SL 16-35 or 24-90 or 24-70 for diving

[Gyoddn]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

14 hours ago, abukij said:

after many considerations I believe I have thre choices:

1- Leica sl 16-35 mm F3.5/4.5

2-SIGMA 18-50mm F2.8 DC DN

 3-SIGMA 14-24mm F2.8 DG DN

4-LUMIX S PRO R1635 16-35mm F4

Nr 4 is the wise choice, I never used less than F4 in my pictures, I wonder if with the SL2 and the sigma lens I will be able to manage this F 2.8 after all the considerations.

What do you think?

I think you should avoid No.2 since it's for APS-C so you will have actually 27-75mm angle with cropped sensor size.

If your main target is not a big thing like shark but fishes, I think you will need more than 35mm focal length. I cannot say the difference between No.1 and 4. Both lenses have quite good reputations. I think it's good way to start with No.1 or 4 then you can go 70mm or even 105mm Sigma if you want more detailed image like macro.

Just for your reference, buoyancy of my SL2-S with 16-35 SVE in Easydive LeoR and 170mm dome is slightly negative (around 300g?) on the surface but too heavy on the land (5 - 6kg).

[beewee]

1 hour ago, Gyoddn said:

Just for your reference, buoyancy of my SL2-S with 16-35 SVE in Easydive LeoR and 170mm dome is slightly negative (around 300g?) on the surface but too heavy on the land (5 - 6kg).

The Sigma 14-24 DG DN is about 195g lighter so from a buoyancy perspective it may get you closer to where want to be. I imagine you can also add an air bladder or some other buoyancy device to help in that department.

[abukij]

On 5/13/2022 at 5:33 PM, Gyoddn said:

Hello. I think I can be a help to a certain degree.

I’m using SL2-S (and previously SL2) for shooting mainly whales, dolphins, and freedivers with the 16-35 SVE and the Easydive UW housing. You can check my photos on instagram @gyoddn and @ai3529 who is my UW model. (Pls be careful since some of our posts were taken with Sony or Canon. See tags.) I feel my focus area is different from yours but I can talk my experience on my gears.

-Housing

As far as I know at least four UW housing makers offer the housing for SL2 and SL2-S. Aquatech, Subal, BS Kinestics, and Easydive. I don’t know about Aquatech. But I have tried the rest of them and actually none of them can “physically” handle with SL’s unique thumbwheel. It must be gently spun without being pushed but it seems difficult. With Subal and BSK housing I ended up changing P-A-S-M when trying to change aperture, this is fatal. Only with the Easydive, I can use (almost) full functions of SL2(S) since it “electrically” handle with SL2(S) via USB-C PTP connection. But you should keep in mind that you cannot use full SL2’s functions via Easydive. For instance you cannot go into a menu screen. You can check what kind of functions you can control on Easydive’s web site.

-Lens

I have used 16-35 SVE and 24-90 VE. I don’t feel any frustration regarding the autofocus on both lenses since I’m wide shooter.

To me, the most important thing on UW camera is dynamic range. How much can I recover the true color behind a sea blue? How much can I keep the detail in dark area and highlight, these are important for me (Should I try medium format?). And I’m satisfied with my SL2-S and 16-35 SVE. I sometimes use Sony a7S iii and Canon R5. Both are monsters but I still love my SL2-S and it’s brilliant images the most.

Hope this can be your reference.

 

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

Hi Gyoddn, thanks for your comment, really helpful! What do you mean with "With Subal and BSK housing I ended up changing P-A-S-M when trying to change aperture, this is fatal."

during last years I saw a lot

of cameras, but as leica user I don't find any feeling with others and now I am sure it will be an sl2s . The problem is the housing! I can't find many option except for subal and bskinetics . Are you still using it? Bsk cost almost half of subal! But is it reliable? 
Thank you so much for you help and keep taking those beautiful pictures!

[PhotoCruiser]

Did you finally bought a housing?

I shot about 20K photos and videos between 2006 and 2020 when i owned two dive operations and was diving almost every day 11 months a year. The first camera was a Fuji E100 compact camera then a D7000 in a Ikelite housing and then a D800 in a Hugyfot housing i still have.

As i had also to guide over overlook the group i could not always carry the bulks D800 Rig so i used first GoPro and cheaper knock-offs, then the Canon G series and the last and best camera a Panasonoc LX100 in a Nauticam housing and swapping my two Inon strobes or video lights between the Hugyfot and Nauticam housing.

I had zoom lenses for the D7000 and found them a pita to work with and would not like that when free diving because of limited bottom time.
Able to breath i had the time to zoom in or out but honestly i rarely used it and let lens in the widest aperture and cropped at home on the computer.

For the D800 i had the Sigma 15mm DX DG behind a dome and the Nikon 105mm Macro in a flat port and that worked well, if i should have a lot of time to take again underwater photos i may would add a 28 or 35mm lens with the correct dome.
However the widest lens with less distortion and sharp as Leica and Sigma ART lenses are is more than enough and can be cropped to fit later at home and not under water when air quickly becomes short.

Honestly i don't see any need to bring a Leica below water,
there are other cameras who do almost same quality and the ART lenses are very near to a Leica lens.

If you already bought a housing then you probably realised that you need at least one strobe, two are better to avoid ugly shadows,
if not then trust me, underwater photography deeper than a few feet and small stuff without a strobe give ugly photos and need heavy editing to make them nice. Keep also in mind that a strobe under water need a much higher GN than on air.

Chris