Question Help/Advice/Opinion in Deciding what Wet Wide Angle Nauticam Lens to Get (To use with OLY 12-50mm lens)

[BoltSnap]

I am considering one of these 3 wet lenses to use with my OLY 12-50mm lens to add a rectinlear wide angle option in my kit:

1. The MWL-1 with 150Deg FoV. This lens can be used with the 12-50mm and the 30mm macro lenses. It is the most expensive of the 3 options but has the widest FoV, 150Deg, and works with two of my lenses. It runs about $2,100. I know that it can be attached to a flip adapter to have a choice to use it or not while underwater so that I can take macro, normal and very wide angle shots in one dive:

Macro to Wide Angle Lens 1 (MWL-1) ~150 deg. FOV with Full Frame 60mm Macro Lens

The Nauticam MWL-1 is a revolutionary concept! It is a wet-mounted ultra wide lens (meaning it can be attached and removed underwater) designed to be used with a 60mm full frame equivalent macro lens that results in an ultra-wide 150º field of view. The MWL-1 can focus from the lens' front...

www.nauticam.com

2. The WWL-C is the least weight of the 3 and the least cost but only works with one lens, the OLY 12-50mm with 130 Deg FoV. Costs around $1,100. I believe that it can be attached to a flip adapter to have a choice to use it or not while underwater so that I can take macro, normal and very wide angle shots in one dive (but not certain of this):

Wet Wide Lens for Compact Cameras (WWL-C) ~130 Deg. FOV with Compatible 24mm Lenses

The next evolution of the WWL-1 is here! As the versatility and capability of compact cameras increases, Nauticam has developed a smaller and lighter water contact wide angle lens tailored specifically to the compact camera user. Designed from the ground up to match the compact camera's form...

www.nauticam.com

3. The WWL-1 with 130Deg FoV. I know it is heavy but better quality than the WWL-C AFAIK. I don't know if it can be attached to a flip adapter to have a choice to use it or not while underwater so that I can take macro, normal and very wide angle shots in one dive:

Wet Wide Lens 1 (WWL-1) ~130 deg. FOV with compatible 28mm Lenses

The WWL-1 is the highest quality wet-changeable underwater wide-angle conversion optic ever made, featuring unmatched contrast, overall sharpness, corner sharpness, and clarity. The design is truly full zoom through, allowing zoom to to be used as a tool for framing, and removable in water for...

www.nauticam.com

I am going back and forth between the MWL-1 and the WWL-C but I don't know which way to go between the 3 lenses. Can anyone here give me help/input/advice/opinion that would help me to decide please? All of them are big $$$ for me so I want to make sure that I am getting the right lens.


P.S. I have the Pani 8mm fisheye but it isn't the right lens for what I want to do. I participate in U/W photography competitions in the Middle East and the 8mm fisheye doesn't address the photography categories in the competitions based on my previous experience.

 

[Nemrod]

Attaching either the WWL-1 or 1C to a flip adapter is going to be a stretch. Both lenses are chunks of glass and aluminum and are heavy and massive pieces of kit. And both are everything Nauticam claims of them and some reviews have stated them to be superior to lenses behind a dome. But a flip adapter, hmmm, not sure about that.

The WWL lenses are general purpose semi-fisheye wide angle lenses with zoom through capability. The MWL is somewhat specialized for doing macro close focus wide angle, a small subject (comparatively) in the foreground.

Even if the flip holders are strong enough to support the lenses they are still hanging on the camera. How do you plan to maneuver in close to a small critter even with a giant lens flipped to the side?

Underwater the WWL-1 and 1C are near weightless but you do have to get in and out of the water and I just do not see a flip holder being able to take the shock of a diver jumping in with camera rig as I often have to.

 

[rmorgan]

Can you use the WWL-C with an M4/3 camera? I think of it for the TG-6, etc.

 

[BoltSnap]

Can you use the WWL-C with an M4/3 camera? I think of it for the TG-6, etc.

The lens chart says it can with the 12-50mm OLY lens.

 

[Nemrod]

Can you use the WWL-C with an M4/3 camera? I think of it for the TG-6, etc.

The WWL-1C would work with a TGX but is overkill for that sort of small sensor camera. The WWL-1C is perfect for M4:3 and does in fact do just fine with the Sony with the APS-C format. I know this because I have used one and it is also in the chart. In fact, if I had it to do again for my Sony I would have given up a little optical performance for compactness and gone with the WWL-1C over the WWL-1(B).

 

[rmorgan]

Thanks, gents. I based my question on Nauticam's marketing squib: "Designed from the ground up to match the compact camera's form factor without sacrificing optical quality, the WWL-C is a powerful addition to not only Nauticam compact housings but also, via an optional adapter, to those from other manufacturers such as the Olympus TG-6 and their PT-059 housing." Should've looked at the lens chart.

Boltsnap, have you thrown the switch on one of your options?

 

[Nemrod]

Thanks, gents. I based my question on Nauticam's marketing squib: "Designed from the ground up to match the compact camera's form factor without sacrificing optical quality, the WWL-C is a powerful addition to not only Nauticam compact housings but also, via an optional adapter, to those from other manufacturers such as the Olympus TG-6 and their PT-059 housing." Should've looked at the lens chart.

Boltsnap, have you thrown the switch on one of your options?

I think really by "compact" they mean the 1 inch sensor format cameras like the RX and Canon G series. The itsy bitsy tinsy tiny TG is hardly a compact, it is like a tiny toy camie with a sensor so tiny it is smaller than a gnat. I am being elitist, forgive me .

But the WWL-1C does work well with the M4:3. I think Nauticam kind of shot themselves in the foot because the WWL-1C is so versatile and is indeed compact compared to the WWL-1.

 

[BoltSnap]

Thanks, gents. I based my question on Nauticam's marketing squib: "Designed from the ground up to match the compact camera's form factor without sacrificing optical quality, the WWL-C is a powerful addition to not only Nauticam compact housings but also, via an optional adapter, to those from other manufacturers such as the Olympus TG-6 and their PT-059 housing." Should've looked at the lens chart.

Boltsnap, have you thrown the switch on one of your options?

Not yet. It will probably be the MWL-1 but my decision will change million times before I do it.

 

[rmorgan]

Not yet. It will probably be the MWL-1 but my decision will change million times before I do it.

Only a million? You're obviously a decisive diver!

 

[parkerpr]

I have the 12-50 with Nauticam port and gear, plus the WWL-1C. As previously stated, it’s a chunk of glass and metal for sure. Very nice wet lens though. I get slight vignette wide open, but could be due to the bayonet mount.