Maldives - E-PL3

[Gdog]

Great pics, thanks for sharing!

 

[smoore]

Great shots and thanks for sharing as I am looking into this set up at the moment, upgrading from a G12. Did you shoot in Raw? Just wondered as I have heard the camera struggles with noise in Raw. Did you use the olympus housing? Also looking into a strobe and the Inon s2000 has been recommended do you have any experiance with this strobe. Many Thanks again for sharing! Just what I have been looking for.

I am using the s2000 with the epl2and have been very happy with the flash especially sttl in manual mode. You can see a few of my shots posted in this forum under the title Epl2 images shot in Statia. These were shot in rather poor water conditions.

 

[happysnapper]

Thanks Spencer which lens do you prefer out of the two? Need to get some kit together soon as we are hoping to fly out to either Mexico or the Philippines in March for a 2 week dive trip. Have you ever used two strobes? as opposed to just one? Seems like you are achieving some top shots with just one strobe.

 

[spencerjb22]

Thanks Spencer which lens do you prefer out of the two? Need to get some kit together soon as we are hoping to fly out to either Mexico or the Philippines in March for a 2 week dive trip. Have you ever used two strobes? as opposed to just one? Seems like you are achieving some top shots with just one strobe.

Tbh I didn't use the WA that much. I just wanted to get used to one solution at a time. I found the Kit lens with kit port quite versatile. I was able to do portraits, macro ( with wet diopters) and semi wide all on one dive. Tbh If i had a wet WA lens i would possible do away with the WA lens and Zen dome as it would allow me to do everything with the kit lens and port.
Yes it might not be optically as good and not quite as wide, but the flexibility that would give would be fantastic.
I'm still weighing up if to simply add a WA lens and do away with the 9-18 and Zen....not sure yet.

I had two strobes but sold one to fund buying all of this kit plus some SLR stuff I needed. I think sometimes when you have a single strobe to work with it makes me consider positioning etc more and using ambient light more. Saying that, I wouldn't mind adding another and hope to some time soon.

I'm off to Mexico in May, so look forward to seeing how you get on.

 

[happysnapper]

cheers Spencer, Last trip to mexico is here....... Diving in Mexico with the Canon G12 and IST video light : Jason Chambers Photography
There are a few still images if you scroll down. We stayed in playa car and did a variation of dives including the cenotes. Thanks for all the info. Do you have a Facebook site for your pics?

 

[spencerjb22]

cheers Spencer, Last trip to mexico is here....... Diving in Mexico with the Canon G12 and IST video light : Jason Chambers Photography
There are a few still images if you scroll down. We stayed in playa car and did a variation of dives including the cenotes. Thanks for all the info. Do you have a Facebook site for your pics?

nice site, and great pics too. I am taking a group of divers out there that i've taught to dive so can't wait.
Were doing Cancun, Cozumel, Centoes, Whale sharks....so going to be a busy week.

Don't have a FB photo page, didn't know they did dedicated FB photo pages.

 

[lennyJ]

I have a few questions....if you dont mind answering them... in your setup you mentioned that you're using the kit lens.
1) I thought the kit lens was the 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 and not the 9-18mm f4.0-5.6.
2) Are you using the olympus PT-EP05L PEN Housing?
3) Since the E-PL3 does not have a built in flash are you using the flash that came with the camera?
4) also what ISO setting are you using?

Im asking all these questions b/c a friend of mine and I are debating on which olympus setup to go with: E-PL3 or E-PL2.

 

[spencerjb22]

I have a few questions....if you dont mind answering them... in your setup you mentioned that you're using the kit lens.
1) I thought the kit lens was the 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 and not the 9-18mm f4.0-5.6.
2) Are you using the olympus PT-EP05L PEN Housing?
3) Since the E-PL3 does not have a built in flash are you using the flash that came with the camera?
4) also what ISO setting are you using?

Im asking all these questions b/c a friend of mine and I are debating on which olympus setup to go with: E-PL3 or E-PL2.

Hi,

Answers below

I have a few questions....if you dont mind answering them... in your setup you mentioned that you're using the kit lens.
1) I thought the kit lens was the 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 and not the 9-18mm f4.0-5.6.
Yes, kit lens is 14-42mm - I have taken a lot of those pics with the kit lens. The 9-18 mm is a seperate lens, and if using the oly housing will require you to buy the zen dome port.
I'm keeping a keen eye on the oly 12-50 lens as this could be a fantastic all rounder. I know a chap who's writing a review for this over here in the UK. If it's good, I might buyt this lens and have this as a one lens does all/most type lens.

2) Are you using the olympus PT-EP05L PEN Housing?
Yes, I am. I have been more than happy with it. It's light, well designed and the ergonomics are excellent.

3) Since the E-PL3 does not have a built in flash are you using the flash that came with the camera?
I here people talk about this to death, and some even use this as a deal breaker. To me this is simply a non issue. The camera is very small as it is. I simply attach the flash unit and leave it there. I forget it can even be removed infact. The camera with the flash attached can slip into most pockets I have ever travelled with. You simply pop it up with you finger before you put it in the housing. The housing is desgned in such a way that you can't really forget to pop it up.

4) also what ISO setting are you using?
I always shoot on the lowest setting (200) I use manual mode, 160 shutter (quickest option with the camera) and varying apertures. 7,1 seems to be my favourite.

I have no experince with the E-pl2, however i've heard people say that it performs better. How much, I have no idea. This is a question an Oly dealer might be able to help with.