Olympus e-pl1 expanding OR buy DSLR

[draganflame]

i live in russia is it real to send me it?

 

[nudibranco]

If you want to get closer for the same image, and get a bit sharper, get the 9-18mm and the Zen dome. That will brighten up some pictures as there will be less water and less distance between you and your subject and your strobes should be more effective. You will need to stay above F8 with the 9-18mm as well.

Thanks for the suggestion as well! But I am wondering why you mention to stay with F=8 or higher witht the 9-18mm. Do you say that because you get less diffraction distortion from the dome port than with F=4 (at 9mm let's say)?

With the EPL1 and its standard port I am realizing that for general shooting my struggle is to get better DOF (especially with semi macro shots) and that image quality drops as I go higher than F11. Also, looking at the MTF values on the 9-18mm it seems that this lens is especially sharp at f=4 and f5.6 (even at the corners). Since I would be using it for wide shots and since DOF in this case is generally less important maybe F4 or 5.6 would seem not a bad choice. But then that is why I am wondering about the dome/lens combination (even witht the ZEN).

Back to the original post: beside faster AF and much more choices and a few great lenses like the 105mm from Canon I do not see the Canon a better choice because of the DOF issues you get shooting UW (more so UW) and because of size and cost. Like me I am just impatient to see better lens and dome choices!!!!!!! Quality and sharpness is generally better in my EPL1 (better OOC JPEGs) than my Canon setup on terrestrial shots (!)
One sad issue with the Olympus case is the inability (that I know of) to attach some magnifier to see with the EVF2 installed (which is actually great for general shooting over the water!)

Cheers
Andrea

 

[under water]

Thanks for the suggestion as well! But I am wondering why you mention to stay with F=8 or higher witht the 9-18mm. Do you say that because you get less diffraction distortion from the dome port than with F=4 (at 9mm let's say)?

.. Cheers
Andrea

Andrea, I agree with you 150% that the 9-18 lens should take sharp pictures in the Zen dome at F4 & F5. I was dissapointed that this isn't the case at the edges. In the center the images are as sharp as a tack.
The domes aren't perfect in how they manage the refraction at the edges and it is quite visible at F4 & F5.6 unless you have open water at the edges. I don't think diffraction plays a part until you get up to F11 for the 14-42mm and or something like that.
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/OlympusEP1/page22.asp

For the 9-18mm lens DPReview has this to say at
http://www.dpreview.com/lensreviews/olympus_m_9-18_4-5p6_o20/page4.asp

"Central sharpness is generally very high, but the extreme corners are somewhat soft in comparison. Optimum results are generally obtained about a stop down from wide open - around F5.6 at 9mm, and F8 at 18mm. Diffraction starts to have a serious negative impact at F16, with F22 on the whole best avoided."​

Phil and Ryan at Reef Photo were the ones that told me to use a smaller aperture and indeed the web is full of similar suggestions. I get the impression that Zen and ReefPhoto are one and the same. (eg. same owner of their internet domains)
I originally expressed my concern about this in this thread
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ol...some-pictures-review-my-e-pl1-underwater.html

They also mention to back away from the 9mm and 18mm extremes, due to lens performance, The lens is a bit softer at the edges, but nothing like the results through the dome U/W

 

[nudibranco]

mmm thanks! I re-read the threads and indeed there is a loss at the extreme edges from the lens. But you are also right that the dome plays a bit otherwise at F5.6 it would show the sharpest rendering even at the very edge of the pics. Like Phil says ... for the combination dome/lens probably the optimum is at F7.1 if you go all the way down to 9mm. ... and ...yes I mean refraction...above (!).

I am waiting to see a dome for the fisheye lens from PANAsonic or just wait altogether for the Olympus lens.. I love semi fisheyes and even more so UW.