Fisheye FIX for the S90

[Nemrod]

Dry test shots with Canon S90/FIX housing.

Native 28mm, (this is the view as well that you would get with a dome port installed and underwater at 28mm):

Inon 100WAL Type II (with dome), camera set at 35mm:

Inon 165AD FE, camera set a 35mm:

Note, these shots are not intended to have proper exposure, they are simply to show potential lens compatibility and vignetting.

Note also that both of my Inon lenses are dome lenses and therefore they retain their surface FOV underwater and are not actually intended to work on the surface.

Note also that submerging wet lenses usually (seems to me) tends to further reduce distortions or vignetting since they are designed to operate wet.

Note shooting distance is approximately 18 inches, I may have sneaked forward by accident on the 165AD shot.

Note that there is no significant vignetting. These test shots indicate to me that there is no reason these lenses will not function satisfactorily with this rig if a well designed adapter is provided.

I hear it said often that with 28mm native lens cameras there is no advantage to using wet lenses especially if you must zoom to 35mm, I think these shots show this is not a truism.


Inon 100WAL with dome at 28mm/as an almost full fisheye framing:

Inon 100WAL with dome at 35mm in 4:3 framing, camera at nominal 35mm:

Canon S90 at 35mm equivalent, prime lens only, (note, this is the angle you would get approximately with a 28mm lens shooting through a flat port underwater):

OK, in this shot using the 100WAL with dome I took the circular image (from above) and cropped it to the standard 4:3 ratio in Photoshop, notice the similarity to the uncropped photo using the same lens but with the camera set to 35mm:

Inon 165AD FE at 28mm:

And one more with the Inon 165AD FE and the camera set at 35mm:

Note, every (all of them) shot above was taken with the Canon S90 camera installed into the FIX90 housing and the wet lens (when used) held, by hand, about 1/32 to 1/64 inches from the port.

N

 

[girellator]

And what about my question ..no interest to help a poor frog Nemrod ????Plleeeeaaassssee????

 

[Nemrod]

And what about my question ..no interest to help a poor frog Nemrod ????Plleeeeaaassssee????

Gosh, I am not all knowing and seeing. I am just a poor diver wanting to take a few pics! :blinking:

For technical questions involving large amounts of money I would ask the people who sell and or make the products.

To your question poor little frog , lol, It appears to me from what I know that the FIX lens is available in two mounts, a 52/67mm mount and a ST/FIX bayonet mount. It also appears from the FIX web page that they used the 57/67 version in the photos they put up at the previously provided links.

I do not know the answer to your question , I would prefer the bayonet mount but since I have a mix of threaded lenses I will buy, if I buy anything, the 52/67mm unit. I may not buy a FIX lens because, at this moment, I think I can get equal results with the Inon lenses I already have.

I know you are impatient , we are just going to have to let the information trickle out as the various adapters become available.

Nem

 

[girellator]

Thank you , I just wanted to know if my translation and understanding was the good one , now it's done :blinking:

 

[Mel Moncrieff]

Hi Girellator:

Your pictures on Flicker are fantastic! I especially enjoyed the sea lions in the kelp forest in San Benito. Is that in the Baja gulf or more out toward the Socorros? What camera setup were you using?

Mel

 

[Joti]

I have a question to throw into the mix. I'm new to UW photography, I've been shooting DSLR topside for a few years but looking to invest in my first UW rig.

Looking at the FIX housing but a little confused about the WA options.

The Inon lenses I see are very well received, and my choices as I see would be to get the UWL-100 and if I wanted a wider FOV I could get the dome unit? Alternatively, for about 2/3's half the price I could get the UFL-165AD but then I'd be limited to only the extreme fisheye FOV, not the ability to adapt the lens between WA and FE as with the dome and lens option?

The FIX lens there seems to be less feedback on the boards about from what I can see, but as with the 165AD option from Inon I think I would be limited to only a FE lens and not the option of a smaller FOV, but still WA lens as with the Inon lens + dome option.

Are these statements correct? Is there any more to it that I'm missing?

 

[Nemrod]

I have a question to throw into the mix. I'm new to UW photography, I've been shooting DSLR topside for a few years but looking to invest in my first UW rig.

Looking at the FIX housing but a little confused about the WA options.

The Inon lenses I see are very well received, and my choices as I see would be to get the UWL-100 and if I wanted a wider FOV I could get the dome unit? Alternatively, for about 2/3's half the price I could get the UFL-165AD but then I'd be limited to only the extreme fisheye FOV, not the ability to adapt the lens between WA and FE as with the dome and lens option?

The FIX lens there seems to be less feedback on the boards about from what I can see, but as with the 165AD option from Inon I think I would be limited to only a FE lens and not the option of a smaller FOV, but still WA lens as with the Inon lens + dome option.

Are these statements correct? Is there any more to it that I'm missing?

We do not know if there will be an adapter yet suitable for the Inon 165AD FE lens.

The FIX lens is probably great, I have heard good things on it, just never used or seen one.

The dome can be installed on either the Inon 100WAL Type II or the 10028AD. However, I am not sure you would want to remove the dome frequently, yes, you can remove it but it is perhaps a little more involved than you might think.

The Inon dome considerably increases the underwater FOV by at least 30 degrees over the same lens without the dome installed. The dome is quite heavy and is optical coated glass.

Y'all, until we get adapters in hand a lot of this is somewhat educated speculation. This housing has only been available, what, a week.

I suspect, that the Inon 28AD with dome will provide similar results to the FIX lens and that the Inon 100WAL with dome will be nearly as wide. The 165FE is very promising, I really like this little lens because it is sharp and has focus from the dome to infinity--but---no suitable adapter, no cigar. The other thing about the 165AD FE is that it is SMALL and is in proportion to the FIX90 housing, if you follow.

The adapters are not cheap, me I am going with the 67mm as soon as my latest eBay junk goes off!

Rear display showing both F stop and shutter speed read out and controllable directly with the control ring knobs:

Locking mechanism:

Precise fit:

For interest, FIX90 on Ikelite tray with Inon D2000:

N

 

[dhuskins]

More observations of the FIX housing . . .

The lip (step up) from the bottom of the housing to the area where the housing lock/latch is located exactly matches the thickness of the step on the Ultralight Control Systems second arm. This is very nice and convenient. Unfortunately, the back scraps against the tray every time it opens or closes. I will be running down to the local plastics store to buy a piece of plastic that I will place between the housing and the tray to give me just enough room so it stops rubbing. That way, I can open the housing without having to always take it off the tray.

 

[boydy117]

Photo's of FIX S90 housing and ULCS tray and arms

Here are some photo's of my arm and tray set up for the FIX S90 housing

 

[avster]

Thanks to everyone for posting their pictures of their housing. I have yet to see one of the bottom of the case. What is providing for mounting? Is it a single 1/4-20 hole? are there multiple holes?