Recent Bug-Eye Success

I have been raving about the Inon bug-eye wide-angle close-focus converter lens for some time. This lens allows me to focus very close – about one centimeter to the subject – while at the same time giving a wide-angle view of the scene. Hence, I can get a macro shot of a nudibranch, while at the same time capturing the whole reef – or seagrass – scenery behind it. This is a wet lens, externally affixed to teh camera housing.

Settings: With the Olympus TG6 I am setting the focus to AF (not super-macro-AF!), and I either zoom all the way out to get a round vignette – that looks cool sometimes – or I zoom in at x 2.5 to get rid of  the vignette.

Here is a video explaining the workings, and the way to use this lens, in some detail. In the video I still used my Olympus EM1 with the bug-eye (with the 14 to 42 mm kit lens, at the 42 mm end). My judgement now is that it works better with the TG6.

 

New Bug-Eying

In this video I show the powers of the bug-eye by filming a selection of marine critters, and myself. Enjoy!

 

Mushrooms Underwater

The mushroom coral pipefish is a very unusual seahorse relative. I had written about this fish before. With the bug-eye I managed to get much better footage of it than with a regular macro set-up; the tentacles of the mushroom coral didn’t constantly throw off the AF. Very satisfying to capture this fish; it’s such a trip to see this freaky animal when I dive at that one reef in Dauin; it’s great to be able to show it to everyone on the internets.

 

Sea Cucumber Aktschn

In this one I shot one of these elongated, seagrass living sea cucumbers which are so unusually active for a holothurian. The mouth tentacles of this one are all over the place (0:46). With a regular macro setup, it’s very hard to get the AF to focus on the rights spots. Good job bug-eye!