E 330 change of housing

[SeaYoda]

After trying the Fantasea housing and several port options, I finally had to give up on that housing. I liked a lot of things about the Fantasea housing but there is no port or combination of ports that would cover the use of the 14 - 54 lens completely. Jack at Optical Ocean worked hard to find a solution and I wish I could have done business with him. I'm sending everything back today and they are giving me a full refund .

I have chosen an Ikelite housing with dome from ReefPhoto to replace the Fantasea FE 330. I'll have one strobe (the DS51 I bought to go with the other housing can use TTL in the Ike so I'll experiment with that for a while before I venture into a second strobe purchase). I'm loading the other handle with a focus light for those dark cavern shots that seemed to give the E 330 some focusing difficulty on the one dive I took it on.

Now I just have to wait for the delivery truck again.

 

[Reefwalker]

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[Reefwalker]

I think I would have got a 50mm macro lens (or even a 35mm macro lens) and used in the Fantasea housing, then you would have been able to use the camera to its full potential.
The 14-54mm lens is not really an ideal lens for u/w use.

 

[SeaYoda]

Unfortunately the wallet fairy wouldn't put more money under the pillow at this time . Thanks for all your help in trying to get this to work. Did 10Bar make a special port for you or was it a stock item for them? I asked if there was a Fantasea version to try but no luck.

 

[Reefwalker]

Hi SeaYoda
10Bar actually made me two custom ports, one to use with the 14-45mm and one to use with the 35mm and 50mm macro lenses. There actually was no need for two ports as the longer one for the 14-45mm also suits both the 35 & 50mm. So I ended up with a spare port.
At the point of me ordering a housing they didn't have a production model, so mine was a prototype. There were a few hickups initially, but they listened to everything I had to say and then forwarded me all parts necessary (to Bali) to modify the housing (at no cost) so the housing worked perfectly.
They also listened to some suggestions I had and included these in their production model (for instance allowing the screen to tilt in the housing - which is a great feature).
I have been very impressed with 10Bar's product and their communications (note: I have no ties with 10Bar, I'm just another customer)

 

[jlyle]

The 14-54mm lens is not really an ideal lens for u/w use.

I know that prime lenses are superior to zooms, but what don't you like about the 14-54? I've found this lens is great for general purpose dives where you don't know what you are going to find, or where you want to do both macro and fish-portraits on the same dive.

 

[padiscubapro]

I think I would have got a 50mm macro lens (or even a 35mm macro lens) and used in the Fantasea housing, then you would have been able to use the camera to its full potential.
The 14-54mm lens is not really an ideal lens for u/w use.

The best affordable lense for UW use is probably the 11-22.. for UW work WA lenses work best.. If money is no object the 7-14mm would be the best choice..

 

[JackConnick]

Just a note that there will be a new 104mm port version of the FD330 housing available in a couple of months. This will give us access to all our standard ports, zoom domes, semi-domes, etc.
Hope Bill will be happy with the other system, we tried, but that lens is tough to work with.
Jack

 

[Reefwalker]

Maybe my comment on the 14-54mm lens should have been - If i was starting out with a E-330, I would initially get the 35mm lens (cost & a macro lens) or a 50mm lens (a bit more expensive but it produces brillant photos). The 14-54mm lens does not have the same depth of field at closer focus distances as the macro lenses do. Please don't ask me to explain the technical optical differences.
But underwater with two E-330's side by side on the same subjects at the same subject distances (one in a 10Bar (Fantasea) shelter & one in an Ikelite shelter) - the image magnification at 50mm on the 14-54mm and the 50mm macro lens are very different, after varying the distances from the subject to have the same picture area showing on the LCD screens, the cameras were then at very different distances from the subject, and the resultant images when viewed later on the same computer screen, show different depth of field and saturation/sharpness. The macro lens won hands-down.
At the wide settings on the zoom lens (14mm). I felt it was not quite wide enough, but was fine for fish portraiture.... But the 35mm took nicer shots!!
The 14mm end of the lens certainly needs a dome port to achieve even focus (corner to corner), the 54mm end of the lens works best behind a flat port - and somewhere in-between needs a slightly curved port - and no-body has built one of these variable domes yet :shakehead
So for optical quality it is best to stick to prime lenses with the correct port underwater.
If you want to be able to use a lens that gives you flexibility underwater, then the 14-54mm lens is fine, but you will certainly want to get a wider lens for 'real' u/w wide angle (8mm f3.5) and a nice macro lens that is designed to work up-close with superior sharpness and optics that produce beautifully saturated images.

 

[SeaYoda]

That was some more great information Reefwalker. I chose the 14-54 to cheat a little until I can afford primes and ports to go with them. We don't have pretty reefs here or many great looking wrecks so true wide is of limited use (might be nice occasionally). The water is often milky or full of seaweed so macro is where I'll probably head first. Your advice will come in handy.

How did you solve the aperture/shutter button issue? I wish it was a toggle instead of a hold down on the camera. I love where it's put for land shots, but I had trouble holding down the button on top while rotating the button on the back while it was in the housing. A lock and release button on the housing could solve the issue. I was just wondering how you handle it.