Olympus Wide Angle Lens Options (for C5060)

[dlwalke]

It seems that there are two options - I think - that Olympus offers. One is to get the WCON-0.7C Wide Conversion Lens and the underwater housing for it. Together, these cost about $250. Another option is to get what appears to be a similar lens that does not require the underwater housing. This is the PTWC-01 which goes for about $550. I am new to camera add-ons. but these seem to accomplish the same goal right? I am guessing that the advantage of the one that costs $300 more is that you can put it on and take if off underwater? Also, I see now that the $550 one is only listed for the PT-027 and not the PT-020 housing. I think this answers the question to my other post in that the PT-027 has threads so that this lens can be put on underwater whereas the PT-020 does not. If anyone can confirm this, I would be much obliged. I am guessing that if I have the PT-020, there are no other (non-Olympus) wide angle len's I could get that could be put on and taken off underwater - the housing simply isn't made to do that.

Thanks,
Dave

 

[justleesa]

doesn't Inon make a wet lens for the 5060?

 

[slowhands]

...there are two options...that Olympus offers. One is ...the WCON-0.7C Wide Conversion Lens and the [PPO-02] underwater housing for it. ...these cost about $250. Another option is ... the PTWC-01 which goes for about $550.

Yes, those are the options from Olympus. They seem attractive, but could be a "fatal attraction". Unfortunately the housing may not be able to handle the stress of those attachments, and you may flood your camera.

...these seem to accomplish the same goal, right? I am guessing that the advantage of the one that costs $300 more is that you can put it on and take if off underwater? Also, I see now that the $550 one is only listed for the PT-027 and not the PT-020 housing....

Both the PT-020 and -027 have 67mm threaded lens ports to attach add-on wet lenses, such as the PTWC-01. But as I mentioned, you have to be careful, because the little latches that hold the lens port on are not very strong, and you can flood your housing if the latches shear off. You may be lucky, if you are very gentle with your camera and housing, but it's risky.

There are some other issues to be aware of. It turns out the Olympus solution does not work very well anyway to increase the angle of coverage. For real wide angle use, a dome port is more effective than the flat port PPO-02. This is because of the inevitable refraction of light at the air to water interface of any lens port, which narrows the effective angle of coverage in water as compared to air, while the dome port can act like a wide angle lens to compensate.

For example, using the Olympus flat port PPO-02 and the WCON-07C, this refraction narrows the angle of coverage from 77 degrees in air to 58 degrees in water. In contrast, using just the dome port alone on the Ikelite housing for the 5060 allows a 73 degree coverage in water -- without any wide angle adapter lens; add the WCON-07C, and the coverage is 97 degrees.

There is another wide angle option: the combination of an INON AD28 adapter, lens and dome, which is optically and mechanically excellent. The AD28 mounts to the tripod mount of the housing, replacing the original lens port. It is machined of aluminum, so it is much stronger. But, it's quite expensive -- you spend more on the INON setup than on the camera and housing!.

A great supplier for Ikelite and INON in the US is:
http://www.reefphoto.com/index.php?...id=764&zenid=04e41eb8d70642b0348aac02a920ca80
Or you can find INON in Japan at:
http://www.uwdigitalcamera.com/En/prod_05wln_index.php?pathID=2_5_0_0

You can see that the Olympus solution is not very effective, due to the lack of a dome port. You don't get much wide angle coverage improvement, and you risk flooding due to the weak port latches. At this point, you have to stand back and ask yourself how committed you are to keeping that housing. Look at the cost of a new Ikelite housing and Dome Port, and of the INON dome setup (which does fix the port latch problem). Only you can decide what you want to do.

 

[dlwalke]

Thanks Slowhands. That was extremely helpful. Man...you can sink a lot of $$ into this UW camera hobby, huh? Believe it or not, I'm on my 3rd C5050/60. The first was stolen (I was burglarized), and the second got flooded. And I can't blame the latter on my PT-020. It actually got flooded when Hurricane Ivan (I think it was Ivan) passed over Atlanta and put 4 ft of water in my basement apartment on account of my living next to a creek (that briefly became a river). Unfortuneatelly, I don't normally store my camera in its UW housing. Anyhow, with the insights from you post, I'm formulating a revised plan.

The link you attached from Reef Foto listed the combo (Inon UWL-100 28 AD, Dome Port Conversion Ring, Dome Port) as $732. I'm getting a bit lost is all the product numbers, and wasn't sure from the picture at that link if that included the bracket that attaches to the bottom of the Olympus housing (it wasn't shown in the picture but I thought that was what the 28 AD was). In any case, I am thinking about getting that setup and then down the road, once I build up some more discretionary spending, upgrading to the Ikelite housing. If I am calculating things correctly (and I'm not confident that I am), I believe that I would then have spent about $170 more than I would have needed to on account of extra parts that I would need for the PT-020 housing but not the Ikelite housing - which would be worth it in that I could get the wide angle setup earlier. I will call Reef Foto and confer with them about prices and options and so on.

My only concern would be that a year or so from now, maybe the Ikelite housing for the 5060 would no longer be available. It seems likes these products come and go pretty quickly. I'm not even sure the 5060 is available anymore, but if the 7070 (?) is more recent, I suspect the housing would still be available at least a year into the future, no?

Regarding the specs for angle of coverage, you indicated that UW, with the flat port and WA lens, I would get 58 degrees but with the dome port and WA lens I would get 97. For comparison, do you know offhand approx what I get UW just with the basic C5060 setup? On a similar note, what is the difference between a fisheye lens and a wide angle lens. Is the former just a more extreme version of the latter. In my minds eye, the images I think I remember from fish eye lens look noticeably distorted as if the periphery of the image shows more magnification that the more central parts of the image.

Thanks again
Dave

Yes, those are the options from Olympus. They seem attractive, but could be a "fatal attraction". Unfortunately the housing may not be able to handle the stress of those attachments, and you may flood your camera.


Both the PT-020 and -027 have 67mm threaded lens ports to attach add-on wet lenses, such as the PTWC-01. But as I mentioned, you have to be careful, because the little latches that hold the lens port on are not very strong, and you can flood your housing if the latches shear off. You may be lucky, if you are very gentle with your camera and housing, but it's risky.

There are some other issues to be aware of. It turns out the Olympus solution does not work very well anyway to increase the angle of coverage. For real wide angle use, a dome port is more effective than the flat port PPO-02. This is because of the inevitable refraction of light at the air to water interface of any lens port, which narrows the effective angle of coverage in water as compared to air, while the dome port can act like a wide angle lens to compensate.

For example, using the Olympus flat port PPO-02 and the WCON-07C, this refraction narrows the angle of coverage from 77 degrees in air to 58 degrees in water. In contrast, using just the dome port alone on the Ikelite housing for the 5060 allows a 73 degree coverage in water -- without any wide angle adapter lens; add the WCON-07C, and the coverage is 97 degrees.

There is another wide angle option: the combination of an INON AD28 adapter, lens and dome, which is optically and mechanically excellent. The AD28 mounts to the tripod mount of the housing, replacing the original lens port. It is machined of aluminum, so it is much stronger. But, it's quite expensive -- you spend more on the INON setup than on the camera and housing!.

A great supplier for Ikelite and INON in the US is:
http://www.reefphoto.com/index.php?...id=764&zenid=04e41eb8d70642b0348aac02a920ca80
Or you can find INON in Japan at:
http://www.uwdigitalcamera.com/En/prod_05wln_index.php?pathID=2_5_0_0

You can see that the Olympus solution is not very effective, due to the lack of a dome port. You don't get much wide angle coverage improvement, and you risk flooding due to the weak port latches. At this point, you have to stand back and ask yourself how committed you are to keeping that housing. Look at the cost of a new Ikelite housing and Dome Port, and of the INON dome setup (which does fix the port latch problem). Only you can decide what you want to do.

 

[slowhands]

.....My only concern would be that a year or so from now, maybe the Ikelite housing for the 5060 would no longer be available. It seems likes these products come and go pretty quickly. I'm not even sure the 5060 is available anymore, but if the 7070 (?) is more recent, I suspect the housing would still be available at least a year into the future, no?

Both cameras are discontinued by Olympus but there are still a lot in use, so you can buy housings for them easily. Ikelite has long product life cycles, especially for popular cameras. I think it's a safe bet that housing will be around for a few years for these cameras. I really should emphasize that I consider the Ikelite a good investment, since it is far less likely to flood. You may want to read the conclusions here:
http://www.splashdowndivers.com/photo_gallery/underwater_photography/up_equipment_5060.htm
Now, I'm using the PT-027 myself, and I am very careful and gentle with it. For macro work it's great; the standard port is fine. Since I already own it, I will live with it, but sure wish I had known about these problems when I bought it. Since I am considering a DSLR, I am reluctant to invest further in this setup, but I may because it does make a nice compact travel rig.

Regarding the specs for angle of coverage, you indicated that UW, with the flat port and WA lens, I would get 58 degrees but with the dome port and WA lens I would get 97. For comparison, do you know offhand approx what I get UW just with the basic C5060 setup?

Sorry if I was not clear. With just the basic camera lens and ANY flat port underwater, it's 56 [58 was wrong] degrees coverage, reduced from 77 degrees in air. Add the WCON-07C with any flat port, it's 68 degrees. With just the basic camera lens and the dome, 73 degrees. With the dome and WCON-07C, it's 97 degrees. This shows how powerful the optical effect of the dome is --- it's greater than the WA adapter. These measurements were presented by David Knight here:
http://www.camerasunderwater.co.uk/d_stills/olympus/ike_5060.html

(I don't know the coverage of the INON setup, but I know it's even wider, probably 130 degrees.)

On a similar note, what is the difference between a fisheye lens and a wide angle lens. Is the former just a more extreme version of the latter. In my minds eye, the images I think I remember from fish eye lens look noticeably distorted as if the periphery of the image shows more magnification that the more central parts of the image.

Fisheye is an loose term for a very wide lens that intentionally distorts the image to fit it all in the frame. A fisheye might have a 180 degree coverage angle in air, but less underwater for the reasons we just mentioned. But an extreme wide angle lens is still very useful, because underwater you need to get close to your subject and get it all in the frame. Most of the underwater scenic images you see in scuba magazines are shot with wide or fisheye lenses.