Panasonic 7-14 mm

[fabgo]

Hi,

I am new to underwater photography and am evaluating housings and ports. I have the GX1 with the Panasonic 7-14mm lens. I am trying to decide between the (upcoming) 10Bar and the Nauticam housing. The Nauticam is twice the cost (once you add ports and gears) compared to the 10Bar, money I could use to buy other gear, such as the 8mm FE and port. I'd love to hear from Panasonic 7-14 owners and see some sample pictures taken with this lens on either housing before I make a decision. Does anyone have any pictures (preferrably hi-res) taken with the Panasonic 7-14 that they could share? I am especially interested in evaluating the corner sharpness at the wide end. Doesn't have to be super close-up - my main interest is whales, whale sharks, mantas, pelagics, etc., not reefs and CFWA.

Thanks,
- Fabian

 

[Wisnu]

My camera is EPL-1 not GX1, use with 10bar and semi dome. i can say 10bar semidome port - is too small for 7-8 mm.
here an example - you can see similar lot pic with soft edges in my album

 

[chris196]

From all the comments I've seen about the 10bar semi dome and the 7-14, it seems like it would make much more sense to use the olympus 9-18 behind that dome.

I have the oly 9-18 on an epl2 in the oly housing with the Zen dome and that's a great combo. I briefly thought about the 10bar, but comments like the ones from Winsu pushed me to the oly housing with Zen dome. I wasn't ready to go all the way to nauticam.
Wide angle was important to me and it seemed like the oly/Zen combo was the best value for IQ.
If money is no object, get the nauticam setup. Or sell your 7-14, get the 9-18 and the 10bar.
It just seems like the 7-14 behind the 10bar is a waste of money on the lense.

 

[kkfok]

Is there anyone using 7-14 in a nauticam setup? What is the corner sharpness like? I have using a nauticam GH2 housing and is looking at the feasibility to use 7-14, thanks.

 

[fabgo]

Hi Wisnu,

You got a lot of nice photos. I looked through all your albums. Thanks for leaving the EXIF info in! Of course it's a bit hard to judge from the small images, but I actually think the 10Bar port is looking pretty good, even at 7mm. Stopped down past f/8, and with a little care in focusing/composition, even the extreme corners are starting to look pretty decent to me.

I'm thinking for my planned use - whales, sharks, mantas, pelagics, which aren't as close, it could work pretty well.

Like kkfok though, I'd be curious to see some examples from the Nauticam 6" dome to see how it compares. I have heard mixed things about this setup, but haven't seen enough samples to form my own opinion.

 

[BluewaterPhoto]

For the 7-14mm you want to use as large a dome as possible. The dome also should be in the proper place. For 10-bar, you should get perfectly fine results with the fisheye dome port and an extension ring. I'm sure Nauticam will have a similar setup that gives good results. Like Wisnu said, the semi-dome port is not the right 10-bar port for the 7-14mm.

btw, one of our customers uses the 7-14mm for humpback whales and is very pleased with the results. A 9-18mm wouldn't be wide-enough for mantas, whales, whale sharks for me personally. Good luck! - Scott

 

[JackConnick]

You can use the 10Bar semi dome port with the 7-14 with a 12mm ext ring, but you won't have zoom control. That will help the corners at 7mm.

But even with a 6" dome and stopped down to f/11 or so, on a Nauticam GH2 setup I found that the 7-14 just isn't a good lens for CF/WA underwater. It does fine for large animals or wrecks when you have blue in the corners, etc. But the 8mm FE is a much better wide angle option; or the 9-18mm Oly is quite good behind the 10Bar semi-dome or other smaller domes like the Nauticam 4.3". We just don't think the 7-14mm is the best option.

Jack

 

[fabgo]

For the 7-14mm you want to use as large a dome as possible. The dome also should be in the proper place. For 10-bar, you should get perfectly fine results with the fisheye dome port and an extension ring. I'm sure Nauticam will have a similar setup that gives good results. Like Wisnu said, the semi-dome port is not the right 10-bar port for the 7-14mm.

btw, one of our customers uses the 7-14mm for humpback whales and is very pleased with the results. A 9-18mm wouldn't be wide-enough for mantas, whales, whale sharks for me personally. Good luck! - Scott

Hi Scott.

That's kind of what I am thinking. If I can get proper dome placement, the 7-14mm should work fine. How big is the 10Bar FE dome? As far as I can tell a 4" dome would be a bit too small to place properly because of the fixed lens shade on this lens.

But as Jack is saying, I lose zoom control... I assume that is a peculiar issue with 10Bar housings? With other manufacturers zoom should still work even with an extension, correct?

Thanks,
- Fabian

 

[JackConnick]

Here's some photos shot at 7mm with the Nauticam GH2 behind their 6" 7-14 dome port, and yes you have full zoom control.


GH2-12 by Pixel Letch, on Flickr


GH2-8 by Pixel Letch, on Flickr

I think they work fine if you have blue water in the corners, but for CF/WA, even stopped down to f/11 or so, the corners are problematic.
So behind the 100x77mm 10bar port it will vignette unless you use a 12mm ext ring, which will also help the corners. Behind the 125 dome port results should be similar to the above - but again no zoom control on either solution. Which if you are shooting CF/WA isn't really an issue that big an issue.

I think the Oly 9-18 is a better lens for CF/WA behind the 10Bar 100 port. Shown below at 9mm on an E-PL1:


Aquarium shots w-9-18mm-12 by Pixel Letch, on Flickr

Jack

 

[fabgo]

Here's some photos shot at 7mm with the Nauticam GH2 behind their 6" 7-14 dome port, and yes you have full zoom control.

Thanks Jack!

Do you know the focal length and aperture for those two Nauticam shots? Are both at 7mm? I can't see the Exif because downloading is disabled on flickr.

The 2nd one looks pretty good to me, I agree the 1st does have some corner problems.

Regards,
- Fabian