I did another Facebook Live session on Thursday where this time I talked about the cameras and lenses Anne and myself use for both underwater photography and on land. Here is the complete, unedited version if you didn’t see it live. I looked at mirrorless versus DSLR, sensor sizes and what lenses suit different types of photography including some sample shots. Also what ports for underwater housings go with the lenses and some of the specific features of Olympus Micro Four-Thirds cameras.
Below the video on this page you’ll be able to find a list of the cameras and lenses mentioned including links to buy them from Amazon. Because we are part of an Associate Programme if you buy via these links it helps to support us producing blogs, videos and running our Facebook Q & A group (which you are welcome to join).
For those interested the wine I was drinking is Drifting, Merlot 2016 from Lodi, California available from Grape to Grain. We don’t get money for promoting tham but they are a small business local to us that deserve some support.
The book I mentioned was The Wildlife & Nature Photographer’s Field Guide by Michael Freeman. It’s out of print but you can buy a used copy by clicking here. It’s an interesting book dating from 1984, so looking at film photography but much of it is relevant to current wildlife photography.
The camera we use is the Olympus OMD EM10 MkII which has now been superceded by the EM10 MkIII but as I mentioned during the talk any of the three OMD model types are well suited for underwater photography and the cost of the Nauticam housings we sell for them is quite similar.
The current models in order of cost are the OMD EM10 MKIII, EM5 MkIII and EM1 MkIII and the predeccessors are (funnily enough) the EM10 MkII, EM5 MkII and EM1 MkII. We can currently supply Nauticam housings for all these models except the EM1 MkIII which is the newest in the range and is awaiting the release of a housing. For housing quotes email info@alphamarinephoto.com To go to the page for each camera on Amazon click the name in this paragraph. There currently seems to be a shortage of EM1 MkIII’s so no link at the moment.
On to the lenses. I’ll list equivalent full frame focal length and approximate diagonal angle of view along with the full name including actual focal length, acronyms and maximum apertures for each one. In addition for those lenses I’ve used underwater I’ll give the relevant Nauticam ports and extensions which we can supply. As with the cameras click on the lens name to go to the Amazon link. If you aren’t a fan of shopping with Amazon we have now signed up with some camera shops to give more dealer options. See the banners at the bottom of this article.
Olympus M-Zuiko 14-42mm 1:3.5-5.6 EZ ED MSC. Equivalent to 28-84mm on Full Frame. Angle of View 75º to 28.5º This lens is often supplied as a kit lens with Olympus camera bodies. Port: Power zoom macro port 29 (a zoom gear is also needed for this lens)
Olympus M-Zuiko 8mm 1:1.8 Fisheye Pro. Equivalent to a 16mm Fisheye on a Full Frame. Angle of View 180º
Port: 4.33” acrylic dome and 20mm extension
Panasonic Leica DG Macro-Elmarit 1:2.8 45mm Asph. Equivalent to 90mm Macro on Full Frame. Angle of view 27º Port: Macro Port 45
Olympus M-Zuiko 60mm 1:2.8 Macro ED MSC. Equivalent to 120mm Macro on Full Frame. Angle of view 20º Port: Macro Port 45 and 20mm extension or Macro port 65
Olympus M-Zuiko 25mm 1:1.8 MSC. Equivalent to 50mm on Full Frame. Angle of view 47º Port: 4.33” Acrylic Dome
Olympus M-Zuiko 12mm 1:2.0 ED MSC. Equivalent to 24mm on Full Frame. Angle of view 84º Port: 4.33” acrylic dome
Olympus M-Zuiko 30mm 1:3.5 Macro ED MSC. Equivalent to 60mm on Full Frame. Angle of view 40º Port: Macro Port 45
Olympus M-Zuiko 75mm 1:1.8 ED MSC. Equivalent to 150mm on Full Frame. Angle of view 16.4º Port: macro Port 45 and 20mm extension or Macro Port 65
Panasonic Lumix G Vario 100-300mm 1:4-5.6. Equivalent to 200-600mm Full Frame. Angle of view 12º to 4º NOTE: We actual use the original model of this lens but there have been a couple of further versions. Thlink on the name is to the 2013 model but there is a more expensive 2017 Ultra version available here. If you have a larger budget the telephoto zoom lens we would like to have is the Panasonic LUMIX H-RS100400E 100-400 mm LEICA DG Vario-Elmar Lens.
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I’m doing a talk every Thursday at 8pm UK time. Go to our Facebook Live section on the Alphamarine page to watch.
Thanks for watching and if you’d like to help support me doing more talks like this go to my ‘buy me a coffee page to donate.
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