Writing
A lens that goes in the water
I swapped probe lenses. The new one gets submerged in Florida springs, and there's one thing about it I still can't do.
I had the Laowa probe and I wasn't a fan. It's a good lens, it just wasn't the one I needed.
Why I swapped
I wanted more length. I wanted a zoom, because a fixed 24 means moving the whole camera when what I actually want is a slightly different frame. I wanted something built heavier. And the Laowa is f/14, which is dark enough to shape the whole shoot around.
The X-Tract is T8. That difference is the one you feel, because it decides how much light you have to build before you can even see what you're doing.
I also just prefer the colour out of it. That's the least technical reason on the list and it's the one I'd defend hardest.
Lighting it
A light box, or daylight. Brighter glass means I'm not fighting for every stop, and with macro you're already losing light to the working distance.
It goes in the water
This is the part people don't expect. The probe gets submerged. Actually in the water, not held above it.
I'm in Florida, which means clear springs, and a lens you can put under the surface changes what a spring is. Getty has approved the videos, so it's not a trick that only works for my own reel.
Why macro on video
I love how close I can get. Macro on a still is one thing, but macro that moves is something else, and I don't think it lands until you see it big.
I put the clips on the TV and it blows my mind every time. Something the size of my thumbnail, breathing, filling a wall.
The part I'm still bad at
The gears.
I know my lenses. I don't think about them, my hands do it. With this one the muscle memory isn't there yet, and I'll be turning something and genuinely not know whether I'm moving focus, zoom, or the rotation.
That costs me time on every setup, and it's the honest reason I'm not shooting with it as fast as I shoot with everything else. It's not the lens. It's that I haven't put the hours in.
Everything I mention here is on my gear page.