Olympus C-5050 to E-330, One Jedi’s journey to the DARK SIDE. Part One: Why???

[SeaYoda]

So, I was innocently minding my business as a confirmed compact digital camera user when the urge overwhelmed me to take the road so many have taken before me. I have gone over to the dark side of DSLR. The C-5050 stands out as an Icon of compact digitals. I am glad that I still have it and it has been a great camera to learn on and shoot pictures with. I was always confident that it would be a long time before I could afford to get into the next level of camera, due mostly to high costs of a complete set up. I don’t sell my pictures so there is no connected stream of cash to support my photography habit. The combination of a DSLR with a live view LCD to frame the shots and the price drop in December initiated this expansion of my “hobby”. I also had the opportunity to get a lower priced housing for the camera, so that just sealed the deal. I always wanted to have a “better” camera that I could change lenses on and one that was more useful topside. I also wanted to see what shooting with no “shutter lag” was like. All of this has landed me where I am today, poorer in the pocket but happy as a clam.

Part two of my series will be about my thoughts on two different housings. I have one dive with a Fantasea housing and one dive with an Ikelite housing. I thought I’d compare the two as apples to apples from a total novice point of view. I’m writing the comparison as we speak.

It’s too soon to say much about the E-330 underwater. When I have several dives under my belt, I’ll give an account of the learning curve going from C-5050 to E-330.

Here are some of the first pictures from the Ike housing set-up:

 

[kapula]

Second pic sure looks funny Not bad for 1st timer Try getting more than fish id sideshots next time around. I know it's easy for me to judge since I haven't been diving for 2 months and ain't expecting to dive for quite a while
Anyway ike seems to be doing it's job. Are those taken without a strobe and raw? Oh and since you stepped to the dark side what lense were you using?

Anxious to hear more...

 

[SeaYoda]

Second pic sure looks funny Not bad for 1st timer

Goofy blenny eyes . They were very skittish so I stayed a good distance away and cropped this guy.

Try getting more than fish id sideshots next time around.

Swirling current, sandy water, and getting used to the new rig added up to pull trigger when fish swims by . My sac rate was terrible on this dive with all this going on. I did manage to get some fish in the frame. I had a hard time pulling the trigger at the right time since there was no shutter lag. Instead of fish butts I got fish heads. There is a lot more to think about with the new buttons. Over time I'm sure I'll get comfortable and know what levers to pull to get fish faces and behaviors. For now I'm glad to be able to just see the fish in the picture!

Are those taken without a strobe and raw? Oh and since you stepped to the dark side what lense were you using?...

Taken in RAW with the Ike DS-51 and Zuiko 14-54 mm behind the Ike 6" dome port. The diffuser is on the strobe and it was set to TTL so I could concentrate on the other buttons. It was not as bright as my SunPak strobe with the C-5050. I may take the diffuser off and see if that lights things up a little. I'm also getting used to the new arm system and beam angle of the new strobe - you were not far from being right when you called me a first timer .

 

[alcina]

Lookin' good, SeaYoda!

Can't wait for the comparison...we'll link it in the sticky when you're satisfied with it!

 

[Jamdiver]

Wonderful writeup and thanks so much for sharing with us Yoda .

Nice pics also, I love the second one

 

[Warren_L]

One thing I've found with TTL (specifically, the TTL I used to use was Nikon's iTTL on an Ike TTL controller) was that it didn't always get it right. It was pretty good for the most part though, but when you are shooting RAW you have the ability to play with the exposure a couple of stops either way before it becomes a problem. When shooting .JPG you don't have that flexibility. I've stopped using TTL altogether at this point.

 

[SeaYoda]

One thing I've found with TTL (specifically, the TTL I used to use was Nikon's iTTL on an Ike TTL controller) was that it didn't always get it right. It was pretty good for the most part though, but when you are shooting RAW you have the ability to play with the exposure a couple of stops either way before it becomes a problem. When shooting .JPG you don't have that flexibility. I've stopped using TTL altogether at this point.

Being the novice that I am with strobes, I appreciate your input. I already thought I might go back to manual, but I wanted to try TTL and see what all the fuss was about. I'll give it a good try before I move back to what I'm used to.