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Hi everyone,
Since I created that discussion, I’ve had a chance to try 3 different wide angle lenses with the TG, so let me share my thoughts there:
AOI UWL-04A
The first lens I tried, I went for it because it offered a 160° FOV, but I then realised it displayed very blurry corners. I am not one to be too bothered by corners, but it’s so soft that you can tell there’s something wrong when looking at the image from a distance. To be fair, it is NOT a lens that AOI recommends for the TG (probably works better with other cameras), I just was curious to try it.
AOI UWL-400A (same as the Backscatter M52 120?)
This one I like much better. It offers a more modest 120° FOV, but it has been built with the TG in mind, meaning it’s compact and the image quality is pretty good. The very end of the corners tend to be oft, but this represents a small surface of the image, not different from what you’d expect/accept using a big rig and wide-angle rectilinear lens. Although I am not 100% sure, I strongly believe this is the same lens as the Backscatter M52 Underwater 120° wide-angle lens, just different branding.
Nauticam WWL-C
The WWL-C produces a slightly wider 130° FOV with the TG, but more importantly, it’s sharp till the tip of the corners. This is the highest quality optic I’ve used with the TG. This isn’t surprising I found it worked beautifully with 45 Mpix full frame sensors found on the Canon R5 Mark II and Nikon Z8 too (paired with their 24-50mm lenses).
That lens is significantly more expensive than the previous option, plus you need to add a Nauticam adaptor to attach it to the Olympus/OM System PT-058/PT-059 housing (part number 83256), and it may not be compatible with all housing brands (doesn’t come with a thread).
I think the WWL-C is a good option if you really want to maximise image quality, or are thinking to upgrade to a bigger system down the track, where you could keep using that lens.
Yet, the UWL-400A really pairs well with the TG, it’s small enough to fit in a drysuit pocket or cargo/tech short pocket when I don’t need it, so it’s the lens I tend to use most.
I’ve attached a few illustrative shots:
-Fur seals: you can see the blurry corners with the UWL-04A
-Turtle: classic shot I took in Dauin with the UWL-400A, you can see just a tiny bit of softness in the corners
-2 ghost pipefish: another Dauin shot also with the UWL-400A. The small size of the lens lends itself nicely to CFWA with small subjects, the WWL-C would work too for this.
-Split shot (coconut) with the UWL-400A. For this I used one of the backscatter no-burp o-rings.
-Diver amongst jetty pillars: this one I took in Sydney with the WWL-C, tack-sharp across the frame.
If anyone else has experience to share in regards to wet lenses used on the TG, I’d love to read from you!
