Ouch ...

[UWSojourner]

I just purchased the Oly 5050 and PT-015 housing. I'm trying to round out the setup but am really confused as to which accessories are "got to have" and which are "nice to have."

I dive in the Pacific Northwest which means dark green water so I was assuming a strobe was a necessity. But I just looked at one (the one Dee has) and it was $800-900. That's more than I paid for the camera and housing! (the exclamation point is my wife's :frown2: )

Anyway, I'd hate to come this far and not get what is needed so ...

1. What strobe(s) should I be looking at? What price should I expect?
2. What other lenses are needed? What approx price?
3. What trays/arms/etc.? What price.

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Aardal]

I very curious also, since I dive in the same waters AND just purchased this very same set-up....Thank to DEE

 

[ssra30]

Most strobes are quite expensive. Generally the 3 common strobes used for the Oly C5050 would be Sea and Sea YS90 (like Dee), Inon D180 (like Gillagan) or Ikelite DS 125 (mine) or the smaller D50. There are all sorts of comments and comparison between these strobes available. The DS125 with deluxe arm/fast charger/tray (highly recommended over the standard arm and charger) is around $1000, the Inon D180 is probably around $600, adding arm and tray would be another $300 (I think, a bit out of the loop for current price). The DS 50, Sea and Sea YS 25 and smaller, less expensive strobes are OK if you plan to shoot macro only but is a bit underpower for most things more than 2-3 ft away.

 

[Dee]

1) Wait! Where did you find a S&S YS90DX for $800-900?? If that was strobe only you are getting ripped off big time!!! I only paid $525 for mine, including the FO cable, a couple years ago. The most I've seen it for is about $615 at Underwater Camera Pros. If I was buying a strobe today, I would probably buy the INON D-180 mainly for the size, it's just about equal to the YS90 in everything else.

I would highly recommend you wait on getting a strobe. The internal flash on Oly cameras are very strong and will serve you just fine for a while. Learn to use your camera and what it can do on it's own. You also don't need the extra task loading of a totally new set-up. And no...your wife didn't pay me to say that!

2) The only other lens I would add would be a20mm wide angle. Mine is a S&S 'L' and sell for about $285. INON also sells a wide angle for about $350...I think. You'll need a strobe for coverage for the wide angle except for reef scene beyond 3-4 ft from the strobe.

3) I like small and simple so I have a Fisheye Tray. I already had the Infinity flexi arms from Light and Motion so I extended those on the FE tray to about 16-18". You can also get either the Inon or S&S strobe here with Yuzo. Don't let him being in Japan spook ya. He's great to do business with and give discounts for PayPal payments. I always get my orders in about 4 days.

I sent you a small list via PM of the other extras I think are necessary.

 

[UWSojourner]

Thanks for the info.

I like the "wait" advice. I was getting a bit concerned. I'll see what I can do up here without an external strobe. Seems like its in my future, but I'll try a dive or 30 first without it.

 

[slowhands]

I recommend taking the PADI Underwater Photography Specialty course, to get up to speed. Or just buy the course book and read it. The fundamentals are all there, and this small investment will pay off a lot more than investing in high-end equipment from the start.

I second the "Wait" advice. Know how your camera works and what its strengths and weaknesses are before investing in a strobe or other options.

The 5050 and 5060 very good for macro work by themselves, with built-in macro and supermacro modes. You'll find that for subjects closer than 3 ft, they are fine. An external flash will extend that distance, but your maximum distance will be limited by water clarity and by the selective color filtering of water; no flash can cheat the laws of physics. Regardless of type of flash, most of the great photos you see are at fairly close distance.

Let us know how it goes. I look forward to seeing some great pictures from you.

 

[Aggie Diver]

Forget the PADI book. Go buy Jim Church's Essential Guide to Composition.

It will cut your learning curve in half as far as composing photos goes.

AD

 

[iflyprops]

You can always try ebay and buying one used. I just got an ikelite substrobe 200 for my new setup for $481 with all the goodies.

 

[Warren_L]

I'm looking at a strobe setup with the Inon D180 with all the required parts (ULCS arm, fisheye tray, adaptors, etc) through Yuzo and it's approx $800. Strobes are not cheap, but this seems to be a decent deal.

 

[slowhands]

Forget the PADI book. Go buy Jim Church's Essential Guide to Composition. It will cut your learning curve in half as far as composing photos goes. AD

I am sure the composition book is very useful for a person new to photography. There are many resources like it, so it is good to have a pointer to an excellent one. Since our subjects are moving, perhaps books on action/sports photography and photographing children would also be useful, as well as books on nature photography, especially macro photography, and on marine life identification, especially hazardous organisms.

I am a fairly experienced photographer, shooting weddings and products for years using Nikon professional gear, and more recently Olympus digital gear. While I am always learning something new in that world, I had to learn a whole new skill set to shoot adequate underwater pictures.

That is why I suggest to anyone new to study the specialty of underwater photograpy, to get up to speed quickly. You need to have a whole different set of skills in addition to the basics of composition, such as shooting close, shooting from below the subject, shooting near the surface for best natural color, superb buoyancy control, calm swimming without flailing arms, holding on to the bottom without damaging coral, camera maintenance, and so on. The PADI book covers most of that, but does not cover digital cameras at all. For about $25 it is a good investment, considering the cost of UW photo equipment, the cost of diving itself, and the annoyance/frustration of shooting lots of really bad photos.

For me this board and a few websites fill in the gaps, but because camera technology is constantly improving, I have to keep learning all the time.