e-510 or e-520?

[PHIL RUDIN]

For a review and images for the E-520/PT-e05 housing checkout this link.

Olympus E-520 and PT-E05 Housing - FourThirdsPhoto - News and Articles

Phil Rudin

 

[gary-ramey]

Gary, as I recall you also have/had an Oly E 410. Which lens were you using? You also got a 9-18mm, but haven't got the port for it, right? Finally, do you see much of a difference between the E410 and the E 520?

Ardy, which lens were you using?
BTW, Hope you and yours are safe from the wildfires. I've driven the Prince's Highway. It's horrific to think of all those eucalyptus torching off.

Yes most of my pics are from the E410 including my best stuff from the Philippines. I was using the 50mm lens for the batfish photo. The problem was the batfish was so big and skittish that he wouldn't let me get closer than a couple of feet. I have the 9-18mm but haven't gotten a port for it yet. I'm really excited about the news from Athena about the small 5" port for it. I'm waiting on a price on it. As far as differences between the E410 and E520. The only thing I notice with the eye is the jpegs seem to be a little more vivid in the E520 straight from the camera. One big difference is the way each one handles changing shutter and aperture in manual mode. Both cameras allow you to select which parameter is adjustable with the thumbwheel. Then to adjust the other you have to hit a button. With the E410 you had to continually hold the button down, with the 520 you can just hit it and let go. The way the buttons on both housings are designed its impossible to use one hand with the E410. However, with the E520 it is possible. The liveview mode on the E520 is faster than the E410 but still not fast enough for anything but non-swimming macro and reef scenes. The Olympus Housing for the E520 is a superb design and a wonderful improvement over the housing for the E410. Image stabilization on the E520...I think the jury is still out on this. I'm not certain there is a real benefit to it yet. Image Quality...I'd have to say I was never disappointed by the IQ from the E410 and the same goes with the E520. I think both cameras would struggle in high ISO comparisons with cameras that have a larger sensor but underwater I never shoot higher than ISO200. Overall, I switched cameras because I was unhappy with the Olympus housing for the E410.

 

[gary-ramey]

Phil..outstanding review. Do you know what the maximum sync speed is with the Oly strobe?

 

[gary-ramey]

Hope these dont scare you all off? I can always blame Gary if they do.

I've been known to do that..haha. My wife says I have the kind of face that could make a freight train take a dirt road.

 

[PHIL RUDIN]

Well Gary, I don't recall that the UFL-2 strobe can be set in a "high speed" mode 1/4000th sec. like some land strobes if that is what you mean, but then again I don't think I would have been looking for it.

I now use fiber optics to fire all my strobes both the Inon Z-240's and Athena ARF-10 ring-flash. Because they are not hardwired to the housing the Olympus E-3 camera is talking to the onboard pop-up flash not my external strobes. As a result the max. 1/250th sec. sync speed can not be overridden as it could be if hardwired. I don't consider this much of a downside and if needed I can always go back to the cord. With my ring-flash I can bump the speed to 1/400th but by 1/500th a black line crosses the lower 1/5th of the frame where the shutter is moving back across the frame. From your comments it does not appear that you are feeling the love for the stabilization feature of the E-520 camera. I on the other hand have found it quite useful both in and out of the water. When I compare thousands of images without it to the ones using stabilization from my E-3 I can not help but see an increase in sharpness at slower shutter speeds. As a result I am rarely feeling the need for a shutter speed above 1/250th with strobe lighting underwater.

Trust me I will have situations where I will revert back but I expect them to be few and far between.

Thanks to all for taking the time to read my review on this equipment.

Phil Rudin

 

[Ardy]

For a review and images for the E-520/PT-e05 housing checkout this link.

Olympus E-520 and PT-E05 Housing - FourThirdsPhoto - News and Articles

Phil Rudin

Phil - great review. Setting the default manual mode to aperture is something I didnt realise you can do. This will make it even easier to use for me. In fact I am so happy using this in manual I may not bother with TTL. Still lots to learn and a 50mm macro to buy.

I was expecting to be disappointed in the view finder as I have a DA 20 on my old nikon F4 and that is about 2x a normal viewfinder. However didn't even notice it as a problem.

So far, based on my single dive I am very happy that I took yours and Gary's advice.

Thanks very much for all your patient advice. - Ardy

 

[gary-ramey]

Phil,
Maybe its something I haven't noticed because I haven't shot any WA with it yet...just macro. Usually f11-f22 at 1/180. 1/180 is as fast as the E520 will sync unless you have the FL50 by which it will do a super sync...haven't figured that one out yet. One thing I struggled with using my old E410 was sunballs with the sun in the frame. I had heard that you can get better results by increasing your shutter speed. Right now, I'm really happy with the Inon's and their connection to the housing.

 

[PHIL RUDIN]

Hi Ardy,

I used the Nikon E-3 the the action finder and then the Nikonos RS for fifteen years so I know that the switch from the large viewfinder can be a bit of a shock for some. The viewfinders on these cameras are so bright that it makes up for some of the difference.
Also for an under $1000.00 housing the pick-up finder on the Olympus DSLR housings works very well. The change to the Olympus E-3 with the Inon 45 degree finder has reminded me how much better it can be.

Hi Gary,

Your E-520 will sync in manual to at least 1/320th if you use a wired cord, (not fiber optic) and a non-dedicated strobe like the Inon Z-240. This allows you to move the shutter speed beyond 1/180th. If you were aware of this perhaps others are not and this will work for most cameras not just Olympus.

Phil Rudin

 

[Ardy]

Hi Phil - so you came to the Olympus through the same route I have, although I started my slr adventure with an OM1 and 50mm macro in an Australian Sea Tite housing 20 years ago. I started with a Nikonos 2 in 1977. Very happy to be back with an Olympus 520.

Why would a higher shutter speed resolve the white balance issues with sunballs that Gary is talking about? I thought this was more to do with the sensor.

regards

 

[gary-ramey]

Hi Gary,

Your E-520 will sync in manual to at least 1/320th if you use a wired cord, (not fiber optic) and a non-dedicated strobe like the Inon Z-240. This allows you to move the shutter speed beyond 1/180th. If you were aware of this perhaps others are not and this will work for most cameras not just Olympus.

Phil Rudin

I was unaware of that. I actually have a FL50 and just assumed that since it stopped at 1/180 that was the upper limit. Thanks again.

Why would a higher shutter speed resolve the white balance issues with sunballs that Gary is talking about? I thought this was more to do with the sensor.

From my limited understanding, I know that sensor dynamic range plays a part but I was also under the impression that great sunball pics with the sun in the frame along with subject, can be achieved by increasing the shutter speed to limit the cyan fringing that occurs and opening the aperture a little to keep the water blue. I think you also have to be somewhat shallow and it helps just to have a little sediment in the water to get that nice streaking effect. Anyway, if someone would like to weigh in and tell me how wrong I am I'll be happy to listen. But I've only been successful when I block the sun or frame it out completely.