Wide-angle or macro lens for 5050?

[erik.p]

Yeah, so I'm a bit lazy, but could someone help me out a bit here?

I've have the 5050 + Oly housing and I'm now considering getting a new toy. Strobes are out of the question because of cost and weight. Natural choice would be a lens.

Should I get a macro or wide-angle lens?

Before you tell me the obviuos - "depends on what you want to take photos of"...

I take all kind of photos, although the ones that tend to turn up best are of fish that don't swim away from me. Nudibranches are nice as well as they tend to be easy to find, and they don't swim at all. Check out my pics here (low quality and ignore the silly language);

http://www.sportdykare.se/viewAlbum.asp?ID={53103ED0-A667-4116-8454-36181256C2DC}
http://www.sportdykare.se/viewAlbum.asp?ID={4DA51D2D-3A28-4EE4-A774-EAB60AF1310F}
http://www.sportdykare.se/viewAlbum.asp?ID={7B42E420-8330-4430-8EE7-43F4691BA7BD}
http://www.sportdykare.se/viewAlbum.asp?ID={28E385B5-8E62-4A8D-BFEA-736D8BB282A9}
http://www.sportdykare.se/viewAlbum.asp?ID={CECB2C07-9F5E-4C00-965D-B6405DBDCE04}


Having seen my pics up to date, what lens do you think I would benefit most from?

 

[jlyle]

Get the macro lens adapter, first for your photos. You will use the adapter in "macro" mode + 75% zoom and the camera's flash will work perfectly for you. I've found that the WAL works best in clear water...

 

[erik.p]

Get the macro lens adapter, first for your photos. You will use the adapter in "macro" mode + 75% zoom and the camera's flash will work perfectly for you. I've found that the WAL works best in clear water...

Aha...so you have both?

If I could manage to take even half as nice pics as your macros - without the help of a stobe - I'd be more than pleased.

As you can see most of my pics are taken in clear water, so I maybe i shouldn't rule out the WAL?

 

[jlyle]

Aha...so you have both?

If I could manage to take even half as nice pics as your macros - without the help of a stobe - I'd be more than pleased.

As you can see most of my pics are taken in clear water, so I maybe i shouldn't rule out the WAL?

Yes, I have all the toys, macro, WAL, two strobes...

It's hard to choose between the WAL and the macro lens adapter if you are diving clear water. I like nudis and macro a lot, so the macro lens adapater is number one for me. But, I also like what you can do with wrecks and reef scenes with the WAL and am glad that I bought it.

 

[Jason B]

If you are not going to get a strobe right now, go with the macro as you can use the onboard flash with pretty good results.

 

[erik.p]

Ok - thanks for the feed back.

So I'm pretty sure I want the macro lens, which of course leads me to my next question...

- Which one should I get? (http://www.uwdigitalcamera.com/English/eM67lens.htm)

- Where should I get it, USA (via my sister) or Japan (via mail).

/Erik

 

[Dee]

IIRC the 165 will let you get a few more inches away from those skittish subjects while at the same time give you great magnification. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

Whichever you buy, you can't go wrong ordering from Yuzo at UWDigital.

 

[Scuba Shrink]

I've have the 5050 + Oly housing and I'm now considering getting a new toy.

I bought a 5050 2 years ago, planning on the housing later. I've had the housing for 4 months (playing in the pool), and did some homework. Ended up getting a package with the Inon 100 WAL and Inon D-180 strobe.

I had it in open. . . DIRTY water last weekend, and it is everything Inon says it is (strobe and lens). The fiber-optic synch that blocks visible light from the 5050 strobe virtually eliminated backscatter in <10' visibility water and resulted in great shots of the local fish. There are some combo deals that reduce the package price to possible levels.

BTW, you can't reasonably use the 5050 strobe with the Inon 100 lens (strobe angle is too small and the lens blocks 20% or more of the flash output in the lower left corner.

The complete package is a little heavy, but I don't think weight is the real issue if you're going to be taking U/W photos. It's bang for the buck. (p.s. I put the whole thing into a Pelican 1510 compartmented case. . . camera, housing, strobe, batteries, chargers, and my cobra computer, and it will fit in an airline overhead). The Inon lens is removable under water, and the 5050 macro capability is pretty good on its own.

Good luck picking.

 

[erik.p]

Many thanks for the input.

I'm pretty sure I'll get the Macro 165 from Japan.
Shipping is almost 30% of the total cost (for something that weighs 140 grams!),
so I'd sure like to find some other fool in Sweden willing to buy a lens
as well and thus split the shipping cost...still cheaper than getting it here in Europe though.

Strobe, temping as it is, is regretfully out of the question due to cost + bulkiness (above and under water).

Btw. Nice pic Scuba Shrink.