S.U.P.E.R. Part 16: AIO Macro Wet Lenses
In our ongoing series S.U.P.E.R. (Scubaverse’s Underwater Photography Equipment Reviews), Scubaverse.com’s underwater photography editors Nick and Caroline Robertson Brown review new underwater photography equipment, general diving equipment, and some older favourites too.
For the sixteenth instalment of S.U.P.E.R., Nick and Caroline take a look at the AIO Macro Wet Lenses.
Happy times for underwater photographers are here. When once there were only a handful of wet lenses to choose from, it now seems like the choice is too great! Over the next few months, we will have a look at some of the macro lenses on offer. The first of these are the AOI macro lenses. We got our hands on the +6 and the +12 thanks to Ocean Leisure Cameras, and we took them up to Capernwray to see what was what. For this day in the water, we attached the lenses to a Canon G9X in a Fantasea housing. Rather than relying on a friendly trout to hang out with us, we took along some of our artificial reef creatures to photograph.
These lenses have a 67mm screw thread and so can be attached to an ever increasing number of housings that have this as an in-built housing feature, like the Fantasea we were using, or can take an adapter to hold the lens in place. They are depth rated to 60m and certainly give the impression of being well designed and manufactured when you get them out of the box.
The lenses are great value for money for anyone that wants to produce stunning underwater macro images. As with all the magnifying wet lenses, they require you to get in close to the subject in order to focus, so be careful not to disturb or stress your chosen marine creature when using these lenses.
Your toughest choice will be which lens to take with you. The +6 is not as dramatic as the +12, but is easier to use and more versatile, but the +12 gives some excellent super macro results. Of course, you do not have to make a choice, you can always take both!
For more from Nick and Caroline, visit www.frogfishphotography.com.
