Olympus C5050, PT-015 Strobe Dellemma!

[DanL]

DanL,

I'm getting ready to pull the trigger on a housing, strobe and other accessories for the C5050 myself.

Can you give me some details on your "dead PT-015". I've got it down to the Ikelite and the PT-015 and I'm leaning toward the PT-015 for price reasons.

Was your situation due to pilot error or did the unit fail?

Do you have any recommendations or insight you could share?

I'm going to post a seperate thread with several questions about my up comming purchases but your input would be appreciated.

The Ikelite is a LOT heavier duty than the PT. I took my PT to 155ffw, but that should not have caused a problem. I changed the 2 o-rings in the mode dial/power switch, and lastly, I lubed the control o-rings with silicone from a spray can (after the solvent evaporated). I really don't think any of those things caused the minor seepage/salt deposits that occured at some of the controls. There are definitely some hairline cracks radiating from some of the control holes, with the most evident crack at the mode dial hole.
Anyway, I lost faith in my PT housing and got an Ike. It's kind of klunky, but the hardware, seals and generally total construction is a lot more heavy duty than OLY.

 

[Scuba307]

I have the c5050/PT-015 with a single Ikelite DS-125 strobe and manual controller. I started with the TTL controller and have moved on to the manual as I like the finer control.

The DS-125 is a great strobe, in part due to the modeling light. Yes, it can serve as your primary for night dives. And, the modeling light helps the camera achieve focus in low light situations.

I love this rig. If you click on the links below my signature, you will find a bunch of pictures that I took in Cozumel.

Jim,

Your trip reports are where my pursuit of a rig built around the C5050 first started. I was very impressed with your photos and share your passion for Cozumel. We are planning our 2nd trip to Coz this July 16-23. I can't wait... I'm looking on adding the strobe, tray, arms and WAL prior to our trip, so I can play around with it locally, before it's time for wheels up in July.

It looks like you have changed your arm arrangement, and moved away from the original Ike arms and added a dock for your WAL. Could you elaborate on your current setup? Is there anything you would change if you could do it over?

Your comments are appreciated.

Mike

 

[THomas Marshall]

Thanks DanL for your reply, as you may know I went ahead and purchased the PT-015 for my starter setup.

Most of my photography will be while snorkeling in shallow water with lots of light (so I passed on the strobe for now as well).

I'm not sure how much UWP I will end up doing so I wanted to keep the price down until I decide if UWP is my thing. If it ends up being something I like I will most likely upgrade to a DSLR and Ikelite case anyway, and give my C5050 setup to my son.

 

[jlyle]

Jim,

Your trip reports are where my pursuit of a rig built around the C5050 first started. I was very impressed with your photos and share your passion for Cozumel. We are planning our 2nd trip to Coz this July 16-23. I can't wait... I'm looking on adding the strobe, tray, arms and WAL prior to our trip, so I can play around with it locally, before it's time for wheels up in July.

It looks like you have changed your arm arrangement, and moved away from the original Ike arms and added a dock for your WAL. Could you elaborate on your current setup? Is there anything you would change if you could do it over?

Your comments are appreciated.

Mike

Thanks Mike! I have to wait until August for my next "fix."

I have used the ULCS arms/tray from the beginning because they allow for more flexibility in strobe placement. I added the dual lens dock for both the WAL and my macro lens. While I try to limit my task loading underwater and stick with one set up, WAL, normal, or macro, it's nice to be able to change when that whale shark shows up and you are in supermacro! There isn't anything that I would change about my choices. I did a lot of research before I bought and have to thank my mentors and the other photographers who kindly answered all of my endless questions.

Best.

 

[lanwu]

Bandit,

Um, I've been wondering about hte TTL for the c5050 in an underwater housing.

It seemed to me that it could only be achieved w/ a Tetra housing w/ it's ROC circuitry.....so plz correct me if I'm mislead.

How do you get TTL to work w/ a PT-015 housing? ...or is it done by manually setting the strobe based on the aperture used & distance of the subject??

Is it even possible to get it all automated??

Sorry for all the questions, but TTL w/ the c5050 UW is still a mystery i'm trying to solve.....

 

[jlyle]

Bandit,

Um, I've been wondering about hte TTL for the c5050 in an underwater housing.

It seemed to me that it could only be achieved w/ a Tetra housing w/ it's ROC circuitry.....so plz correct me if I'm mislead.

How do you get TTL to work w/ a PT-015 housing? ...or is it done by manually setting the strobe based on the aperture used & distance of the subject??

Is it even possible to get it all automated??

Sorry for all the questions, but TTL w/ the c5050 UW is still a mystery i'm trying to solve.....

I'm not Bandit, but let me jump in here. Ikelite makes a TTL controller for its strobes. It isn't perfect (sorry Ike) but will do a lot for you. I used TTL for a while before switching to a manual controller for more control.

You can also get a home-made TTL setup for the PT-015 from a fellow over in Germany that uses a hot shoe circuit and an external pick up. Check over on digitaldiver.net for details.