Olympus E-330 Underwater Pro Kit Availability?

[tangfish]

Does anyone know any information about the availability of the Olympus E-330 Underwater Pro Kit? It was to be released in mid-April, according to the press release, but I have yet to find it anywhere on the web.

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

bhphoto.com has the E330 in stock and are taking orders for the UW housing and accessories(they apparently don't stock em). They don't have the kit though.

E330
7-14
8 Fish
14-54
50
ports to suit em
+ two good strobes on arms...

Would be nice...$$$!!

 

[AndyT]

Not sure if buying a kit as advertised is such a good idea - for a start the Oly topside flash in an UW case doesn't work very well , a dedicated UW strobe is far better .Not too sure on the selection of lenses offered either .Rather ask around for advice on the components separately .

 

[tangfish]

Andy, thanks for the advice. Did you read the link I provided? I'm curious to know what you think about the setup provided by Oly.

 

[kapula]

I second the opinion on that strobe. If you are looking to buy a good set don't get a housed onland strobe. There are far better dedicated strobes for underwater photography. Another thing you might want to keep in mind is the connector for that strobe. At least in my oly housing you can only attach a oly strobe and since they don't do u/w strobes the connector is useless unless you replace it with a different one. There propably are other manufacturers who make housings for that camera. For example Ikelite. Prices are higher but on the other hand so is the quality and you can use ikelite u/w strobes with ttl which is a huge plus. You could use optical cable with oly housing but don't think that's such a good idea since you have other options aswell.

Well this is my 5 cents and I don't even have a strobe myself Looking to get one though.. well drooling for one actually.

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

Not too sure on the selection of lenses offered either .Rather ask around for advice on the components separately .

I've been more than happy with the Oly lenses I have for my E500, although it stays topside. 4 Zuiko Digital lenses and a Sigma, all are worth the money I paid, some are excellent(11-22 and 50 are superb, the 40-150 is a gem for the price!).

 

[AndyT]

Didn't quite put that as I wanted - Oly has excellent lenses , and when I make the quantum leap to DSLR I will certainly look at Oly first - it was the type of lenses and the suitability for U/W work in the kit I was questioning .

From what I have read popular lenses for U/W use are 10.5mm , 12-24mm , 24-85mm , 60mm macro , 105mm macro .

Someone slap me if I'm wrong

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

Keep in mind crop factors with these cameras, Oly crop factor is 2x that of a 35mm.

35mm Oly lense = 70mm
50mm Oly = 100mm
7-14mm = 14-28
14-54 = 28-108
ect

They are comparable.

 

[arenny]

Interested in a 330 when I find the $$$ - what is a crop factor?

 

[jlyle]

bhphoto.com has the E330 in stock and are taking orders for the UW housing and accessories(they apparently don't stock em). They don't have the kit though.

E330
7-14
8 Fish
14-54
50
ports to suit em
+ two good strobes on arms...

Would be nice...$$$!!

Without the strobes/arms, you're looking at ~$6,000. Add in a couple of Ikelite DS-125's, chargers, and ULCS tray/arms...~ $9K. Of course you will want a Storm Case, lens covers, memory storage cards, laptop computer or digital jukebox...

Underwater photography is like a boat...a hole in which to throw money!

"crop factor" =
http://www.millhouse.nl/digitalcropfactorframe.html