AOI OM-1 and the Olympus 90 Macro

[AggressorBLUE]

One quick note relevant to OM-1 and housings; it appears AOI is currently the only housing in the price range that allows use of the front dial on the OM-1. I just pinged Ikelite; their housing lacks a dial for that (I’m guessing their standard controls and DLM box didn’t leave enough room). I’m bummed as I’m currently using Ike for my EM5II housing.

To my knowledge the only other way to get that control functionality is with Nauticams housing, for an eye-watering $2600.

So for me it’s between AOI with better ergonomics and functionality, but potentially a less robust build (say what you will, Ike isn’t messing around with those acrylic boxes!), and the sacrifices Ikelite is asking me to make.

Also, Bill, if you don’t mind my asking, do you also have the Oly 8mm FE Lens, and if so, what port are you using on the AOI to make that lens happy? Asking because I just window shopped over at backscatter, and their lens/dome tool for the housing reccos a 4” dome and extension for the 8mm; which feels off. My Ike housing with that lens needs an 8” dome (its comically more dome than camera with that setup, LOL) , so I was thinking at least a 6” would be needed to keep things sharp across the 180* FOV.

 

[justinthedeeps]

I am cross-posting some sample images from the 90mm here from my first couple of dives with it:

Info - Just Announced: THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE M.ZUIKO ED 90MM F3.5 MACRO IS PRO

Zuiko PRO lenses are more dust/weather resistant (might make a difference in a housing leak.) PRO lenses are brighter (maybe important when trying for shallow DOF.) PRO lenses are $$$$. How much more image quality with a PRO lens remains to be seen. In this particular lense, 90mm macro...

scubaboard.com

I invested in the Nauticam system because I like depth, and I thoroughly used (even abused) my NA-TG6 housing for years of international diving down to 110 metres with never a single issue. Even hurled it onto concrete once while shaking out water! Still works and seals like new.

It would definitely be cool if AOI makes a dedicated port for this lens with external mode selectors and manual focus control etc. Probably sufficient for most diving.

 

[bvanant]

I too had Nauticam's for many years, but the AOI fit what I do (never much deeper than 100 ft) and it has the built in LED trigger and vacuum system. I shoot the Panasonic 8 mm in the 4 inch dome and it works fine, don't have the OLY 8 mm.
BVA

 

[bvanant]

I have been shooting the OM-1 now for a week+ in Anilao. I like the camera a lot (it seems to focus better than my EM1 MIII with the same lenses. Getting used to a 90degree finder was tricky but I think it is fine now. Shooting the 90 mm is difficult on macro mode, since anything bigger than tiny is tough to get in focus but for small nudis for example it is stellar. This one was shot with the 60, the 90 version I will post later today, time to go diving.
BVA

 

[justinthedeeps]

I'm finding the autofocus performance thru the 90mm to often be inadequate for quick handheld shots, even on land, when I or the subject are prone to movement. Surprisingly more focus hunting incidents than expected. But I guess it's not an easy job for the camera.

I have had some nice results with manual focus + rapid burst focus bracketing. This gets pretty sporty!

 

[bvanant]

Another 5 dives with the 90 macro, set in the in-between mode. Excellent focusing so far. Here is a teeny little anemone on the back of a leaf where Shaun the Sheep normally crawl.

 

[jiggly]

some are 60 meters, some are 45 meters, seems like the OMD-5 is 60, but the EM1-III is 45.
I suspect that at 60 meters, some buttons won't work.
Bill

I ended up emailing AOI about this. Their response:

"UH-OM5 and UH-EM5III belongs to OM-D mount housing series. They are physically the same. The design depth rating are 60 meters. While UH-OM1, UH-EM10 IV, UH-EM1III and UH-EPL10R are PEN mount housing series for compact design. The design depth rating are 45 meters."

Something about the PEN mounting lowers the depth rating. Not sure why. I've been debating between getting an OM-1 and OM-5 for awhile now, and this reduced depth rating is the only thing keeping me from jumping on the OM-1.

Has anyone compared the autofocus performance between the OM-1 and OM-5? I know the 5 doesnt have the AI stuff, but other than that - are they the same? Or is the OM-1 more accurate and faster even in S/C-AF?

 

[dianna912]

I thought I'd chime in with my experience, since I'm also using the AOI housing with OM-1 and 90mm. I'm using the new dedicated 90mm port. I was the first person to order it from backscatter. The good: Bokeh is stunning. I've also shot with the 60mm with the CMC-1 and it is fairly comparable in magnification and depth of field at the closest distances you can focus. The 60mm with the CMC-1 give you very little working room for the strobes, though. The 60mm is much much easier to work with with larger nudibranchs, though.

The bad: my "multi-control device" is malfunctioning and the moisture alarm kept going off. We actually unscrewed the device and removed the moisture strip. It still kept going off, so we inspected the device, and there is some corrosion around the top, on the opposite side of the circuit board from the moisture strip connector, so I will be sending back to backscatter. I'm pretty disappointed by this. I did have a small leak on maybe dive 10 with this housing. My vacuum cap fell off, and apparently the little red twisty thing did not hold the seal completely, which it really should have. I surfaced immediately, and got it well dried out. I used it for quite a few more dives, and that happened about a month ago, so it seems odd it would be related, but electronics are strange.

Definitely questioning whether I should have went with the nauticam now.

The good: I've been spotting for our group, and remembering how much I love the thrill of the nudi hunt! And my husband is nice enough to let me shoot some shots with his rig if we find something special.


You can see some of my shots here:

 

[deeper thoughts]

I thought I'd chime in with my experience, since I'm also using the AOI housing with OM-1 and 90mm. I'm using the new dedicated 90mm port. I was the first person to order it from backscatter. The good: Bokeh is stunning. I've also shot with the 60mm with the CMC-1 and it is fairly comparable in magnification and depth of field at the closest distances you can focus. The 60mm with the CMC-1 give you very little working room for the strobes, though. The 60mm is much much easier to work with with larger nudibranchs, though.

The bad: my "multi-control device" is malfunctioning and the moisture alarm kept going off. We actually unscrewed the device and removed the moisture strip. It still kept going off, so we inspected the device, and there is some corrosion around the top, on the opposite side of the circuit board from the moisture strip connector, so I will be sending back to backscatter. I'm pretty disappointed by this. I did have a small leak on maybe dive 10 with this housing. My vacuum cap fell off, and apparently the little red twisty thing did not hold the seal completely, which it really should have. I surfaced immediately, and got it well dried out. I used it for quite a few more dives, and that happened about a month ago, so it seems odd it would be related, but electronics are strange.

Definitely questioning whether I should have went with the nauticam now.

The good: I've been spotting for our group, and remembering how much I love the thrill of the nudi hunt! And my husband is nice enough to let me shoot some shots with his rig if we find something special.


You can see some of my shots here:

Beautiful shot

 

[gummybun]

Would you be so kind as to comment further on the additional viewing optic? I am looking at the Oly line and am currently using a Sony6400 w/90mm Macro - I find subject acquisition a devil of a job and am looking for ways/instruction on how to improve this lack of skill.

Once together you have a choice of looking at the screen directly, there is a 90 degree finder (a mirror essentially), a magnifying straight viewfinder or a little hood. I have historically used a 45 finder and find the 90 strange but did get used to it.

BTW, nice shots ...as always!