Editorial

Staff · Issue 129, Nov/Dec 2022 · pp. 4

Products mentioned: Nikon 15mm UW Nikkor lens, Nauticam EMWL, Sony Alpha 7 series, Sony A7 IV, Nauticam WWL-1, Nauticam CMC, Nauticam SMC

Editorial I blame Nikon This isn’t as serious as it sounds but, the truth is, they started it. The ‘It’ I’m referring to was the introduction of the ground breaking 15mm UW Nikkor lens back in the 1970s. A very wide angle, rectilinear, water corrected lens; it produced exceptionally sharp results and covered 90°. ‘So what’s the big deal?’ I hear those remotely interested, asking. Well, the point is that a coverage of 90° on a 35mm format should really be 20mm and not 15. I can only guess that their thinking was that the ‘in air’ coverage equated to 15mm but, surely, for a lens that was designed for use in water, it should really be a 20mm. This was further compounded when the 180° full frame fisheye was nominated as a 16mm! Regardless of the theoretical reasons for this nomenclature, my point is this; the only specification that communicates reality, and I have banged on about this befor…