Oly C-8080 and Flash

[BobArnold8265]

Hi,

I am a Nikonos user but have been bitten by the digital bug lately and am about to buy my first digital outfit. I am seriously considering the Oly C-8080 with the PT-023 housing but have a couple of basic questions. First, is there anyone out there that uses this set-up and are you pleased with it ???

Second, what kind of flash would you recommend. I see that Olympus has a flash housing (PFL-E01) for use with their land flash PT-023. This looks like a nice option since it works TTL with the camera. Has anyone used this flash ? Is it powerful enough underwater to be effective and how well does it perform in TTL mode ???

I would appreciate any and all advise. Picking a digital camera for land use is a bit overwhelming but add the complexity of housings and strobes for underwater and it is out right difficult !!!! Thank you.

Bob

 

[AggieDad]

Yes this is the exact setup I have. Yes I am happy with it, kinda maybe. First off I am not an experienced photographer so I have increased my task loading to a high level. I am still trying to understand the aperture, speed, ISO etc. when to use what, how to get to certain functions of the camera etc. The C-8080 seems to be an attempt at a high end point and shoot. There are much easier cameras to use. This outfit is BIG. IT DOES A GOOD JOB, I don't. I bought a Sea and Sea YS-90A flash for this but I do not have it set up for TTL. It works fine, I don't. It boils down to what you want to do. I cannot explain the lenses etc. so I am not the person to ask. My friend has a Canon S-70 and takes way better pictures than I do but he has dove longer. My recent trip to Cozumel was my first in salt water, current, with this camera setup and Continental lost all of my dive gear. I still took some okay pictures. I have them stored on another computer and will try to boot it up tomorrow and send you some. You might be able to see a few at http://www.flickr.com/photos/aggiedad
These are unedited by PhotoShop or any other program.

Things I have learned so far (And to quote Fuzzy Zoeller, the professional golfer - It ain't the arrow, it's the Indian). Buoyancy control is paramont. Getting CLOSE is key. The loading or reading time takes a long time with the OLY. Auto Focus is slow.
Composition is critical. Learning the controls on the camera is critical.

I thought about selling my outfit and buying something smaller but was advised by someone that does professional quality work, just dance with what brung me and then upgrade when I learn how to this better.

Quality of the OLY products is fine. The Ikelite housing is much more substantial but more costly. If I switch to a DSLR later it will be in a Ikelite or better housing. The PT023 is fine.
I have UltraLight arms for the flash. These are not cheap but appear to be the best made. You can research here and there are some pretty neat homebuilt systems and in reality are probably better.

Sorry for the length of the post.

 

[herman]

Welcome to the board.

I am using the 8080's older brother, the 5050 and so are a lot of others on this board. Your strobe is a really important part of your UW system. I would suggest you consider a strobe that is intended to be used underwater rather than the Oly. There are plenty of strobes on the market that will work with that camera, Ikelite, Sea and Sea and Inon to name a few of the better known ones. Most will handle the cameras TTL signals.

 

[BobArnold8265]

Thank you for your responses. I wasn't sure that other strobes would work TTL with the Oly C-8080 and PT-023 housing. Although it probably wouldn't work in TTL mode, do you know if there is a way to sync a Nikonos SB-105 strobe with the C-8080 ? I own an SB-105 but have no clue if there is a way to sync with a digital camera (other than using it as a slave to the built in flash which I don't think would work well).

Bob

 

[bobf]

bob,

Matthias Heinrichs produces a Digital Adapter that may allow the ability to make the C-8080 "talk" to a Nikonos SB - 105:

http://www.heinrichsweikamp.net/blitz/indexe.htm

Not sure if TTL will be an option, but manual strobe control may be......

Why not email Matthias directly and share with all his response............

Also, imho you should consider in the point and shoot category the Canon G-6:

http://www.ikelite.com/web_pages/5can_g6.html

and Fuji E 900:

http://www.ikelite.com/web_two/fuji_e900.html

in Ikelite cases........

no affiliation to any of the above products.......including personally testing them.....(have seen good results though from respected sources)

hth,
b

 

[AndyT]

Hi Bob

I use a replacement bulkhead from Matthias to get TTL with my Oly 7070 , not the Digital Adapter and am very happy with it. Installation is a breeze .As bobf says , mail Matthias - he is very prompt and helpful with his responses .

Safe Diving

Andrew

 

[AndyT]

And stay away from the Oly flashes and housings , they are only good for macro stuff - I have one and don't use it any more .

Safe Diving

Andrew

 

[calypsonick]

Bob, I have my 8080 in an Oly PT-23 housing with a Sea & Sea YS-25 strobe fired via fiberoptic. I like it lots and have taken in on 100+ dives. I have had no problems with housing or strobe. A couple of things to think about though:

1. I really like macro but on the occasions where I would like to take wide angle shots the strobe I have just does not give me enough light. (I think the output on the Olympus flash may be limited too)

2. Although I to not have experience with Ikelite housings, I understand that you cannot use the internal flash with Ikelite whereas you can with the Oly housing. There have been several times where the batteries gave out on the strobe and all I had to do it go to the internal flash for lighting.

I hope this helps with the decisions - Good Luck!

 

[coach_izzy]

The C-8080 is in my opinion, an excellent camera, perhaps the best non-slr camera I've ever used, though its true potential can only be appreciated and used by those with experience. The dedicated housing felt too fragile for me, so I went for the Ikelite housing instead, which is built like a tank. I also went for the DS 125 strobe and it has worked quite well. Have fun and enjoy!

 

[BobArnold8265]

Everyone,

Thank you again for all of your advice. I think I have decided to go with the Oly C-8080 I have just two more questions. First, how does the Oly housing (PT-023) compare to the Ikelite. I have heard the Ikelite has a greater depth rating and that it is more rugged but is it worth $200 more ??? Has anyone had problems with the Oly housings ????

Also, those of you that have either housing, does the TTL connector (the cable that runs from the camera's hot shoe to the housing bulk head) come with the housing or is that a seperate purchase ???

Bob