Northwest Dive Club

I'm looking for some thoughts on a new rig I'm building. The housing is a Nauticam NA-5DMKIII housing a Canon 5DMKIII full frame camera. I'd like to couple the housing with a good lens that has versatility. I'm considering a Canon EF 16-35 USM II 2.8 or a Canon EF 24-70 USM. Or if anyone has a little more experience then I, I am open for suggestions. Ports, extension ring, and zoom/focus gears are readily available for both of these lens and the housing.
Thanks for the help

Hi! I'm not too familiar with that camera or those lenses however they sound like they're mid-range lenses. Most photographers go quite a bit wider or more toward macro. If you're looking for specific advice on cameras and lenses see if you can get a hold of nirupam, he reviews and test a lot of cameras. njnigam on this board.

Hope you enjoy your new setup!

Thx YellowEye, I'll look for him/her. Maybe a beter question would be, "What's a good versatile lens for a full frame camera?"

I think a prime (non zoom) macro lens would probably be your best bet. It would allow you to shoot in more conditions with great quality, easier learning curve at a reasonable price. Macro definitely allows you to get a lot more "ooh wow" shots than a mid-range. The next step after macro would be a flip diopter, then wide angle. I haven't seen much use for a mid-range other than if you want to get a lot of rockfish shots

I love love love my 16-35 on full frame and have used it extensively to shoot documentary footage for pbs, nat geo etc... the 24-70 is more of a portrait lens underwater, even with the full frame. its just never -quite- wide enough for me and I have to get further away which is not ideal. The beauty of the 16-35 is you can get really close and reduce the amount of water between your lens and subject so better clarity, color and less diffusion from water. yes it gets a bit fishy on the 16mm end of things but its really my go to lens for underwater on a full frame sensor. No matter what you get, really make sure to follow the recommendations for the extenders to get the focus distance correct for your dome + lens combo. Few things are worse than having a beautiful glass dome, L series glass and soft footage cause you didn't take into account that with the dome port, its focusing on the virtual image, NOT shooting through the lens

So.. in summary, 16-35 on full frame if you like shooting close focus wide angle or your dive buddies, and match your lens/dome port combo.