E-PL3 + Olympus housing - wide angle options

[ProfF]

Hi All,

I recently ordered my PEN E-PL3 with standard 14-42 kit lens and the Olympus housing (PT-EP05L) and eagerly waiting for it to arrive.

In the meantime, I am debating the options for wide angle with this setup. If I understand correctly from what I read the options are:

1. Use Olympus wet lens PTWC-01, which should work according to the system chart
2. Use Inon wet lens(UWL-H100 28M67 + dome)
3. Use Olympus 9-14 lens with Zen WA-100 dome port
4. Use Panasonic fisheye lens 8mm + Zen port (also called WA-100 in some stores?!?)

I am trying to understand the Pros/Cons of the different options, and would welcome opinions on these. I broke them down along different criteria:

Field of view: If I understand correctly, the PTWC-01, H100 and WA-100 all give 100 deg FOV. The addition of Inon Dome or the 8mm give much wider angle.

Image quality: I assume that wetlens suffer when compared to a dome port with fewer elements. Is this true and if so how much is lost due to the extra layers?

Flexibility: With a wetlens one can do both WA and macro in the same dive. How realistic it is to carry a lens holder and switch underwater?

Weight/bulk: The PTWC-01 sounds like a big heavy addition according to the reviews I seen. The Inon is more reasonable, but I assume that it also will introduce weight/bulk to the setup. In contrast, the Zen Domes sound like very elegant setup (small and streamlined)

Compatibility: According to Olympus there is only option #1. The Inon H100 is compatible with other Olympus cameras that can accept the PTWC-01, but I am not sure if that is an indication. Recent posts here suggest that the Zen ports will work with the new E-PL3 housing.

Price:I believe the options are listed roughly according to their prices, with the PTWC at about ~$500 and the 8mm+dome closer to $1500.

Other uses: A w/a lens (not a wetlens) is great to have for dry photography (gasp)

I would really appreciate input from people who used some of these options on similar housing.

Thanks!

Nir

PS. Any idea when the PT-EP05L will actually be delivered? Many shops accept orders, but as far as I can tell, no one has concrete shipping date....

 

[cardog]

You can pick up a PTWC-01 for 369.99 at Adorama. It's an amazing lens but it is heavy!

 

[TheTrickster]

PS. Any idea when the PT-EP05L will actually be delivered? Many shops accept orders, but as far as I can tell, no one has concrete shipping date....

Amazon.co.uk emailed me yesterday about my preorder for the housing:

[TABLE="class: Bs nH iY, width: 1125"]
[TR]
[TD="class: Bu"]Please be advised that we have a revised delivery date for the items you ordered on September 29 2011 (Order #202-7576754-4401157).

"Olympus PT-EP05L Underwater Housing for PEN E-PL3"
Estimated arrival date: November 08 2011 - December 29 2011

[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

:depressed:

 

[PHIL RUDIN]

Hello Nir,

Here are a few things to think about, while the PTWC-01 and the Inon wide angle lens add-ons may be "amazing" on compacts, AKA P&S cameras they were not designed for interchangeable lens cameras. In fact if you look back through the twenty-five or so pages of information in this forum since the Pens were first released the question of using such lenses has been addressed. Those who tested them had poor results. So the question would be how radical a design change would Olympus need to make to the 14-42 "kit" zoom and the new housing port to change those results. I for one don't think Olympus even had underwater photographers in mind during the design change process. Second the Housing port and the front element of the PTWC-01 remain flat so the corners of the frame should, all thing being equal loose light and sharpness over a dome port. Is anyone out there even using this setup with the E-PL1/2 housing setups?

Look at the difference here between using the 9-18 behind the Olympus flat port and the ZEN Underwater dome port, Welcome to zenunderwater.com! every flat port has these problems with lenses wider than 70degrees or so.

My choice for wide angle would be the Panasonic 7-14 zoom, Olympus 9-18 zoom or the Panasonic 8mm fisheye. If you are new to wide angle underwater a fisheye is not the place to start. I also think the Olympus 12mm F/2 would make a steller U/W lens but no port yet for the Olympus housings. I have the 12mm lens, E-PL2 and the new Nauticam NA-EPL2 housing with the 4.33 inch and the 6 inch domes I will be testing with this lens in the next few weeks. I will post some results soon.

You also need to factor in the cost of the zoom gear for the 7-14 and 9-18 lenses.

Phil Rudin

 

[cardog]

Hello Nir,

Here are a few things to think about, while the PTWC-01 and the Inon wide angle lens add-ons may be "amazing" on compacts, AKA P&S cameras they were not designed for interchangeable lens cameras. In fact if you look back through the twenty-five or so pages of information in this forum since the Pens were first released the question of using such lenses has been addressed. Those who tested them had poor results. So the question would be how radical a design change would Olympus need to make to the 14-42 "kit" zoom and the new housing port to change those results. I for one don't think Olympus even had underwater photographers in mind during the design change process. Second the Housing port and the front element of the PTWC-01 remain flat so the corners of the frame should, all thing being equal loose light and sharpness over a dome port. Is anyone out there even using this setup with the E-PL1/2 housing setups?

Look at the difference here between using the 9-18 behind the Olympus flat port and the ZEN Underwater dome port, Welcome to zenunderwater.com! every flat port has these problems with lenses wider than 70degrees or so.

My choice for wide angle would be the Panasonic 7-14 zoom, Olympus 9-18 zoom or the Panasonic 8mm fisheye. If you are new to wide angle underwater a fisheye is not the place to start. I also think the Olympus 12mm F/2 would make a steller U/W lens but no port yet for the Olympus housings. I have the 12mm lens, E-PL2 and the new Nauticam NA-EPL2 housing with the 4.33 inch and the 6 inch domes I will be testing with this lens in the next few weeks. I will post some results soon.

Phil Rudin

I should have mentioned that it was, "amazing" with the XZ-1........

 

[guyharrisonphoto]

Go with the 9-18 with the Zen port. Got it from Reef. Those guys are great, even loaned me a dome to try out with the 9-18. That sold me, for sure, once I saw the results. You can see samples of my shots with this in the florida conch divers forum, under the thread "Our Goliath Season So Far." Sorry I don't know how to link. The Zen port also works with the 14-42 as well, and I have heard that you can still use the Oly macro adapter and a close-up lens with the 14-42 even with the dome, but I will verify this from Reef. That means one dome is all you need until you want dedicated macro lens. They actually recommended the 9-18 over the 7-14 panasonic. I must agree. I can actually get fish portraits at 18mm.

You will want a cover. The Lens Coat large "Hoodie" fits the dome perfectly, is neoprene, but also has a hard insert that gives the dome extra protection. Perfect when your camera is in the rinse tank sloshing around with other people's gear.

The Oly wide adapter is VERY HEAVY and you will be fighting it from tipping your camera forward. It also will not give near the quality. I actually tried it and did not like it at all on the E-PL2.


Phil's advice is right on the money, which it will cost a lot of! But, well worth it.

 

[ProfF]

Phil and Guy, thanks for the very useful & informative replies!

 

[ProfF]

Amazon.co.uk emailed me yesterday about my preorder for the housing:

[TABLE="class: Bs nH iY, width: 1125"]
[TR]
[TD="class: Bu"]Please be advised that we have a revised delivery date for the items you ordered on September 29 2011 (Order #202-7576754-4401157).

"Olympus PT-EP05L Underwater Housing for PEN E-PL3"
Estimated arrival date: November 08 2011 - December 29 2011
[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]


:depressed:

Rich, thanks for the info. I also ordered one in September but still did not get a shipping date estimate. This is a bummer.

 

[Prop Joe]

Go with the 9-18 with the Zen port. Got it from Reef. Those guys are great, even loaned me a dome to try out with the 9-18. That sold me, for sure, once I saw the results. You can see samples of my shots with this in the florida conch divers forum, under the thread "Our Goliath Season So Far." Sorry I don't know how to link. The Zen port also works with the 14-42 as well, and I have heard that you can still use the Oly macro adapter and a close-up lens with the 14-42 even with the dome, but I will verify this from Reef. That means one dome is all you need until you want dedicated macro lens. They actually recommended the 9-18 over the 7-14 panasonic. I must agree. I can actually get fish portraits at 18mm.

You will want a cover. The Lens Coat large "Hoodie" fits the dome perfectly, is neoprene, but also has a hard insert that gives the dome extra protection. Perfect when your camera is in the rinse tank sloshing around with other people's gear.

The Oly wide adapter is VERY HEAVY and you will be fighting it from tipping your camera forward. It also will not give near the quality. I actually tried it and did not like it at all on the E-PL2.


Phil's advice is right on the money, which it will cost a lot of! But, well worth it.

Here's a link:
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/florida-conch-divers/397565-our-goliath-season-so-far.html

 

[cardog]

Another nice thing about this housing is that you can add a 67mm macro lens directly to the port. No more plastic adapter necessary!