PT-EP10 Housing Question

[Ryan B.]

Knoobie kwestion. Thinking of getting the PT-EP10 housing for my E-PL5 and the Olympus site:
Underwater Case Usage Guide | Olympus Imaging Asia
mentions a zoom gear and an anti-reflective ring.
I can, however, find no mention of whether those two items come with the housing. Are they items that have to be purchased separately, or do they come with the housing? And is an anti-reflective ring--whatever that is--necessary?

---------- Post added November 16th, 2014 at 07:15 PM ----------

Oh, I've only the 14-42mm lens at the moment. Speaking of which, there seem to be two types of 14-42mm lens. What's the difference, and how important is it?

 

[Furnari]

I think both the gear and the ring are separate; hate to chime in if I'm not positive, but I did want to mention a tip I picked up online somewhere. The anti-reflective ring is supposed to shield the lens from reflections inside the housing caused by the internal flash. Instead of the spendy ring, try a cheap step-up ring screwed onto your lens. For my 9-18 in the flat port, a $3 62-67mm step up ring works great. I don't use anything with my 14-42II and haven't noticed a problem; I'm guessing it's more of an issue with wider lenses or when using a dome. Lastly, this is all with my E-PL2, but this should still be true with your '5.

 

[Ryan B.]

Thanks for responding with the anti-reflective ring info. So, are you also saying that you use a zoom gear with your E-PL2, but it did not come with the housing?

 

[Furnari]

Well, I bought the camera and the housing used from a fellow diver, and she included the zoom gear (which works with both my 14-42II and my 9-18). I know the E-PL1 kits that Olympus was selling on clearance almost 2 years ago did not come with it, and my assumption is that none of the other Oly housings do, either. It would be worth contacting Optical Ocean or Blue Water Photo to find out for sure- I believe the proprietors from both places frequent this forum, so maybe they'll confirm.

One other thing about the gear- make sure you have it on perfectly aligned with the lens, and test it through the full zoom range when it's in the housing. I've gotten lazy a couple of times and it had it on slightly crooked; it binds the lens and causes the camera to shut off.

 

[JackConnick]

Hi;

The gear and anti-reflective shade ring are sold separately. Sometimes they are included with special bundles.

 

[Ryan B.]

Thanks, all!