I considered all of the above, but Nauticam has the widest and best range of housings, accessories, ports, etc. than anyone I know in this market. I have had two of their housings for a very long time, one since 2012, without ANY issues. I am sticking with Nauticam for any housing I buy in the future. It may be expensive to start, but in the long term, it is worth it. I won't remember that they were expensive initially since I'll enjoy using them for a long time.
That makes a lot of sense, and it’s definitely one of the reasons I’m still considering a Nauticam housing – even though it’s much more expensive. Just the housing and port for the 12–40mm costs around €1200 more than the AOI equivalent.
The thing is, for that price difference, I could almost get both a second port and the Zuiko 8mm fisheye if I go with AOI. That flexibility is really tempting – but I totally get the long-term value of investing in a system that’s rock solid and widely supported. Definitely torn!
Well I am the contrarian here. I think AOI is fine for the OM systems. When I was shooting the OM-D EM1 II I upgraded to the Mark III and went from Nauticam to Isotta. When I switched to the OM-1 I moved to AOI.
I don't think there are any photos that I could get with Nauticam that I can't get with the AOI (at a lot less $). It is very likely that like me, no one (in the grand scheme) is going to be interested in your photos, except your friends. My AOI has nearly 1000 dives on it and while it doesn't look new, I have had zero issues.
Bill
You're totally right – no one except friends is really interested in my photos! (And honestly, even they aren't that interested most of the time). I just shoot for the joy of it and as a creative outlet for myself. Same goes for diving, really – another wonderfully expensive hobby. That’s also why the
experience of using the gear becomes even more important for me – especially things like agility underwater, since I primarily freedive and also shoot photos and video of underwater rugby.
freediving with a Meikon housing and a Sony A7R II, was okey, but the housing was a bit too buoyant. I also didn’t have a tray and handles, which probably would’ve helped with control. Sure, I could have added weights to make it more neutral, but in the end, I sold the housing and camera to fund an upgrade and get a housing for my Micro Four Thirds setup instead of trying to fix the housing and continue to use the a7r as a dedicated underewaterrig. I was never fully happy with the Sony camera (aside from the image quality), and in fact, getting into full frame and underwater photography that way was cheaper than just buying a housing for my Lumix G9 at the time – so it felt like a good way to try out both things at once!
Another vote for the AOI- small, cheap, light, and rugged (cold water shore diver here). If you dive the 12-40 you'll need the OMD port adapter, which opens up a huge variety of port/lens options going back to the old 4/3 system. That said, if you stick with the native PEN port on the AOI housing, you can shoot the 12-45 for a lot cheaper and smaller than the 12-40. Another plus for the AOI is that it comes with an RC flash trigger, saving you another $500 USD.
Holy smokes- I just looked at Backscatter; tariffs have kicked in and the housing is now more than double the price I paid for it a little over a year ago. Sheesh.
Yeah, I noticed that too – luckily the European prices for the AOI housing and ports are still holding steady.
The 12–45 does seem like a great option, and the smaller dome port needed for it could definitely be a plus. If I understand correctly, you're typically shooting at f/4 or smaller underwater anyway for better edge sharpness, so the extra stop of light from the 12–40 f/2.8 may not offer much advantage down there.
That said, I’m really happy with the 12–40 for topside use, and since I don’t already own the 12–45, getting both the new lens and the smaller dome would end up being more expensive – even if the dome itself is cheaper to start with.
One nice bonus though is that going with the OMD port adapter gives me the option to explore more port and lens combinations in the future, which is great.
/Mats
