Best lens? - Underwater Photography Forum

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Q. Best lens?
Asked by Ben Horton (K=1226) on 11/30/2003

I am going to be doing some underwater photography in a few locations that I dive regularly, we will be shooting mostly schools of tuna and hammer heads, huge manta rays and the occasional whale shark. (No I'm not faking this) I am guessing that a 50 mm lense is Ideal for underwater photography. But, since I'll be shooting with my 10d (the underwater case for my 1ds is too expensive for now) I think that the 50mm lens will no longer be the best due to the 1.4 times conversion that takes place with the cmos sensor. I guess my question has two parts.

1. Is a 50mm "normal" lense the best for underwater photography?

2. What is a "normal" lense for a camera with a conversion of 1.4?

Bob Jarman (K=3142) - Comment Date 11/30/2003

50 is probably too big. 35 is considered normal but even that is way to big for large subjects.

Ideally you will want to get a 15mm or the widest you can get and get very close. If you shoot from a distance the water column will make your shot very poor.

The flash will only reach 2-6 feet depending on how stron a stobe you get.

If you plan on shooting shallow depths ambient it might work, but your shots will be very "blue" in cast.

John Karsten Moran (K=1184) - Comment Date 12/31/2003

what are you planning on shooting? Most people shoot either a macro rig or a wide angle rig. IF you're shooting wide, you'll want to get at least 28mm, IMHO. If you're shooting macro, a 90, 60, or 105 is recommended. Remember, you want to be as close to the subject as possible, so youll want a lens that close focuses well. I use a 24mm 1.8 EX Sigma, and have had fair results. I have also shot with a 28-80 zoom, which I liked, and some people use the 70-180mm micro nikkor, though that sounds a bit of a pain to drag around in a housing.

Dennis Wiener (K=236) - Comment Date 1/5/2004

For big fish wide is best. The 15mm on the Nikonos with dual strobes is fantastic. I'm not sure what the equivalent if any would be on a digital camera given the 1.6x increase in focal length.

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