Oly 5050 vs Oly 5060 vs Canon A95

[maweber]

Hi,
I know this has deen discussed a 100x times but still maybe I can get your opnion on these 3 cameras plus housings. I am new to U/W photography and so far only have "topside" experience with a SLR. I want to go digital for U/W photography and buy a good solid camera that can also be used topside of course. It seems there is a huge fan community for the Oly 5050 out there. I also read good stuff about the 5060 (wide angle lens etc). Any word on the Olympus housings ?
Thanks for your time.
Martin

 

[Wildcard]

Before everyone here rips you for not searching, there was a huge post on 5050vs 5060 by someone who ownes both. I don't rember who but search! I LOVE my 5060 with its Oly PT020 housing. I bought it based on recomendations from here and I have nothing but praise for it.....Never owned the others so I can't comment.

 

[archman]

Drop down to the bottom of the page. You'll find those older threads displayed there; its that newfangled "related posts" feature.

 

[SwimsWithSharks]

If you go to my web site (don't worry, I am not trying to sell anything there....it is just a place I developed to share information and my photos), there is a link for resources for photographers. I have listed several links here for people who use the 5050 or the 5060. There is also a link to a comparison between the 5050 and the 5060. Sorry, I have no experience with the Canon and so cannot help. I have heard some questionable things about the Olympus housings for the 5050 and 5060. I have an Ikelite and swear by it.

Good luck.

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

I can only speak from my experience with the 5060, the camera is great - no complaints. I have the Olympus housing and it flooded from the Oring in the bottom left corner dislodging itself at pressure - after some searching, I've found that this is not a fluke accident with mine, its happened to several other people and Olympus doesn't seem to want to acknowledge it as a problem. I'm saving for an Ikelite housing now - I knew I should have gotten it in the first place, but saving $300+(Oly housing is $180ish compared to the $510 Ike housing) was also very attractive(although in the long run, I'm gonna pay more in retrospect).

Everyone seems happy with the Oly 5050 camera and the Oly PT015 housing... its the cheaper way, thats for sure.

 

[maweber]

Thanks to everybody who replied. I read now, I guess, most of the threads on this forum about the compariosn between the two Oly's and I feel like I am swimming in too much information. From what I understand is that the actual differences between the two Olympus camera's are not that big, at least to some people. If you read others then it seems that some things make a huge difference (lens apreture, 35mm vs 27mm etc). When it comes to shutter lag which is one of the major problems for U/W photography it seems that they are both approximately the same.
The practical problem these days for me (and that would be my next question) is to actually find the 5050 plus housing. There are always 5050's on ebay. Olympus sells them refurbished although the price tag is nearly as high as it is on the 5060. What do you think about buying a refurbished 5050 from ebay ? I am a little bit reluctant to do that since I can get a new Oly 5060 for about 50-80 bucks more and have full waranty.
It clearly seems that the Ikelite housing is in favour over the Olympus housings. That adds another 500 bucks to the bill. So I am thinking again more about the Canon A95 since I have definitely not the money for a digital SLR plus housing nor have I read bad things about the Canon hosuings. I have a couple of dive buddies who use various Canon housings and never heard anything negative. Nobody has the A95 though. As for the Canon A95 I want to ask if this camera is really inferior to the two Oly's when it comes to U/W photography and are Canon housings better than the ones from Olympus ?
Thanks again
Martin