Underwater Photos from Anilao, Philippines

pelsasser wrote:

EvilOtter wrote:

pelsasser wrote:

kelpdiver wrote:

EvilOtter wrote:

Stunning macro shots! Great job on the black backgrounds. The subjects really pop.

Are you using the Oly 60mm macro and are you using any wet lenses?

the 60 is great there, where in other spots I often find it a bit confining, ponder the cost of the panasonic 45. But so many really tiny objects in Anilao.

Now you're hosed when you set the 10" sea horse (unlike the pygmy in this gallery), or the plate sized frogfish, but that's always the trouble. Just strap a Go Pro on top of the housing, or get your partner to carry a compact camera with more focal range.

Yes, it is a bit of a bummer there is no gear to take the lens out of 1:1 macro mode while in the housing. I have done it for a few dives before to be able to shoot larger animals. In fact, for some of the Coconut Octopus shots, I had done just that. They are slightly too large for the 6omm in macro mode. With the second step in the focus limiter they are much better framed, but of course now you are a lot further from the subject which has its own challenges underwater.

I own this lens but I have not used it underwater yet since my current rig is a compact. What happens if you leave the switch on 0.19 to infinity? Does the focus hunt too much to be useful on macro subjects? If not, can you get reasonable portraits on larger subjects? Thanks for any insight that you can provide.

No worries on derailing this thread, happy to share my experiences with the lens underwater.

Personally, I don't think you are ever going to get a shot with strobes @ 60mm (m43rds) were you are further than the .4m focus limiter that will turn out well. In my experience it is actually further than .4m that it will focus in that mode. Also, if you are relying on strobes, backscatter becomes too much of an issue as you are getting that far away to produce an acceptable image to me.

Thanks for taking the time to respond. In my case, I primarily shoot video, so there would be an advantage to shooting at infinity in ambient light. I will spend more time with the lens on land, playing with both modes, to see for myself. Derail over!