Sony NEX-5, Nauticam housing

[PHIL RUDIN]

Several questions have been raised about the use of the 16mm pancake lens with the WIDE ANGLE adapter and 4.33 inch dome port on the Nauticam NEX-5 housing. I have images and comments on this setup now posted on NauticamUSA.com check the link, Nauticam USA - Innovation Underwater - Nauticam USA News

Phil Rudin

 

[Md Spear]

Hi guys,
I'm a backpacking diving instructor who wants to get into UW photography. The NEX 5 with the nauticam housing seems like a great package for what I want. I like that you can use the Nikonos lenses, but I don't know if it's a bit mad to start out with a Nikonos as my first lens, what do you think? Better to stay with the Sony lenses and keep it simple?
It's also not clear if I would need a dome port with the Nikonos, I've seen it with and without the Sea & Sea 12mm full-frame fisheye. Would you recommend the 15mm Nikonos as a general use wide angle lens?
Many thanks!

I got the nex5 /nauticam set up solely for the purpose of using the nikonos 15 mm .no port needed , just an adapter for the nikonos bayonet syle mounting. Turtle Encounter off of Key West on Vimeo a turtle snippet from Key West ,Fla in 48 fsw. I cant say enough how great the nikonos 15mm is to use. just set the lens your desired f stop , put the min and max red arrows where you want the focus to be and the sony nex 5 does it all in video automatically. most every thing from 16 inches to infinity will be in focus. all my vimeo stuff is with my new sony nex 5 and the 15mm. alot of the wreck dive stuff on the British Splendor video is on available light at 100 fsw. Great camera for wide angle video. the view screen is way more important on video than the optical viewfinder because you can instantly see expose and tilt camera up to lighten pics or tilt down to darken , or choose a different f stop on the nikonos lens. amazing u/w videos this tool produced for me.
http://vimeo.com/28596092 link to wreck dive film of British Splendor shot w/ sony nex5 and 15mm lens.

 

[giorgino]

Several questions have been raised about the use of the 16mm pancake lens with the WIDE ANGLE adapter and 4.33 inch dome port on the Nauticam NEX-5 housing. I have images and comments on this setup now posted on NauticamUSA.com check the link, Nauticam USA - Innovation Underwater - Nauticam USA News

Phil Rudin

Please Phil, I'm very interested to 4.33 dome, but not found infos on that link, because there are a loto of other things. Can you give a more specific link, please?

I have now a Nex-6 in Nauticam, and that dome. I noted the 16 mm behind 4.33 dome do not do autofocus
closer than around 1 m (3 ft) from the dome. I suppose that is because the minimum focus of the 16mm is not sufficiently short for that so curved dome. Right?

Thanks
Giorgino

 

[PHIL RUDIN]

Giorgio,

The Sony 16mm pancake lens focuses to 24cm (9 inches) and works fine in the proper 4.33 inch port (of which their are two with the proper one being required), it works even better with the wide angle and fisheye adapters in the same port. I am in Cozumel testing the lens and fisheye adapter with the new ZEN Underwater 170mm port and the results are quite good for a rather inexpensive lens. Also using the Sony 10-18 zoom and Panasonic M43 7-14mm zoom with the same port and a 20mm extension.

Phil Rudin

 

[giorgino]

Giorgio,

The Sony 16mm pancake lens focuses to 24cm (9 inches) and works fine in the proper 4.33 inch port (of which their are two with the proper one being required), it works even better with the wide angle and fisheye adapters in the same port. I am in Cozumel testing the lens and fisheye adapter with the new ZEN Underwater 170mm port and the results are quite good for a rather inexpensive lens. Also using the Sony 10-18 zoom and Panasonic M43 7-14mm zoom with the same port and a 20mm extension.

Phil Rudin

Many thanks Phil, my dome is #36125 and inside it is written "Nauticam E mount 4.33" fisheye port for Sel16F28 with fisheye converter VCL-ECF1", so I think it is the right one, isn't it? Waiting for your test with 10-18.

Giorgino

 

[Anthony A.]

Yes, 36125 is the correct port for the pancake with fisheye and/or wide angle adaptor. I havent been too impressed with the corner softness of the fisheye lens but if you know that limitation you can shoot in a way to only have water around the edges and not objects. I took many coral shots on my last trip and the edges were not sharp at all. Had to crop a lot of pics.

 

[giorgino]

Tnx Anthony, I use that port not with fisheye adapter but the VCL-Ecu1 one, the 110° or so wide adapter. Corners are acceptable I think, but also I cropped many pictures because sometimes the angle of view is too wide. I would prefere to use the 16mm bare, but in the first test I noted that the autofocus doesn't permit to focus subjects nearer than 1 meter (3 ft) or less. Have you tested the bare 16mm with the 36125?

 

[alien]

I have used the 16mm bare and with the VCL-Ecu1 adapter with the dome port. Works well but prefer bare as just too far away otherwise.