buying the Olympus C-5050Zoom and PT-015

[sapphire]

AmateurCichlids once bubbled...
When I said I'd be posting a new thread, it was to ask for advice, not to give it. I've spent the last five hours going through forums, digital phot sites and personal sites looking for advice on using my Oly-5050, PT-015 with internal strobe and so far I've come up with, "Don't remove the diffuser plate."
I'm hoping I can find someone who uses this setup without a strobe that can give tips on the list of settings they use.
Amateurcichlids

Sorry - misinterpreted your post! Well, I guess I will continue to search as well... I am in no hurry for the strobe however - I still need to learn how to use the camera without adding another complexity!

sapphire

 

[AmateurCichlids]

After looking at some of the prices on the trays, strobes and arms most widely recommended, I think I need to spend more time figuring out how to use the internal strobe.
If you find any websites that are real comprehensive on settings and are in terms that newbies like myself can understand, I'd love to hear about them.
AC

 

[WileEDiver]

sapphire once bubbled...

Wow, WileDiver, you got a better deal than me! I also had no hard sell, but a suggestion that the Olympus battery charger was not the greatest (it is not!) but I purchased another one elsewhere with some longer-life batteries.

sapphire

I agree with you, Sapph. I've got a couple sets of PowerEx batteries and a charger on order from Thomas Distributing. Should be here this week. Is that the one you got, too?

BTW, from your profile: The combination of Baseball and SoCal; not a Dodger fan are you?

 

[sapphire]

WileEDiver once bubbled...

I agree with you, Sapph. I've got a couple sets of PowerEx batteries and a charger on order from Thomas Distributing. Should be here this week. Is that the one you got, too?

BTW, from your profile: The combination of Baseball and SoCal; not a Dodger fan are you?

Yes, that is the charger & batteries I ordered

And yes, I bleed Dodger blue - another reason for my ScubaBoard name!! And about a month ago I would have something to be proud of... oh well at least we beat the Diamondbacks yesterday Try not to gloat too much, OK

sapphire (go Dodgers!)

Here is my daughter's favorite non-underwater photo:

 

[WileEDiver]

sapphire once bubbled...

Try not to gloat too much, OK

[Warning: Off-Topic:]
Hey, I was in Anaheim for game 6 last year. I don't gloat about anything.ity:

But come up to Monterey for diving sometime, and we can catch a game at the best park in the Majors. And even though we don't have "Dodger Dogs", the food's pretty good, too.

Great picture, by the way.

 

[equipto76]

I just received my C5050/PT015 setup from Global Computer http://www.globalcomputer.com They came highly recommended by someone on one of the many other threads on this topic. Their service was excellent plus they have free shipping. I also picked up a copy of Adobe Photoshop Elements at the same time to fix some of my mistakes and make the pictures reel perty. You can get a 30 day trial of Elements from the Adobe web site.

One thing to be careful of is there are plenty of people selling rebuilt C5050's on the net. These are supposedly factory reconditioned so they should be just as good as new. Just make sure you know what you're buying so you don't accidentally get a good deal on a camera you thought was brand spankin new.

Matt

 

[sapphire]

WileEDiver once bubbled...

[Warning: Off-Topic:]
Hey, I was in Anaheim for game 6 last year. I don't gloat about anything.ity:

But come up to Monterey for diving sometime, and we can catch a game at the best park in the Majors. And even though we don't have "Dodger Dogs", the food's pretty good, too.

Great picture, by the way.

Yes, us Dodger fans became Angel fans when it was Angels-Giants! Even when it was Angels-Yankees!! But I would like to go to PacBell Park sometime - it looks nice, if not a little small?? And the food HAS to be better in SF than LA, Dodger Dogs are highly overrated (did I say that??)! We do have $7 beer though!! Glad you liked the picture -- my daughter is in LOVE with that rookie outfielder!

And as for diving in Monterey, I did try that years ago, right after I was certified. I have never been so COLD in all my life. And that was in a heat wave in August - the water was all the way up to 52!! As I no longer own a heavy wetsuit, or a drysuit, I think I will have to shiver and decline... But the dives were beautiful (if short due to my lips and fingers being frozen). And I have to say it was the only time I have seen a BIRD at 35 feet (diving cormorant) which was pretty cool, along with the starfish with a million arms!

take care, sapphire

 

[conchnclyde]

How many pic's (max) can be taken by the Oly 4000 or 4040, and the 5050, shooting underwater for a dive?

What are the advantages of the 5050, over the 4000 or 4040, in terms of necessities for good u/w pic's.

The 5050 + PT015 can be purchased for around $70 more than the 4000 + PT010, the difference here seems to be a no brainer for the money. What am I missing?

 

[sapphire]

conchnclyde once bubbled...
How many pic's (max) can be taken by the Oly 4000 or 4040, and the 5050, shooting underwater for a dive?

What are the advantages of the 5050, over the 4000 or 4040, in terms of necessities for good u/w pic's.

The 5050 + PT015 can be purchased for around $70 more than the 4000 + PT010, the difference here seems to be a no brainer for the money. What am I missing?

The number of pictures is determined by the size of the card you put in the camera, and what resolution you use when taking them. The 5050 holds 3 different type of cards, XD, SM and CF. But the XD and the SM go in the same slot, so you can't have them both in at once. I used a 64 SM card, which holds about 50 photos in high quality, and a 512 CF card in the other slot, which will hold TONS. I did fill up the SM card on some 2 tank dives, and then switched over to the CF card.

I will leave the other advantages up to the experts on this board!

sapphire

 

[Dominiek]

conchnclyde once bubbled...
How many pic's (max) can be taken by the Oly 4000 or 4040, and the 5050, shooting underwater for a dive?

What are the advantages of the 5050, over the 4000 or 4040, in terms of necessities for good u/w pic's.

The 5050 + PT015 can be purchased for around $70 more than the 4000 + PT010, the difference here seems to be a no brainer for the money. What am I missing?

Check out this website: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/olympusc5050z/
Here you can look up different camera's and see what the differences are.

For example, the 5050 can do little films and also audio. It has more pixels thus with the same resolution you can printer bigger pictures. Furthermore the 5050 has 'my mode' where you can pre-record 8 different settings which you might use often. If you really want the best picture the RAW format seems to be good. This is not possible with the 4040. Plus you cannot beat that the camera uses different storage systems.

Maybe this helps.

Dominiek