C5050 is the end ???

[cardzard]

Well folks it looks like those of us with Olympus C5050 will join the dinosaurs in the not to distant future. Why you may ask ??? Can you say planned obsolescent, Practically nobody make a housing for the C5050 anymore. I do see Light & Motion makes one but at 1400.00 it makes much more sense to upgrade. The days of cheap Olympus housing for the 5050 are long gone and now that Ikelite has discontinued their model the writing is on the wall IMO. We will all watch Ebay and the Scubaboard marketplace to delay when it happens to each of us but happen it will.

I just took my last spare PT-015 housing out of the closet because my other housing is getting fissure in the polycarbonate around the bottom hinge, It is less than a year old and was an exchange for my old housing which developed the same problem. I will scream, holler and jump up & down but the best I can expect some sort of refund from Olympus since they no longer make this model. Stock was extremely low when I sent in the last housing. I wonder how many other housing have this same flaw. I am not an expert but to have 2 housing have the same problem in less than a year I gotta believe I'm not the only one.

Please excuse my Rant but it really Irritates me to older model cameras are still supported with lots of choices for housings.

 

[Gilligan]

Sorry to hear about your problems with the Oly 5050 housings. Sounds like there was some type of flaw in the design that they never fixed.

I have two PT-010 housings along with two C4000Z cameras and all are still going strong with thousands of photos on each of them. I guess the PT010 housings were well made. The zoom springs on both have since broken and are not replaceable but I adapted without them.

Having said that I also know it's a matter of time until I have to replace all of them. All it takes at this point is for the cameras or the housings to go as neither are replaceable. While the cameras still take good photos even at 4 megapixels, it's the technology that is long outdated.

I will say that when the time comes I will replace them with another point and shoot camera/housing as I want to continue to be able to use wet mount lenses. If I had to replace them today I would go with the Fuji E900 and the $300. Ike housing plus the Ike adapter that allows me to use my 67mm lenses.

 

[herman]

I know what you mean. My 5050 just started having a problem and it's in the shop. In looking for a replacement, I realized that maybe getting the 2 x SP-350s and housing is a better idea than finding another used and questionable 5050. The displays are bigger, more megapixels and from what I can tell pretty much the same in operation. Guess I will make up my mind this week, got a trip coming and if my camera does not get fixed real quick I am going to order a 350.

 

[fpoole]

Yah, it's tough one...
I'm still shooting with a 4040 in a Tetra and seems to be working fine. Have a back up camera (4040) in case one goes bad, knowing there is no chance of repairs.

So the question I see is, when you buy these, 5050 or now the 330?(350?) do you go with an expensive housing that will last or just plan on upgrading within 2-3 years and go with less expensive housing realizing the limited life span.. The rigs still give good photos, so there isn't much need to upgrade unless there is a real desire to...

heheh.. I'm still pondering it.. I have a 5050 w/pt housing, used it several times, didn't like it due to the button controls so now just keep it around for "Wet" (in the PNW rain area) photos when needed.

My 4040 has and is continuing to give good photos, but the time has come to upgrade to the big boys.. so will keep it as a backup and training unit.. with the 2 cameras - 4040s... until they go Ka-put... then the housing becomes a door stop.. but got a lot of use out of it.. so worth it to me...
Just rambling here.. but it's a tough call.. cheaper housing = sooner upgrade..

Just a thought...

 

[kidsdream]

Hmmm..... I guess I should to start a bidding war for my housing?

I upgraded to a Subal housing for my D200. My son was going to use my Tetra, but I guess I could pick up something else for him.

 

[discrepancy]

After purchasing an Oly camera I was contacted by the supplier recently, who unwisely asked whether there was anything about the product I found annoying.

Long story short, I explained to them that for those of us in the large u/w photography community, cameras and housings effectively come in matching pairs, and there is nothing so frustrating as not being able to buy a new "superseded" camera to replace a broken or flooded one, or to have a perfectly serviceable "old" camera but no access to a replacement housing because the 18-month old housing is no longer in stock.

I told them that if a name-brand manufacturer such as Oly were to offer a guarantee to sell me a new replacement for my superseded camera for a period of, say, three years, then that would be a huge selling point, and it could well tip me in favour of their brand and I would love them for ever and ever. Same same for housings.

Well, capitalism works, because the survey people got back to me and asked all sorts of follow-up questions. They asked what sort of guarantees would be most welcome in the marketplace, and what sort of long term leasing arrangements might be attractive to beat the rapid product cycle, etc etc.

Moral of the story: tell the manufacturers and the marketers what you want. They might listen.

 

[Tsea]

Have you considered Ikelite? see attached link http://www.ikelite.com/ best of luck. I went through a similar deal when trying to buy an Olympus C-7070 for diving.
Tsea

 

[eho]

I have two DS-50's, one Ikelite TTL housing, and two 5050's. I like this setup because it gives me a lot of redundancy and not too high a cost (both 5050's cost $200 on eBay and both work great). I shoot a single strobe so I can survive almost any flood scenario. Even if I blow up the TTL electrics in the housing from a flood, I can go to internal flash and still get some pictures. I've had really good luck with buying used 5050's on eBay, I guess your mileage can vary on that.

 

[Footslogger]

Darn ...I can only hope that my 5050 hangs in there then. Cus I just don't know if I would be interested in starting all over again.

'Slogger

 

[divinman]

A friend of mine just bought a Oly5050 and PT housing with a DX90 strobe. Then she bought another 5050 for 200$. When I told her that OLY no longer makes her PT housing she went to Amazon. They show as back ordered so she bought one not really expecting to get one. Last week, it showed up in the mail. Brand new, still in the box...prestine. Now she has a spare camera, spare housing and much to learn...

Terry