Have you ever wondered what’s one of the best investments you can make to improve your underwater photography? Quality lenses are the answer. But how do you know what’s the best lens for underwater photography?
Your choice in lenses as a UW photographer becomes even more important as each lens requires different ports and housing accessories. Various types of photography, such as wide angle or macro, require different lenses. Just because a lens is ideal for topside photography doesn’t make it ideal for use underwater!
One of our big goals here at The Adventure Junkies is to make your life easier when it comes to gear shopping. In this guide, we’ll walk you through how to choose a lens for underwater photography and show you our selection of the best models of the year.
For more of our top underwater photography gear recommendations, check out the Best Diving Cameras.
QUICK ANSWER – THE BEST LENSES FOR UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY
- Sony FE 90mm Macro
- Canon EF 100mm
- Inon UWL-H100
- Nauticam CMC-1
- Tokina 10-17mm Fisheye
- Nikon 16mm Fisheye
- Canon 60mm Macro
- Canon EF 8-15mm Fisheye
- Sony Vario-Tessar T* FE 16-35mm
- Nauticam WW-1
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LENSES REVIEWS
SONY FE 90mm MACRO
BEST FOR: Macro Photography
LENS TYPE: Full frame Sony E-mount lens for mirrorless cameras
APERTURE RANGE: f/2.8-22
PROS: 1:1 magnification and excellent image stabilization
CONS: Heavy, large and expensive lens
CANON EF 100mm MACRO
BEST FOR: Macro photography
LENS TYPE: Full frame dSLR macro lens
APERTURE RANGE: f/2.8-32
PROS: Life size 1:1 macro magnification
CONS: Autofocus can sometimes travel a bit when trying to find a focus point
INON UWL-H100
BEST FOR: Wide angle photography
LENS TYPE: Interchangeable wet lens for compact cameras
APERTURE RANGE: N/A
PROS: Sharp corners and excellent image quality.
CONS: Heavy and loss of corner sharpness when using a red filter
NAUTICAM CMC-1
BEST FOR: Macro photography
LENS TYPE: Interchangeable wet lens for compact cameras
APERTURE RANGE: N/A
PROS: Lightweight and high magnification whilst still retaining excellent image quality and sharpness
CONS: Image corners can show up black sometimes if camera lens is not zoomed in
TOKINA 10-17mm FISHEYE
BEST FOR: Wide angle photography
LENS TYPE: Cropped sensor dSLR lens
APERTURE RANGE: f/3.5-4.5
PROS: Comes with either a Canon or Nikon mount and sharp 180° field of view with close focusing ability
CONS: Auto focus capability lags in low light environments
NIKON 16MM FISHEYE
BEST FOR: Wide angle photography
LENS TYPE: Full frame dSLR fisheye lens
APERTURE RANGE: f/2.8-22
PROS: Close-Range Correction (CRC) system provides excellent performance at both far and near focusing distances
CONS: Corner sharpness poor at f/4 and f/5.6
CANON 60MM MACRO
BEST FOR: Macro Photography
LENS TYPE: Cropped sensor dSLR lens
APERTURE RANGE: f/2.8-32
PROS: Very versatile lens and it’s even possible to get a 1:1 magnification ratio if you move in close enough
CONS: Slow autofocus due to large range of focus
CANON EF 8-15MM FISHEYE
BEST FOR: Wide angle photography
LENS TYPE: Full frame and cropped sensor dSLR fisheye lens
APERTURE RANGE: f/4 – 22
PROS: Full circular fisheye effect at the 8mm end
CONS: Expensive lens if using a cropped sensor camera. The Tokina 10-17mm will give you almost the same results at half the price if using a cropped sensor camera
SONY VARIO-TESSER T* FE 16-35MM
BEST FOR: Wide angle photography
LENS TYPE: Rectilinear full frame Sony E-mount lens for mirrorless cameras
APERTURE RANGE: f/4-f22
PROS: Wide angle and short minimum focus distance make this lens ideal for underwater
CONS: Heavy and expensive lens
NAUTICAM WW-1
BEST FOR: Wide angle photography
LENS TYPE: Interchangeable wet lens for compact cameras
APERTURE RANGE: N/A
PROS: Excellent image quality, full zoom capability and great angle of view
CONS: Large and heavy for a compact set up
COMPARISON TABLE – THE BEST LENSES FOR UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY
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HOW TO CHOOSE THE BEST LENSES FOR UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY
TYPE OF CAMERA
Not all lenses are suitable for all cameras. In this guide, we will be looking at a variety of different lenses for compact cameras, dSLR cameras, and mirrorless camera systems. If you’re still undecided about which camera body is right for you, check out our article about the best diving cameras.
COMPACT CAMERA LENSES
Compact camera lenses are built into the camera and thus cannot be changed. Divers who use compact camera systems to take photos underwater will need to use “wet lenses”. These wet lenses are added on top of the camera housing to create either a wide angle or macro capability.
An advantage of wet lenses is that they can be added and removed underwater. This gives compact camera shooters the ability to shoot both wide angle and macro on a single dive!
DSLR AND MIRRORLESS LENSES
DSLR and mirrorless cameras are the choices for experienced photographers and professionals. These cameras allow for interchangeable lenses. They cost more and lenses are sold separately.
TYPE OF UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY
To find the best lens for you, you’ll need to think about what type of photography you will be shooting. We recommend you have a quality wide-angle lens and a macro lens in your photography kit.
WIDE ANGLE
Wide angle UW photography allows you to capture the ocean in all of its glory! This type of photography normally includes the ocean water itself as a composition element. Wide angle UW photography is used for taking shots of large schools of fish, large marine mammals or magnificent seascapes.
MACRO
UW macro photography focuses in on the miniature details of the ocean. Whether it would be a gorgeous nudibranch or a microscopic shrimp, macro photography captures the beauty that most people overlook in the ocean.
Wide angle UW photography is easier than UW macro photography, so most people start off buying a wide angle lens. Once you have gained some experience with the dynamics of shooting underwater, it might be time to invest in a macro lens.
TYPE OF LENS
RECTILINEAR
Most lenses are rectilinear. This means that straight features appear straight in the image, instead of being spherical like with a fisheye lens.
FISHEYE
Any lens with a focal distance smaller than 35mm is considered wide angle. Underwater, though, we need to go extra wide with our lenses. Going extra wide will allow us to get as close to our subject as possible while still capturing the whole subject and including the background.
Fisheye lenses are a special kind of ultra-wide lens. They give a unique curved perspective. For example, a 16mm fisheye lens will create a wider image than a 16mm rectilinear lens.
An advantage of fisheye lenses is they allow you to get closer to your subjects. This is key for better color and image sharpness.
MACRO
Macro lenses are rectilinear lenses specifically designed for up close work. These lenses have a long barrel for close focusing and continuous autofocus system. The best macro lenses are fixed focal length non-zoom lenses.
FOCAL LENGTHS
The focal length of a lens is the number expressed in millimeters. Smaller focal lengths are for wide angle lenses – think 10mm or 20mm. Macro lenses have larger focal lengths – think 60mm or even 100mm.
WIDE ANGLE FOCAL LENGTHS – Large schools of fish, divers, reefs, dolphins, whale sharks and wrecks.
MID-RANGE FOCAL LENGTHS – Marine life portraits and large fish.
MACRO FOCAL LENGTHS – Nudibranchs, micro shrimps, gobies, coral details, intimate portraits.
BUDGET
It’s important to find the best lens for your desired type of photography within your budget. Sony, Canon and Nikon lenses are on the most expensive options. There are cheaper brands that offer the same kind of lens (Tokina and Sigma), but their quality doesn’t match that of the Sony, Canon and Nikon lenses. You will need to think about whether dropping an extra $500 – $1000 is worth it.
READ MORE
For more of our top underwater photography gear recommendations, check out these popular articles:
Hi Etoile,
Thanks for the look at the lenses. I’ll have to show this to my daughter-in-law who’s into this kind of thing.