Help with upgrade from EPL6 to OM1 mark ii (what to sell, what to keep)

[justinthedeeps]

60mm is still your best lens
Don't get the 90mm, it's too frustrating to use underwater

The OM5 will do 90% of what the OM1 does underwater. Save $1000+
Unless you're doing Nauticam and already planning to part with up to $10k anyway.

Underwater you won't need the superburst modes or flying birds autofocus features that makes the OM1 $2k+
Yeah there are the two card slots and the viewfinder resolution, but that's not $1000 worth of difference.

 

[Furnari]

Between the M1mkIII and OM5 I would go with the former because the AOI housing for the latter takes the larger OM-D ports. You already have the Zen dome and the flat port from your current housing so you're money ahead there.

Nothing necessarily wrong with the 9-18 other than it's not as sharp as most modern lenses. If you're happy with it, stick with it and your Zen dome; both work with AOI housings that take PEN ports (no adapter needed).

You don't need the 14-42EZ with what you have now, it's just that the AOI flat port for it is really small, and you can add an extension ring to use your 60. One thing with EZ is that you can use a wet macro lens or a wet wide lens- even take both on the same dive. Downside is that the wet lenses are heavy and pricey.

 

[sillyrabbit]

60mm is still your best lens
Don't get the 90mm, it's too frustrating to use underwater

The OM5 will do 90% of what the OM1 does underwater. Save $1000+
Unless you're doing Nauticam and already planning to part with up to $10k anyway.

Underwater you won't need the superburst modes or flying birds autofocus features that makes the OM1 $2k+
Yeah there are the two card slots and the viewfinder resolution, but that's not $1000 worth of difference.

Hey Justin, thanks for your reply. I was wondering whether the OM1mii was too much camera for me...
I'll def keep my 60mm

 

[sillyrabbit]

Between the M1mkIII and OM5 I would go with the former because the AOI housing for the latter takes the larger OM-D ports. You already have the Zen dome and the flat port from your current housing so you're money ahead there.

Nothing necessarily wrong with the 9-18 other than it's not as sharp as most modern lenses. If you're happy with it, stick with it and your Zen dome; both work with AOI housings that take PEN ports (no adapter needed).

You don't need the 14-42EZ with what you have now, it's just that the AOI flat port for it is really small, and you can add an extension ring to use your 60. One thing with EZ is that you can use a wet macro lens or a wet wide lens- even take both on the same dive. Downside is that the wet lenses are heavy and pricey.

Hi Furnari
I've got a time crunch as a family member is in Japan and will buy my camera for me and bring back to the EU on Friday (!). Unfortunately M1mkiii is not available to buy new there (and we don't have time to search the used market), but the OM5 and the OM-1miii are available.

How frustrating will it be to get the OM5 with the AOI housing that uses the larger OM-D ports? I'm assuming there is a adaptor of some sort that will allow me to use my PEN dome? I can't seem to find any info about that on Backscatter or from googling

C

 

[sillyrabbit]

Cindy,

I started off with Olympus E-PL3 in an Olympus housing. Moved to the E-PL10 in an AOI housing and now the E-M1 Mark III in an AOI housing. You asked why the E-M1 vs O-M5; the E-M1 has two SD card slots so I use one for photos and the other for videos. I do this by programming the AEL switch to let me switch back and forth. The E-M1 has 4 custom modes too, so I can set one for macro, one for wide, one for night etc. Plus, I got it on sale, used, for a great price.

The 12-45mm is just an all around good lens, IMO. It can do macro or wide, although it does not excel at either. I shoot a lot of fish portraits and it is great for that. The attached photo was taken in Fiji using the 12-45mm.

View attachment 855783

Plus, it is one of the least expensive PRO series lenses and it can be used with the PEN port, which for you is the ZEN port.

AOI housings use the same PEN attachment as the Olympus housing, so your ZEN port will attach just fine. Additionally, with the newer AOI housing you will get a vacuum seal so you know your housing is not leaking.

To jump on Furnari's post, AOI/Olympus have two different sized ports: the PEN and the O-MD. The O-MD port is larger in diameter than the PEN, allowing for larger lens to be used i.e. 7-14mm, 12-40mm and 8-18mm. The Olympus 8mm Fisheye also requires an O-MD port. There is an adapter that attaches to a PEN housing which allows you to use the O-MD ports. The ZEN port you have is a PEN port, so the it will attach directly to the housing without and adapter.

Using the FLP-02 port for the 60mm and the 12-50mm lens. If you get the FLP-04 with a 24mm Extension you can use the 60mm, 12-50mm, then if you remove the extension you can use the 30mm macro and the 14-45mm lens.

Hope this helps.

Jon

Hey Jon thanks again for the reply and for explaining things clearly for me.

So, if I get the OM5, the AOI Housing (that uses O-MD style ports natively), and I get the 8mm Fisheye in the future, can I get an adaptor to use my PEN Zen dome for both my 9-18 and the 8mm?
Will I also be able to use my 60mm in the OM5 Housing?

I can't seem to find info about that on Backscatter, or maybe I don't know where / what to look for..

C

 

[js1221]

Hey Jon thanks again for the reply and for explaining things clearly for me.

So, if I get the OM5, the AOI Housing (that uses O-MD style ports natively), and I get the 8mm Fisheye in the future, can I get an adaptor to use my PEN Zen dome for both my 9-18 and the 8mm?
Will I also be able to use my 60mm in the OM5 Housing?

I can't seem to find info about that on Backscatter, or maybe I don't know where / what to look for..

C

if you go the OM-5 route, you will need the O-MD to Pen port adapter to use your current ports.

AOI Port Adapter for Olympus PEN Ports in Olympus OM-D Housings

This port adapter will allow AOI PEN Ports to adapt to Olympus OM-D Housings.

www.backscatter.com

Zen PA-EP08-EP Port Adaptor for Pen Domes on OM-D Housings

Zen PA-EP08-EP Port Adaptor for Pen Domes on OM-D Housings: When Olympus introduced the PT-EP08/11 housing for the wonderful OM-D E-M5/M1 camera, they introduced a new port mounting system and size.

www.backscatter.com

If you decide to get the 8mm Fisheye lens and port at a later date, you can use them with the O-M5 housing without the adapter.

 

[sillyrabbit]

Cindy,

I started off with Olympus E-PL3 in an Olympus housing. Moved to the E-PL10 in an AOI housing and now the E-M1 Mark III in an AOI housing. You asked why the E-M1 vs O-M5; the E-M1 has two SD card slots so I use one for photos and the other for videos. I do this by programming the AEL switch to let me switch back and forth. The E-M1 has 4 custom modes too, so I can set one for macro, one for wide, one for night etc. Plus, I got it on sale, used, for a great price.

The 12-45mm is just an all around good lens, IMO. It can do macro or wide, although it does not excel at either. I shoot a lot of fish portraits and it is great for that. The attached photo was taken in Fiji using the 12-45mm.

View attachment 855783

Plus, it is one of the least expensive PRO series lenses and it can be used with the PEN port, which for you is the ZEN port.

AOI housings use the same PEN attachment as the Olympus housing, so your ZEN port will attach just fine. Additionally, with the newer AOI housing you will get a vacuum seal so you know your housing is not leaking.

To jump on Furnari's post, AOI/Olympus have two different sized ports: the PEN and the O-MD. The O-MD port is larger in diameter than the PEN, allowing for larger lens to be used i.e. 7-14mm, 12-40mm and 8-18mm. The Olympus 8mm Fisheye also requires an O-MD port. There is an adapter that attaches to a PEN housing which allows you to use the O-MD ports. The ZEN port you have is a PEN port, so the it will attach directly to the housing without and adapter.

Using the FLP-02 port for the 60mm and the 12-50mm lens. If you get the FLP-04 with a 24mm Extension you can use the 60mm, 12-50mm, then if you remove the extension you can use the 30mm macro and the 14-45mm lens.

Hope this helps.

Jon

Hey Jon! I see you had replied here earlier but I didn't see you had actually answered my question already.

So, for the 8mm Fisheye, looking at the Zen website, I would need a new Zen port for the 8mm Fisheye. Am I right?

Thank you again! <3

 

[js1221]

Hey Jon! I see you had replied here earlier but I didn't see you had actually answered my question already.

So, for the 8mm Fisheye, looking at the Zen website, I would need a new Zen port for the 8mm Fisheye. Am I right?

Thank you again! <3

Correct. Ports are lens dependent, so different lenses require different ports in order to function properly. For the Olympus 8mm, you would need a new port. This chart should help.

 

[sillyrabbit]

Awesome! Thank you again!

 

[sillyrabbit]

Definitely feel like I'm learning about this whole world all over again from the beginning...

Really appreciate everyone's opinions and help. This community is amazing! <3