Oly PT-027 vs. Ikelite Housing....

[Jon_Rhea]

Which housing do you all think is better suited for the Oly C-7070, and why? Some advantages of each that I have seen:

Olympus:
$200 vs. $600 for Ikelite
Accessories are cheaper
Made by same company as the camera

Ikelite:
Rated to 200'(I believe) vs. 131 w/ Oly
Can utilize all the cameras functions in the housing
Comes w/ an arm for mounting a strobe

So what are the opinions of you all who have this camera with either housing?

 

[xSandman3]

I just bought the same camera last month as a package with the Oly housing. I am pretty impressed with the housing, even though I haven't been able to get it wet yet. Ikelite makes great housings also, I have one for my video camera. If I had an unlimited budget, I'd probably go with the Ikelite, mostly because I like the visible seal with the o-ring, but the Oly is a very good alternative.

 

[Wolverine]

The only problem I see with the Oly PT-027 is that the build is considerably flimsier than the Ikelite. After my experience with the so called "consumer housings" I decided to go with the Ikelite (My old 4300 flooded after the latch is my old housing broke/cracked). The Ikelite looks like it can stand a battering and still take a photo.

 

[dbh]

If you can afford it...go with the Ikelite. Not only is it more robust, the main seal (o-ring) and the seals on the controls are superior (IMHO). Also, you can get TTL with Ike strobes.


Dave

 

[Jon_Rhea]

thanks guys.

anyone else have any opnion??

 

[fpoole]

Ikelite...
no questions if the $$ are there.. even if they aren't I would stongly try to find a way..
I'm working with an Oly PT015 and simply can't/don't use it any more.. can't work the buttons with gloves on (cold water etc..) and it's PITA to try to change settings for different shots...
Hope that helps..

 

[Ishie]

My PT-020 flooded after four dives. It did so in a way that has been reported by numerous others using that housing (popped left lower corner o-ring and FILLED the housing with seawater). Olympus has incredibly spotty customer service depending on which branch you get. I've seen plenty of people who are perfectly fine with the PT housings, and the o-ring trouble is one I've only seen reported in the PT-020, but I won't trust an Olympus housing again.

After my insurance replaced my camera, I bought an Ikelite and never looked back. I really like the housing; it's very robust, easy to attach the strobe, and if it floods the next time I dive, since I've done about 20 dives with it, that's five times the life I got out of the Olympus housing.

Also, I'm not sure about the PT-027, but replacing the o-rings in the PT-020 is pretty frigging expensive for o-rings. The Ike o-rings set me back maybe 6 bucks apiece, without comparison shopping, versus over 20 for both the Olympus o-rings.

By buying the cheaper model, I cost myself more money AND a month of photography, but like I said, plenty of people have Oly housings with all the expensive lights and strobes attached, and have had no trouble whatsoever.

 

[erichK]

I've used the Olympus housing for my C5050Z down to 148 feet and a total of 20-30 dives with no trouble. One can hardly expect oly to be able to make a housing that is as good as the Ikelite for half the price or less.

I decided to get the oly housing because the 5050 plus the housing cost much less than just the housing would have for my Nikon F80. And also because I am a diver who takes occasional pics, rather than a photographer who dives: I didn't want a huge and expensive rig to become my first concern diving.

The cheap olympus housing has let me do that. The oly C5050Z in its little housing is small enough to be tucked away in an emergency and if it floods, I'll have at least got some use out of it (see my gallery)! You may also want to look at the amazing pics Nature Island Dive's Simon Walsh (see his websites) has taken with the same rig. He said he's had very little trouble with it, over hundreds of dives.

For their price, the "point and shoot" Olympus housings seem to be a pretty good buy, assuming that they are more or less the same basic design. I noticed, for example, that my Oly PT-15 had extra security over Canon's housing for their S70. (However, I can't understand the logic behind Olympus's housing for the E-300: the price almost equals Ike's, so what's the point?)

 

[fpoole]

Two quickies..
Slide an abosorbent napkin to pick up and drip flooding, might save the camera
O-rings, not sure if Ikelite has special O-RIngs, but do a web search for O-ring mfg and send them one.. you can get them for $.60 to $.99 a piece or cheaper... exact same things. I use them in my Tetra and strobes for the last year or so...

Just make sure you tell them what it's used for and they'll size it and use the right material.

hope that helps..

 

[discrepancy]

I have been in the market for the C-7070 since I flooded my Sony Cybershot a few weeks ago (can't remember exactly what it was - a DSC-P93 or something). Anyway the Cybershot is dead and gone (thanks for the memories) but what I want now an Olympus 7070 where I can control a lot more than with the 'instamatic' Cybershot.

Question is...which housing? Seems it comes down to the Olympus proprietry PT-027 or the generic Ikelite version (5060?).

I've heard different versions of the truth. Which is best? What do you think? One thing's for sure...having flooded one camera I'm looking for survivability and reliability over photographic quality. My motto from now on in is...two 'O' rings are better than one.

Paul M