Any OM1 housings using OM-D port mount?

[Will&BilltheKrill]

Does anyone know if there are any housings available for the OM-1 that use the OM-D port mount system?

 

[Furnari]

The AOI housing can use OM-D ports with their adapter; it's clunky but workable if you want to stick with OM-D ports. Note that the adapter adds length, so you may need to remove extension rings (if your set up uses them) or live with a little bigger form factor. Overall, I'm a big fan of the AOI OM-1 housing, and using the OM-D port adapter is a good compromise. I ended up switching over to PEN ports for macro, fisheye, and the 12-45. I now only use the adapter for the 8-25 and 8" dome.

 

[Will&BilltheKrill]

Thanks Furnari, I’m currently using my EM1 mkII in an Olympus housing and ports underwater and have an OM1 I use topside. I toy with the idea of upgrading the housing to use my OM1 underwater but the need to buy new ports as well would add to the expense and make wonder if it’s worth it.

 

[Furnari]

What lens / port combinations are you using? PEN ports can be pretty cheap, and I have to tell you the smaller size is nice if you shore dive or deal with currents.

 

[Will&BilltheKrill]

I have the EP02 dome and EP03 macro. At the moment I’ve mostly used the dome with the 8mm fisheye and 30mm. I also have the 8-25 I can use with a port extension. I’d also like to get the 12-40mm pro as I like the versatility of the zoom range, with the speed and image quality.

 

[Furnari]

I couldn't get decent corners with the 8-25 in a 170mm dome, so it might be tough with the EP02. Not sure how the 12-40 would do in that dome, either but it's worth a shot. Unless you really want the f2.8 aperture for topside, I think the 12-45 is better underwater because of the smaller size, and it might be better optically in the smaller dome. However, I suspect that using the AOI port adapter may push both of your ports out too far to work with your current lenses without vignetting; that's just an assumption and not based on experience, though.

I made a post a while back about using the same PEN dome for the fisheye and the 12-45; it's a nice set up and takes advantage of the smaller form factor of the ports. Along those lines, AOI macro ports are pretty small and -even better- cheap.

 

[Will&BilltheKrill]

Thanks Furnari, I’ll have a look at the 12-45mm.

 

[Will&BilltheKrill]

Thanks Furnari, I’ll have a look at the 12-45mm.

 

[whsmac]

Also I hope to use my 8mm fisheye lens with OM-D Dome-port for my Olympus housing to AOI OM-1 housing but I wonder AOI 37mm port adapter shall make vignetting. So now I am considering to buy the new Pen Dome port for AOI housing.

Until now I have been using 8mm and 7-14, 12-40mm (with extension ring) for E-M1 MKII with only one OM-D Dome port but on AOI chart, I cannot find the proper setting with the one PEN port for OM-1. I do not want to buy and bring two Dome ports.

Please let me see some nice solution about this issue.

 

[Furnari]

With a 170mm OM-D dome and the 37mm port adapter, I got vignetting with the 8mm fisheye. The Olympus 7-14 should be fine, depending on which dome you use and how much extension it needs. My dome is an Inon, and I went from a 2" extension ring on an OM-D housing to a 1" with the port adapter / AOI housing to use the 12-40; I don't have the 7-14 any longer but it should be the same.

I don't believe there is a way to use a PEN dome with the 12-40, O7-14, O8-25, PL8-18, etc. It's just too tight to get a zoom gear in there, but someone might be able to figure out something using math and a 3-d printer. That whole exercise is why I switched to the 12-45/8mm PEN dome combination. I lose the ability to shoot a decent rectilinear wide, though. Not so decent options like the Panasonic 7-14 and O9-18 work, but at the cost of image quality (in my opinion).