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Action cameras are great underwater companions: they're compact, easy to operate and capable of producing impressive video without the bulk of a traditional camera system.
But the camera itself is only part of the equation.
Once you start filming seriously underwater, you'll quickly discover situations where you'd like to get closer, go wider or capture much smaller subjects. That's where adding the right underwater optics can completely change what you can do with your GoPro Mission 1.
With the UWL-03 MKII and UCL-03, you can build a compact setup that covers everything from wide underwater scenes to close-ups of small marine life. Combine these lenses with the AOI QRS-02-MB7 Quick Release Mount, and switching between them becomes part of your dive rather than something you have to decide before entering the water.
Why add a wet lens to your action camera?
There's one simple rule that improves almost every underwater image:
Get closer to your subject.
Water reduces contrast, absorbs colours and creates sort of haze. The greater the distance between your camera and your subject, the more water you're shooting through.
On land, taking a few steps backwards to fit something into the frame isn't necessarily a problem. Underwater, it can noticeably affect your image.
A good underwater wide-angle lens solves this by allowing you to stay close to your subject while fitting more of the scene into the frame.
And when the subject is tiny, a close-up lens does the opposite: it helps you fill the frame with details that would otherwise be too small.
This is what makes interchangeable wet lenses so useful.
UWL-03 MKII: the next generation
The AOI UWL-03 MKII builds on the UWL-03 concept for divers who want a dedicated underwater wide-angle option for their action-camera system.
The goal remains simple: stay close while capturing a much bigger scene.
Think about swimming alongside a turtle, filming another diver on a reef or exploring a wreck.
These are situations where you want both your subject and its surroundings in the frame but don't necessarily want to increase the distance between yourself and the subject.
That's where an underwater wide-angle conversion lens really earns its place in your camera bag.
Don't forget about focusing distance
There is one characteristic of the GoPro Mission 1 that's worth understanding before taking it underwater.
As sensors and camera designs evolve, action cameras don't necessarily behave exactly like the small-sensor GoPros many divers have used in the past. Close focusing and depth of field therefore deserve more attention.
This becomes especially relevant when adding conversion optics.
Rather than thinking of this as simply a positive or negative characteristic, it's better to think about working distance.
Every camera-and-lens combination has a range where it performs best. Knowing that range makes it much easier to position yourself correctly underwater.
For wide-angle shooting, don't automatically push the camera as close as physically possible. Give the system enough room to produce a sharp subject and check your footage when experimenting with a new combination.
After a few dives, judging the right distance quickly becomes second nature.
From big scenes to tiny subjects with the UCL-03
Wide angle is only half the fun.
You're swimming along a reef looking for turtles and rays when your buddy suddenly points towards something that's barely a few centimetres long.
That's when you'll want the AOI UCL-03.
The UCL-03 is an underwater close-up lens designed to bring small subjects within reach of compact cameras and action-camera systems.
Instead of trying to crop heavily into your GoPro footage afterwards, a close-up lens lets you capture the subject much larger in-camera.
Think nudibranch, coral details, seahorse and other small reef inhabitants.
It's a completely different type of underwater filmmaking from wide angle and that's precisely why having both options available is so useful.
One dive doesn't mean one lens
This is probably our favourite part of a modular wet-lens system.
You don't always know what you're going to encounter.
You might start the dive looking for large subjects, spend ten minutes filming a reef and then suddenly discover the perfect close-up subject.
Having both wide-angle and close-up lenses is useful.
Being able to change between them underwater is even better.
That's where AOI's Quick Release System comes in.
QRS-02-MB7: quick lens changes underwater
The AOI QRS-02-MB7 Quick Release Mount is designed to connect the GoPro Mission 1 camera setup with compatible lenses in the AOI QRS-02 ecosystem.
The quick-release system makes attaching and removing compatible wet lenses much more convenient. For a diver, that means less time handling camera equipment and more time concentrating on the subject. It also allows you to approach a dive differently.
You don't necessarily have to decide:
"Today I'm shooting wide angle."
or:
"Today I'm shooting close-ups."
You can take the appropriate lenses with you and adapt your setup to what you actually encounter underwater.
Building a versatile Mission 1 setup
The combination gives the GoPro Mission 1 three distinctly different ways to shoot underwater.
Use the camera on its own when you want to keep everything as small and simple as possible.
Add the UWL-03 MKII or PRO when you want an immersive wide-angle perspective and the ability to work closer to larger subjects.
Switch to the UCL-03 when the small stuff catches your attention.
And with the QRS-02-MB7, these aren't necessarily three separate camera configurations. They can become part of one modular underwater setup. That's particularly attractive for travelling divers. Instead of carrying separate cameras for different types of shots, you can build a compact action-camera system and choose the optics to suit the subject.
Which AOI lens is right for you?
If you mainly film reefs, divers, wrecks and larger marine life, we'd look towards the UWL-03 MKII or UWL-03 MKII PRO .
If you love searching for nudibranchs and other small marine life, the UCL-03 adds an entirely different dimension to what you can capture with your action camera.
And if you're the kind of diver who wants to photograph whatever turns up which is probably most of us, the most interesting option is a QRS-based setup that lets you switch between wide-angle and close-up optics during the dive.
A small camera with a lot more possibilities
One of the reasons we love action cameras underwater is their simplicity. Adding wet lenses doesn't have to take that simplicity away. A well-designed system simply gives you more options when you need them.
Go wide when a large subject appears. Switch to close-up when you discover something tiny. Remove the lens when you want the smallest possible setup.
The UWL-03 MKII and UCL-03, combined with the QRS-02-MB7 Quick Release Mount, turn the GoPro Mission 1 from a single-purpose action camera into a much more flexible underwater imaging system.
And ultimately, that's what good underwater equipment should do: help you come home with the shot, whatever you happen to encounter on the dive.
