Stuck in the middle?

Alex Mustard · Issue 36, May/Jun 2007 · pp. 41–44

Products mentioned: Nikon AFS 17-55mm F2.8, Sigma 28-70mm F2.8, Nikon 17-35mm, Subal housing, Sea & Sea strobes, Subtronic strobes

It is no great revelation that the lenses we use for underwater photography tend to come from two extremes: wide angle and macro. It is with good reason: both focus close, allowing us to shoot through as little water as possible and get the best quality image. But are we held back by adhering to the dogma of this great divide? Shouldn’t we be searching for a middle ground? The bipolar division between wide angle and macro runs deep through underwater photography. It is ubiquitous: dive guides categorise dive sites this way, most photographic competitions pigeonhole entries using it and some underwater photographers even describe themselves as one or the other. The suggestion is that no middle ground exists. In this article I want to discuss the lenses that prove otherwise: the mid-range zooms. Mid-range or standard zooms have been around in underwater photography for many years, but rece…