Housing & lens problem

[mailato]

Hello's!
I have Canon PowerShot A630 with Ikelite housing with Inon WA lens and dome. My problem is that I need to get the camera closer to the lens to decrease the "blur" effect. My first thought was to change original housing port to flat port but Ikelite told me that the flat port 9305.92 is NOT compatible for the A630 housing. Am I alone whit this problem or does somebody have a sollution to this ?
- Tommi

[tarczy]

Hmmmmm . . . I never used the Canon A630, but I have used the Inon Wide Angle lens. The only problem I ever had with the Inon wide angle lens was vignetting, which is common.

I'm not sure what you're talking about when you use the term "blur problem." Also, I'm not familiar with the set-up you described as "WA lens and dome." It would be helpful if you could post pics of your rig as well as sample pics showing the blur problem. That way, somebody on this board (maybe even me) could better answer your question. ;)

[Jonathan Bird]

The Inon is a POS and the corners are simply not sharp. Ever. Getting the Inon closer to the lens of the camera in whatever way possible will help a lot, and don't ever zoom in on the Inon...makes it worse. I wish I had a better answer. I was using the Inon as an external lens on a video camera for times when I wanted to be able to remove it and use the flat port for super-macro and I never had particularly good results. I gave up.

Jonathan

[Sharp]

Hello's!I have Canon PowerShot A630 with Ikelite housing with Inon WA lens and dome. My problem is that I need to get the camera closer to the lens to decrease the "blur" effect. My first thought was to change original housing port to flat port but Ikelite told me that the flat port 9305.92 is NOT compatible for the A630 housing. Am I alone whit this problem or does somebody have a sollution to this ?- Tommi

Tommi, you have had very bad luck with you lens.:( I´m wondering why flat port is not compatible? You shoud try it if some of you friend near by have that flat port all ready.

Is pictures on ly little blur or lot of?

[Sharp]

The Inon is a POS and the corners are simply not sharp. Ever. Getting the Inon closer to the lens of the camera in whatever way possible will help a lot, and don't ever zoom in on the Inon...makes it worse. I wish I had a better answer. I was using the Inon as an external lens on a video camera for times when I wanted to be able to remove it and use the flat port for super-macro and I never had particularly good results. I gave up.

Jonathan

What do you meen with POS? What is that?

I have used INON UFL 165 (http://www.inonamerica.com/products.php?product_id=198&prodcat=2&subcat=1)with my Power shot A95 and INON UWL 100 (http://www.inonamerica.com/products.php?product_id=190&prodcat=2&subcat=1)with my Power shot G9. Those domes have done sharp pictures, but I haven´t ever tryed to use INON UWL 100 with Ikelite videohousing.

http://www.pasilensu.com/kuvagalleriat/pikes_on_the_puhos_beach_2008/slides/seppo_far_away7.jpg

[Jonathan Bird]

Pasi,
Your use of that lens is remarkable. I could never get it sharp at the corners. Maybe it was just the Ikelite port doesn't get the lens close enough to the camera.

POS=Piece of S_ _T!

Jonathan

[Sharp]

Pasi,Your use of that lens is remarkable.* I could never get it sharp at the corners.* Maybe it was just the Ikelite port doesn't get the lens close enough to the camera.JonathanThank you Jonathan. I have been lucky to get the right housing with shortport and INON dome so that they all three work together. POS=Piece of S_ _T!Now I have learnd a new "word".;)

[Sharp]

Hello's!
I have Canon PowerShot A630 with Ikelite housing with Inon WA lens and dome. My problem is that I need to get the camera closer to the lens to decrease the "blur" effect. My first thought was to change original housing port to flat port but Ikelite told me that the flat port 9305.92 is NOT compatible for the A630 housing. Am I alone whit this problem or does somebody have a sollution to this ?
- Tommi

Tommi, are you still having the Ikelite w-20 lens (http://www.ikelite.com/web_two/w20lens.html)? I belive that divers in this website can help you with that lens also.

[mailato]

Tommi, are you still having the Ikelite w-20 lens (http://www.ikelite.com/web_two/w20lens.html)? I belive that divers in this website can help you with that lens also.

I took some pictures without the housing adjusting the distance between lens and camera and got sharp pictures. I did send Ikelite question why the flat port is not compatibel. No answer yet.

Sharp;
I still have the Ikelite WA-20 but it's not in use.

Here is example of the "blur". top left corner.


-Tommi

[Jonathan Bird]

You have vignetting in the top left, and if you look in the bottom right, you have extremely soft focus. It's moderately objectionable in a still image, but for more noticeable and objectionable in the moving image of video. These are both effects exhibited by the Inon lens when it is physically too far from the lend of the camera.

It is probably not Ikelite's fault...the camera may be designed in such a way that the lens just can't be made to get any closer to the camera. You need a flat port in the middle to keep the water out and there is a physical limitation on how close you can get the lens.

Jonathan

[mailato]

You have vignetting in the top left, and if you look in the bottom right, you have extremely soft focus. It's moderately objectionable in a still image, but for more noticeable and objectionable in the moving image of video. These are both effects exhibited by the Inon lens when it is physically too far from the lend of the camera.

It is probably not Ikelite's fault...the camera may be designed in such a way that the lens just can't be made to get any closer to the camera. You need a flat port in the middle to keep the water out and there is a physical limitation on how close you can get the lens.

Jonathan

Hi Jonathan,
I first used Ikelite's WA lens and the effects were the same. My main consern is that if I can't change the original port to flat one because of cameras physical limitation I need tweak the housing settings somehow to get the camera closer to the lens.
-Tommi

[Jonathan Bird]

Ikelite's WA lens is a rebranded Inon...the same lens....

you need to try to get the camera and the lens closer together. How? Not sure.

[solisti]

http://picasaweb.google.com/dbjorklu/WAlens#5190677767511369378

Tommi this was take from a thread you started in Snorkkeli. Have you read the replies? Apparently saw and glue is the answer! :eek:

I dont think I would have the balls to do that!

[mailato]

http://picasaweb.google.com/dbjorklu/WAlens#5190677767511369378

Tommi this was take from a thread you started in Snorkkeli. Have you read the replies? Apparently saw and glue is the answer! :eek:

I dont think I would have the balls to do that!

I'm just not yet ready for the glue operation. ;)

[mailato]

I'm just not yet ready for the glue operation. ;)

After wating 3 weeks I send the same question back to Ikelite:

"Thank you for the answer. Why is it not compatible? Does the flat port prevent the use of the cameras whole zoom range or what will be the problem?"


The answer was.

"Ikelite has already stated that the G7/G9 port 9305.92 is not compatible with the A630 housing. No further comment is necessary."

Thanks to Ikelite for a profound answer!!

To Solisti. I'm thinking of the saw and glue operation...

[solisti]

That is a weird answer! No points for customer service to Ikelite this time. :(

[Carsten Wolff]

I have not had/used any of the older housings from Ikelite that could be described as precision engineered (sincere apologies to this website's apparent sponsor). In my experience, underwater optics matching and ergonomics were not their forte for a long time. Not their fault per-se, as historically, their niche seems to have been to make housings as generic as possible and then "make things fit". Their saving grace was their price (sometimes), that they we're (still are) see-through and reasonably reliable; - in capable hands. They've come a long way though and are quite good housings these days. Norbert Wu knows them more intimately I admit.
WRT the INON adapter: I've used it on two Olympus and a Canon compact housing: Pretty sharp right into the corners. What I didn't like about them however, was if you have a digital compact with a built-in wide lens you need to zoom in a little bit to avoid mechanical vignetting. You're right, like a lot of uw-photo gear, for what it costs, its not that great. But I also had minor issues with my first small Subal dome-port at one stage until I realised that the lens to dome distance was off (what the?). MOST wide angle performance issues seem to have the same underlying cause: Not having a completely integrated/100% matched port/lens/camera design... Makes you want to reach for the Nikonos 15mm sometimes (ok, even that lens didn't exactly "match" the body; above water it used to hang a bit due to a weak mount-springs and flooding was not unheard of either). Ahh, it's not always easy, hey? My most unreservedly positive w/a experiences to date have been the Gates and Amphibico Super-wide ports for video. I shouldn't make sweeping statements, but optically, they're sensational, again with a small qualification: I had an Amphibico Super-wide port once develop a mild fog-spot right in the middle when used in extremely cold water (Antarctica, 2001/2002); sent it back to them; they resealed it: Next trip: same experience..... . Norbert Wu says that the big Ikelite dome is very sharp, by the way.