The adapters are being revised to incorporate a lock that holds them on the front port a little more securely, so we have not been able to do any in house testing yet. I have been informed by Fisheye staff in Japan that the UWL-04 doesn't vignette, but we are looking forward to confirming that in house, and doing some tests to evaluate corner sharpness for this camera with wide angle adapters (and the G11 options too) once we have all of the correct parts on hand.

The current list of lens adapters is:
S90 AD Mount Adapter for INON UWL-100 28 AD
S90 M67 Mount Adapter
S90 ST Mount Adapter
S90 M52 Mount for FIX UWL-04 M46/52/67

Fisheye is closed until Jan 6, so hopefully they'll have some time to get down to Izu and send back some sample photos!

Hi, Ryan, I called in last Wednesday (12/23) but missed you... I haven't had a chance to call in yet this week. I did get the great news that the FIX housings had arrived.

The guy I spoke to (name has slipped my mind, sorry) said he was not aware of any 67mm adapter, was this simply an error?

He also said he wasn't sure if the various adapter types could easily be changed underwater, which concerns me. It's important for me to be able to switch from wide angle lenses to macro as easily as possible, through the course of a dive. (Else I'd just buy a DSLR and be done with it!) That's my goal for this housing.

He also told me that my existing pair of Inon UCL-165ad lenses are more powerful than the cool flip-down lenses FIX was offering for the housing... is that correct?

Great news on the Inon 28 AD adapter, although I suppose that depends on how well the lens performs, especially compared to the FIX UWL-04... is that natively a 52mm threaded mount?

If you can't easily change lens mounts during a dive, what's the best method of being able to switch? The 52mm mount for the FIX WA lens, plus a pair of Inon UCL-165m67 lenses, with a step down adapter to 52mm?

Or hey, maybe a Subsee? The mind reels...

 

[Ryan]

Sorry for the lack of preliminary info, until these things actually arrive it is tough to keep everybody up to speed around here.

There will be a 67mm adapter, as listed above.

The adapter is basically fixed to the front of the housing, and you can bayonet or thread lenses on and off of it, allowing them to be changed underwater. This is not a dedicated port system like G11. I'm not yet sure how easy it would be to change adapters underwater, but macro lenses could be attached via m52-m67 with a stepup ring (which is a lot cheaper).

UCL-165 AD are +6 each, and the 2 element flip lens is two +5 lenses, so your UCL-165AD are more powerful. We can produce an AD-52mm adapter, which I expect will be popular with these housings.

UWL-04 is a native 52mm mount.

 

[CompuDude]

Sorry for the lack of preliminary info, until these things actually arrive it is tough to keep everybody up to speed around here.

There will be a 67mm adapter, as listed above.

The adapter is basically fixed to the front of the housing, and you can bayonet or thread lenses on and off of it, allowing them to be changed underwater. This is not a dedicated port system like G11. I'm not yet sure how easy it would be to change adapters underwater, but macro lenses could be attached via m52-m67 with a stepup ring (which is a lot cheaper).

UCL-165 AD are +6 each, and the 2 element flip lens is two +5 lenses, so your UCL-165AD are more powerful. We can produce an AD-52mm adapter, which I expect will be popular with these housings.

UWL-04 is a native 52mm mount.

If I can get an AD-52mm adapter for the UWL-04, allowing me to amount it via bayonet connectors, just like my UWL-165AD's, and still with no vignetting, we're a big step closer to a sale.

I'll wait on actual images, and Nemrod's feedback, but I'm feeling more and more positive about this.

 

[dhuskins]

Observations on the Fisheye FIX housing: (oh, and THANK YOU RYAN)

Very nice housing. It fit on my ULC arms/rig well. The buttons (other than power...) were all very convenient and easy to use (I didn't wear gloves.) All in all, it is a great housing.

I have only two negative points about it. First, the plastic ring that hides the lens adapter groves comes off very easy. This is a minor issue and will go away when the adapter replaces it.

The other issue is a bit more significant (but still able to be worked around.) The AD-HS adapter (hot shoe adapter) is large enough that when it sits on the hot shoe, it is difficult to press the power button. It is not impossible, just a little difficult. The best workaround is to use the AC-NB adapter (that extends from another ball) and not use the hot shoe mount on the Fisheye FIX housing.

In the end, I am not disappointed. The dials and buttons function smoothly and easily. I am extremely happy with it.

 

[girellator]

Some pictures from the housing and the camera ?? Pleeeaaaasssee :blinking:

 

[dhuskins]

Housing passed the soak test and the connection tests.

Pictures to be uploaded later tomorrow morning.

- - - - -

Canon S90 with Fisheye FIX housing. Ultralight Control System arms with two Sea and Sea 110a using optical cables. Big Blue focus light. . . No wet lens yet due to no adapter yet.

 

[girellator]

Pictures to be uploaded later tomorrow morning.

Thank you !!!:blinking:

 

[CompuDude]

Housing passed the soak test and the connection tests.

Pictures to be uploaded later tomorrow morning.

- - - - -

Canon S90 with Fisheye FIX housing. Ultralight Control System arms with two Sea and Sea 110a using optical cables. Big Blue focus light. . . No wet lens yet due to no adapter yet.

Looking forward to to seeing the shots!

Do you have the UWL04 to connect once an adapter is available?

 

[dhuskins]

I'm running a bit late for the morning dive, so I don't have the time to search for how to upload pictures. I will look it up when I get back from this morning's dive/photo session and have a few pictures ready to upload.

Sorry for the delay.

 

[CompuDude]

Doug, you can either upload to ScubaBoard directly, or use a third party company like PhotoBucket.com or ImageShack.us and then simply paste in links to the images (or directly reference the images themselves).

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