The AOI/Backscatter lens is no longer cost effective and doesn't cover the newer sensors. I currently would suggest you consider using the Weefine WFL14 or Inon GR140 ZD as they are better lenses. See this newer video https://youtu.be/GJw1VHKNnf8

Following are all the products I use and recommend. Please use the following affiliate links to help support the channel at no cost to you and often with a discount!

DIVEVOLK 6% off use Discount Code SEAN or following link: https://www.divevolkdiving.com?sca_ref=7471026.pSMVGLxbXZ

Also this link will also often work during sales so for example right now the SUMMER SALE is on giving you 20% off all the Seatouch Max 4 Plus kits. So my code SEAN will work on top of this sale giving you a massive 26% off.

UWACAM app: 20% off using the discount code SEAN in the app.

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Insta360 : Get a free gift when using link: https://www.insta360.com/sal/ace-pro-2?utm_term=INRMXPJ

GoPro https://link.amazon/B0hQJdjwK

DJI https://link.amazon/B00wPxLKs

Phone Cases I use: https://link.amazon/B0ejYXF8D

Dry bag I use: https://link.amazon/B0cJMmKTu

Dive Bag I travel with: https://link.amazon/B0dKNTplU

Samsung Store: https://link.amazon/B039qD9HH

Iphone Store: https://link.amazon/B0bO2qO4R

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Thanks you so much for watching and making this channel great!

Great video! I loved it and am looking forward to the GoPro rigging setup.

I loved your bit on the threaded screws. One more gripe to add is that a lot of wet lenses need to be flooded to work which means you start every dive by screwing them on and then off! Such a pain and just asking to drop a lens

Awsome 🎉

Stumbled across your channel when I was first exploring the basics of action camera lenses.  The macromate mini/ aoi combo video was kind of my starting point into this whole affair.

After going down the rabbit hole of wet lens platforms and options I decided to go with Inon.  The price point is pretty much identical by the time you add the manufacturer specific peripherals (holders, lens mounts etc) to the cart.

One thing I preferred about Inon is manufacturer transparency. They are very very specific about listing focal distances and ranges as well as displacement weight for everything they produce which help me understand what I was getting and engineering the rig.

I was hung up for quite a while going back and forth between the backscatter AOI mount & the Inon XD platform. The SD base Inon lenses actually work with the AOI mounts, and vice versa so getting a clear understanding of the pros and cons of the lens base platform wasn't simple. Suffice to say they are all interchangeable except for one lens… Inons newest 140 semi fisheye was developed to have a wider more stable bayonet attachment system +among other improvements) and the XD version of all their other lenses is simply a matter of backwards compatibility to allow them to utilize that same base.

In the end I made up my mind because of a tour of their facility in Japan. Everything is handled in house, these are regular working families and they do everything there from product testing to quality control…  it's all just really skilled people making stuff. It's not some mega corporation or a bleeding edge tech company. IDK why but that was important to me for some reason.

I knew from your videos that I was definitely going to want a wide angle lens (eventually), and I felt like the one I was going to want was the newer Inon one…  My plan was to buy everything in stages starting with a middle macro lens. I figured it would take some trial and error to get dialed in and the focal guide sticks on the Inon lenses were definitely a selling point for a novice like me… Mainly because I'm actually planning to do my macro photography while freediving…hard mode I know, but I see things in one breath that captivate me and I really want to be able to revisit and share that fleeting beauty.

For the record The rig is designed to be a weighted tripod base with extending arms for the camera/ lens as well as the two lights. I'm not going to be holding it while shooting. I plan to leave it on the bottom in situ to record while I go up to the service to breathe, then switch it to burst mode for high res photos when I come back down. All in all I plan to dive freely looking for interesting things and then spend anywhere between 3 and 7 dives on a subject.

I went with the UCL GD100 to start off with. The focal range is pretty forgiving and I hope to get a bit of experience with it before getting more glass. I'll pick up the UFL GR140 semi fish eye next. And if I get good enough to justify it I'll eventually pick up a UCL G55, still kind of on the fence about that one The focal distance is very close and the range is tiny. (4.8- 6.2 cm/ 1.9- 2.4 in)

My only lament about the Inon products is that I couldn't find very much coverage on YouTube about them. Backscatter has created a pretty robust video catalog about their own products, but there's only a handful of short video production demonstrations by Japanese artists on Inon's YouTube channel.

Anyways I just wanted to say thank you for the insight and help you provided me in this journey so far. Your matter of fact, frank approach to presentation is very refreshing in a world constantly pushing an angle. This subject matter is very much outside my wheelhouse and the confidence founded on personal experience that you bring to the table really helped me comprehend the range of what's available, not to mention the impact of your specific technical insights of how to do this with a GoPro.

My lens and peripherals will be getting here in the next week or so… so for me at least the timing of this video series is kind of perfect.

Thanks again from South Florida

I love this lense...

Greetings from Indonesia.
Great videos and very helpful explanation.
Can you explain more about the differences about AOI UCL-03 and Macromate +15?

IJust picked up the AOI UWL-03 lens and a ACE PRO X2. I struggle with vignetting when using the underwater mode because of default to Ultra and i can't change it. Any tips?

Hi Sean. Great video! Curious if you have an opnion on the use of red filters for colour correction on GoPro Hero 13 footage or whether you just colour correct in post diving editing? Thanks

Thanks for the video, I appreciate going into the details.
between the macromate and the UCL, is there one that is more tricky to get a good focus with the gopro? I would like to be able to point and shoot and get most video on focus. How is the focus range compared between gopro no lens, Macromate and UCL?
Many thanks,

awesome ! which action cam is your favorite with the uwl 3?

I used to use TG cameras and l have a AOI UWL400A lens with quick release system. Do you think this would work on the action cam rig system similar to yours?

Sean thanks for all this. My question is what is the difference between the AOI uwl o3 and the AOI uwl 03 PRO?

I just tried to put the backscatter 15+ mini lens on AcePro 2. There is a reflection of the square lens in the center of the view. Any idea why is that? Thanks so much!

I think you mentioned the micro lens doesn't work well on DJI Action because it has a smaller sensor? But doesn't Action 5 have a bigger sensor than GoPro 13? Or maybe I heard it wrong, somehow can't find where you said it and I'm impatient to listen to the whole thing again 😅

Great first part video Sean. Have been shooting 4:3, have to overcome by adjusting to 16:9. Will 2nd or 3rd Video cover third party housing option like Telesin that support action 5 pro. How well it fits using flip systems meant for GOPRO.
✌️

Greetings from the UK

I have a couple of questions with regards both wide angle and macro lenses using a GoPro 13.

I have always used Olympus cameras with a wet lens (INON UWL-100 28AD)  (INON UCL-165 AD) . I have also both Inon 67mm wide angle and macro.

If I found a mount for the GoPro 13, would the Inon AD lenses be ok??

Thanks for creating this video and looking forward to how you setup your GoPro with lenses.  Do you have a preference for the tray, LetonPower or Divevolk, or another brand?

I think I know your answer, but is there a more compact alternative to the dual tray system for people seeking to use action cams with wet lenses? As someone with only around 20 dives who is looking into getting into underwater photography (as a hobby), it seems pretty big and clunky. I completely understand why people use it but just wondering if anyone has alternative suggestions?

How would you think about choosing between a Macromate Mini and an AOI UCL-03 for Ace Pro 2? I’m not a macro fanatic, but I would like to take good close up photos and videos. I should add that I am relatively inexperienced, and the focus range of the UCL-03 seems more forgiving. Where I live, the two set ups are similar in price - the Macromate lens is cheaper but then you need a QRS adaptor that seems very expensive for what it is. That leads me to believe I might be better off with the AOI UCL-03 instead of a cheaper lens and a very expensive adaptor. Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

There is no information anywhere about whether divevolk's dome port corrects the image by 20% (I'm talking about the image zoom under water). Could you make a video about this?