EPL10/AOI housing Pictures from Hood Canal, WA

[rgugler]

Hello all,

Getting back into diving after a long break. I recently went diving at Sund Rock and Octopus Hole, just north of Hoodsport, WA in Hood Canal. I only have the camera and housing at the moment, no light. We were blessed with amazing visibility and I was was able to bring some colors back processing the raw photos even without lighting. I am looking for cost effective tray/arm/video light set ups. Any good resources for used gear? I'm also building my personal dive gear, and it is a little disheartening to realize a simple tray/arm/light setup will cost as much as the used regulator/octo/air integrated computer setup I am trying out and likely buying next week.

I am struggling with the best way to use the continuous AF with tracking. I watched the Backscatter video, but still unsure. I've been shooting on land with an original EM5, which recently died. It wasn't a great jump to get the EPL10 body used since it works with all my other lenses and the AOI housing is a great bargain compared to other mirrorless housing prices. The original EM5 didn't have good continuous AF, so I never used it. I did use back button focusing, so that is normal to me. Do I need to keep pushing down on the back button with CAF to keep it tracking? Is it beneficial to make the focus grid a little bit bigger? I had a ton of photos where the focus was just off, and can't tell if I was just missing my target with the single focus area or if it was because I was focusing with that then reframing my images. On some of it I just called it good enough for a first try. Also, any tips for shooting video with this setup? I don't really care about making cinematic videos, but I know a little bit of video editing and would love to get some clips of animal behavior from my dives.

 

[Guitarcrazy]

Late reply, but cool photos. Is that a wolf eel? I have a TG-5 with housing and strobes and am thinking of upgrading to your setup. I am not a great photographer and worry that it may add more complexity for an amateur like myself. How would you rate this setup for ease of use? We travel 3 times a year to dive and like to get some decent photos of our dives. Thanks.

 

[gert7to3]

I have been making my own tray/arm sets for years. I use polypropylene drain pipe. The stuff you install under a sink. The joints slip can rotate which lets you adjust angles. The tray is made from aluminum angle and plate sourced from hardware stores. I assemble the parts with aluminum rivets. The hinges are made from several flat pieces of aluminum stock, I embed the plates with epoxy in the drain pipes and pin them with stainless steel screws. Be sure to separate the plates with plastic washers. This way you can adjust the resistance of the hinges.

The tripod socket in these camera housings, at least in N. America, have 1/4-20 machine screw threads. Take close look at how I make the mounting screws for the housing. I thread the holes in the tray. I grind off part of the threads on the screws so they remain with the tray after I dismount the housing. I use wing nuts and washer(s) on the part of the screw which does not go through the tray plate.

Embed a longer screw with nuts and washers on the ends of the arms to build mounting attachments. Here are variety of trays:

 

[Doctorfish]

For those not DIY inclined, AOI makes a robust tray and arms with ball joints for about $130. Arms can be adjusted in and out and camera mount is rock solid. I've used a number of different mounts over the years and really like this one.