I can't seem to find anywhere that sells Woody's external diopter for Seacam's ports. Do I need to custom-make one, or is one available somewhere at a reasonable price (which would make it the only thing I've purchased for the Seacam rig that WAS reasonably priced! )?

I take it you've tried Woody? :-)

Cheers
James

I have a Macromate for my Seacam, and I love the thing. It's expensive, but I've found no other way to get a high quality diopter on my rig.

Woody's Diopter Website

Karl

Thanks all. I had already tried Woody's (Nexus) site, but they don't show anything for Seacam. I might need to go to the Macromate, but was hoping Woody's diopter would be available a little cheaper...

At any rate, I e-mailed Nexus and will see what they say. I just thought some of you might know where to get it from somewhere I missed.

You need to email Woody directly and ask, faster that way. He doesn't list Subal either but it will work on a Subal flat port as well.

stu

The only thing that matters in deciding whether the push-on diopter is usable on any given flat port is the outer diameter of the flat port (not the glass lens but the port outer diameter) being considered for use with the push-on diopter. The lens used, and housing make are inconsequential. A close-up diopter is only reading glasses for the camera lens. The three standard sizes of Nexus diopter lens and lens rings are all the same with only the removable outer port cap portion being different. They come in 90mm, 100mm, and 110mm sizes as standard for the outer cap portions.
If those three sizes do not suit your needs, then modify a port cap that fits whichever port you want to use by cutting a hole in the center of it and mounting the diopter lens ring and lens into it.
Such a case is the Sea and Sea housing using the Custom Flat Port with the rubber foot on the front of the port. S&S makes a port cap which fits that port. Remove the outer port cap portion on the diopter, use the outer cap portion as a template to cut a hole in the center of the S&S cap, and then insert the diopter lens and lens ring into it.
The diopters are linked on the front page of my web site to a page with description and price.

Hi,

I recently talked to Seacam about beefing up my macro lenses.
I have been told that they newly do push-on wet lenses for their ports.
Maybe you drop them an e-mail to check out the details.


Thilo

I have a Macro Mate for my Subal and my Titan before that -they are just a handy, dandy thing to have in your pocket........

You never know when you might need one.

Peter

If only they fit the Aquatica port. I think Aquatica might be working on it though. Please

Well, despite numerous e-mails back and forth with Woody (who was extremely gracious and generous with his time), it appears that there is no simple way to get a Woody's Diopter on a Seacam macro port. The W.D. only comes in sizes up to 110mm, and the Seacam port is 115mm. And since the Seacam port hoods are neoprene, there's no easy way to incorporate a W.D. into them.

The Macromate is a possibility, but at $500, I'm hoping for a more reasonably priced option.

So...I must restate my original question. Has anyone with a Seacam housing actually figured out a way to make a W.D. work with their macro port?

Harald Hordosch from Seacam Austria confirms such a product is in the works. I would assume he'll want to introduce it at the DEMA show in October. No word on pricing though.

We will be showing the finished remote trigger device for the new generation housings at DEMA as well. D2X and EOS1Ds and 1DsMKII housings have ports to accept remote, and now remote trigger device is finalized. Just an FYI for polecam enthusiasts.

Cool!

Do a google search for rubber caps. This size chart was taken from the first site that popped up-
http://www.mocap.com/spec_sheets/html/round_vinyl_caps.asp

Buy the size that fits your port, and cut out a ring for the diopter exactly as described above.

Myself, and many others here have previously purchased from a company called Naigara Rubber, but in the 5 seconds I looked on Google I didn't see thier link.

Hi,

A few years ago I buyed the "Nexus Wet Lens" (=Woody's diopter) (Ocean Optics in London), but changing tot a Seacam-system with other ports, the diopter doesn't fit the new ports.

I like to change (underwater) from close-up (60mm Micro-Nikkor) and extreme macro. I almost ordered a new one, but after looking at the website of "MACROMATE" I decided to go for the Macromate.
OK it's more expensive, but it's one of the tools I use the most...

Thanks,

Bart

Yay! I've been trying to figure out how to hack something together to do this.

Thanks for the heads up.

Todd

I custom fitted the nexus external diopter to fit the Aquatica Macro port (which is one of the largest in diameter).
I took it out of the plastic piece for the nexus and had a custom aluminum ring installed on the Aq port. I carry the diopter in my BC and when needed it screws on the new fitting. It works like a charm...
add to this a 2x teleconvert and internal dipters as well and you are in another world.
This subject has been covered on other forums as well.

let me know if I can help

Mauricio Handler

Hi Mauricio,

I'd like to place an order for one of your custom rings.

I have seen some of Berkley's shots with the macro mate and I will be nabbing one as soon as I can swipe 500 bones from the bank without my wiofe knowing. I have had good luck with Woody's diopter but want something with a little more poop.

joe

Joe,

For those of us unfamiliar with all the latest technical camera jargon, can you please define "a little more poop"?

Hi Bruce,

I have recently purchased the CL-110 from Woody (he's great to deal with, by the way).

It actually fits the Seacam macro port perfectly, without a sign of stretching (see photo). You don't have to force it on at all.

As a matter of fact the CL110 comes with a rubber ring so that it can fit smaller ports. This ring is knurled (see photo), just like the front of the Seacam port, so the diopter lens is securely held in place.

Anyway, I'll be trying the CL110 underwater next week, but I don't anticipate any major issues using it.

Cheers,
Mathieu
Click to view attachment
Click to view attachment

Hi Mathieu

It would be great to see some photos (ideally of the same subject) taken with and without the diopter.

How easy do yout think it would be to attach the diopter to the Seacam port whilst u/w ?

Jeremy

Hi Bruce,

In answer to your question about poop I offer the following explanation.

According to the new "Diving Technical Terminology" manual, poop means "peering out of port". More peering means more magnification. You can purchase the book at angolob.com.

Joe

Jeremy,

There is no visible difference on the image, aside from magnification, when you use the diopter...you can check this post with some samples:

http://wetpixel.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=9075

stu

Thanks Mathieu! That's the best news I've heard in a long time. I know Woody is a great guy, and I think even HE will be happy to know that the CL-110 works for bigger ports! I'm not sure it'll work all the way up to an Aquatica port (which appears to be about 125mm diameter, or 10mm wider than even the Seacam!), but I'll test it and see.

At any rate, I'll be ordering a CL-110 right away! Looks (in your photos) like it covers a bit of the port's glass, but considering the lenses I'd use it with (mainly the 100mm Canon and 150mm Sigma macros), I can't imagine that will be a problem! It might not even be a problem with the Sigma 50mm lens...

I love it when the best solution is the simplest!

Hi Jeremy,

I'm down with dengue fever, so I'll have to wait a little while longer before I can test the diopter underwater.

The lens relies on a snug fit around the port, so it is a bit tight, but that's what keeps it in place.

On the other hand, the diopter is also with a couple of holes at the base of the skirt, nearer the lens, so any water trapped will be purged as the diopter is pushed onto the port. With this in mind, it should be just as easy to fit underwater as it is on land.

Cheers,
Mathieu

No worries, Bruce.

I dont't think you'll have much luck with a 125mm port, as the diopter fits just snugly onto the 115mm Seacam port.

The skirt does overlap the port glass a fair bit, but given the narrow angle of view of the lenses you will use it with, it should be no problem. With my 60mm Nikkor lens, it certainly is no issue.

Cheers,
Mathieu

Hi guys,

Going back to what Woody and Ryan both wrote a while ago -- go here or some place like it (Ryan provided a link earlier that has slightly different sizes that may work better for you):

http://www.niagaraplastics.com/prodnonthrc...=strai_vcev.htm

and order FREE samples of a couple sizes of vinyl cap. Then remove the glass portion of the Woody's diopter from the original boot. Trace the hole from the original onto the very center of the new one. Cut out the hole. Insert the glass portion of the diopter -- voila! I did this, just as Woody instructed, for my S&S custom macro port and it works like a champ . . .

Mike

PS -- this is also an outstanding way of obtaining FREE spare port caps, spare caps to cover Ikelite slave sensors, etc. I've found that for the smaller sizes, they send a package of four, with the larger ones, you get two. Did I mention it was FREE?

Just to follow-up, I just received Woody's CL-110 (i.e., 110mm) diopter and -- as Mathieu and his photos suggested -- it fits almost perfectly on the Seacam macro port (which is 115mm). It fits very snugly, and I have no concern about it coming off in the water, so I consider the Seacam/Woody's diopter issue I raised with this thread SOLVED.

However, as Mathieu also suspected, there's NO WAY the 110mm diopter will fit on the Aquatica macro port, which is roughly 125mm. Accordingly, I've taken Mike O's advice and ordered samples of a couple of sizes of the vinyl hoods (see his post above), and -- assuming one of them fits the Aquatica port reasonably well -- will attempt to manually install a diopter in it according to Woody's instructions.

Just two more examples of the extremely helpful nature of this group -- thanks again!

P.S. The other problem I've had is getting a simple modeling light on the Seacam to use with its macro port. I want to be able to use the Fantasea 44-LED llght (http://www.fantasea.com/ssl/prod_det.asp?id=68), for which you can get a nifty bracket (http://www.fantasea.com/ssl/prod_det.asp?id=97) that cinches around macro ports up to 110mm in diameter. Unfortunately, there's NO WAY (at least that I can find) to use it on anything larger than 110mm, so it won't work (as is) for either Seacam or Aquatica ports. However, I've nearly solved that, using a (very cheap, i.e., under $15) modification of the bracket, and will post details and photos once I've got it finished (soon).

Can't you fit an ultralight ball to it and mount to the top of the seacam? I've done this with my various mod-lights.