COVID19 locked us down at home for several weeks, so why not make use of this time to test in detail those settings that we usually plan to do underwater but we never do? For sure you don't want to be experimenting with the camera settings in your trip to Anilao, Lembeh or Tulamben, otherwise you will end up getting decent pictures the last day of your trip...
I had hard time to find information online about the RX100 macro setup, even this is a quite popular UW camera nowadays. The 24-200mm lens from the M6 (and the newer M7) opens up a new paradigm that was never an option before: super-macro. But don not be confused... these lens give you the opportunity to get amazing results and the tiniest creatures, but this is not a TG6... You will need a diopter to get close enough to your subject and the Depth of Field (DOF) will be razor sharp. Auto focus is almost useless, and focus peaking will be your best friend... Do not even think moving away more than 1 cm from the sweet spot, even it looks fine on the screen, you will cry later...
The first post of the series will be analyzing two of the Nauticam diopters with the RX100 M6 and hopefully will help you to have a clear understanding on what to expect from this setup. Hopefully, will save some unnecessary purchase as well! Sometimes, most expensive does not mean best results. This is a clear example of my experience with the SMC-1 diopter when used with the RX100. We will see a complete comparison in the first post of this series: Nauticam SMC-1 vs CMC-2 Lab Tests.
In my tests, I will include the 'Executive Summary' after the introduction, for those who want to jump into the conclusions and best settings without going into the details.
And the rig:
Sony RX100 M6 with Nauticam Housing
Nauticam CMC-2
Nauticam SMC-1
Supe R90 focus light
x2 Inon Z330 strobes