TEST: ULTRA WIDE ANGLE LENS SWAL 13

Text and Photos: Anthony LEYDET

The practice of underwater photography begins with the acquisition of a camera and its waterproof case. Then over the dives, we progress and we become more and more demanding! The advantage with most boxes is the ability to accommodate optical supplements to expand its creative capabilities. I present you the SWAL13 lens.

We owe this innovation to the small, but dynamic, French company, Dyron, which signs with this very wide-angle wet lens, a real added value for your camera. SWAL13 for "Super Wide Angle" and 13 for 13mm, focal underwater with a compact 24mm base (like the Canon S100). Count 15mm with a basic 28mm (like the Sony RX100). Entirely assembled in France in the Dyron workshops, the SWAL13 is composed of several innovative lenses and is located halfway between a wide angle and a fisheye.

With a diameter equivalent to true fisheyes, but only slightly thicker than a simple wide-angle lens, this lens is a real novelty in optical devices for compact cameras. Equipped with an 140 ° angle coverage with the 24mm base, it can take very wide-angle shots without any distortion, deformations that can be seen with fisheyes, especially when a diver or a gorgon is located in the corner of a photo. Depending on the subwoofer used and the distance from the camera to the lens of the camera, it is possible to have slightly fuzzy angles, but without chromatic aberration. The sharpness in the center of the photos is simply excellent, especially if it is associated with the RX100 currently champion compact.

Another advantage, and not least: the ability to take mid-air photos mid-water without focusing problem, and this, air side as water side, and at the same time! Indeed, the lens, thanks to its particular shape, considerably reduces the magnifying effect that is found under water. This allows for example to take a photo mid-air half-water of a properly proportioned diver, surface.

The lens is completely removable underwater since it screws onto an M67 porthole. Its size allows it to be stored in your waistcoat pocket, and personally I find it a big advantage when you often go from ambience to macro. It comes with a solid protection for the front and a soft one for the rear, and has a sun visor to reduce unpleasant reflections.

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