AOI has announced the UCL-90PRO macro close-up wet lens. It features a magnification of +18.5 and has an anti-reflective coating on all lens element surfaces. Attachment is via an M67 adaptor ring, which allows for the lens’ rear element to be located close to the front of the lens port.

The AOI UCL-90PRO is available now. Please consult your local dealer for pricing information.

Press release

The New UCL-90PRO - Brighter, Lighter, Better.

Underwater photography has become a big part of diving. Unlike before, the affordability and availability of underwater photography equipment and accessories has helped paved the way for many underwater enthusiasts to venture into it in a big way. It is also undeniable that underwater macro photography has flourished especially in the Asian region. The region offers up the strange, the weird, the cute, and the colorful. It is only natural that divers are keen to share their underwater encounters.

Depending on which of school of thought you belong to, many would say that an underwater close-up lens is an integral part of the arsenal in underwater macro photography. AOI’s new lens–the UCL 90PRO will be officially revealed at ADEX Singapore,2022. It will complement the existing UCL-900PRO and the upgraded UCL-09 (now known as the UCL-09 PRO) to form the PRO Range of underwater close-up lens. Not contented to just offer “bigger,” the new PRO Range of underwater close-up lenses will change the look of underwater macro photography. By moving beyond the convention of “filling the frame,” the new PRO Range will allow underwater photographers to express their creativity in macro photography like never before.

All 3 of the lenses are compatible with the entire spectrum of cameras be it full-frame DSLR, Micro Four Thirds, or compact cameras. What differentiates the PRO Range from the other underwater close-up lens from AOI? The new UCL-90 PRO embodies the values of the new PRO Range. Simply summarized as brighter, lighter, and better.

Brighter – Light management is a big part of photography, especially for underwater photography. Being able to transmit more light translates to greater control and creativity. To achieve a ‘brighter’ underwater close-up lens for underwater photographers, AOI meticulously crafted and optimized the transmission of light through all the lens elements. Furthermore, the broadband multi-layer anti-reflection coating on all the lens element surfaces helped achieve a ‘brighter lens.

Lighter – a lightweight underwater close-up lens means better handling and easier to travel with. Lightweight also means being able to position one’s camera quickly and is a big plus when trying to compose and capture fast-moving macro critters. The design and engineering team at AOI employed an “inside-out” approach to achieve the lightweight objective. Unlike other manufacturers, AOI chose to use lens elements with a high reflective index as they can deliver the desired optical specifications without compromising on quality and weight. The design and engineering team also redesigned the barrel or body of the lens, so that it achieved an optimum strength-to-weight ratio. An uncompromising approach, that is able to live up to the challenges, rigors, and demands of the modern-day underwater photographer.

Better – With the optimal light transmission and high-resolution lens design, the PRO Range lenses can deliver a higher level of brightness and contrast of images to the camera sensor. Allowing the camera’s autofocus system to define the focus point faster. By employing AOI’s latest design technology and using a higher quality optical glass, the PRO Range Lenses achieves greater magnification, greater working distances, better edge-to-edge image quality, and low chromatic dispersion. All significant advantages over the conventional “macro wet lens”.

Plus, all 3 lenses from the PRO Range come with the industry de facto standard-67mm threaded mount in the form of a flush mount adapter ring (included). This allows the PRO lenses to directly attach to the underwater housing lens port. The lenses also have a protruding rear element, neatly tucked under the flush mount adapter ring on the lens. This allows the lens to be close to the lens port when used with flip lens adapters that employ this design.

The brighter, lighter, and better lenses or the PRO Range are now available. For more information or orders of the new UCL-90 PRO and the PRO Range, view www.aoi-uw.com or contact your local AOI distributor.

About the company

AOI LIMITED was founded in 1994 in Hong Kong by a team of experienced managers and engineering professionals. It started with the manufacturing of compact film cameras and then progressed to single-use cameras, single-use underwater cameras, and underwater digital camera housings. After years of intense product development and manufacturing excellence, AOI advanced as a manufacturer of professional OEM/ODM underwater camera housings and underwater electronic products. Driven by the desire to offer a holistic and complete range of underwater imaging products, AOI decided to create products under its own brand name. In 2014, it all started with “Underwater Optics,” as AOI began to develop a series of Underwater ConversionLenses and Lens Port Systems for underwater housings and market them under the AOI brand name. Since then, the brand’s reputation has grown to unimaginable heights. The in-house vertical integrated structure from product development to after-sales services ensures full control of the products’ QUALITY, DELIVERY, and COMPETITIVE PRICE.