Real world review of the AOI DLP-04 acrylic mini dome port with Olympus PT-EP10 housing

[YankBoffin]

I see your point with regard to versatility with the semi-dome. Currently I have to make the topside decision to shoot very wide angle, or a combination of not-so-wide and macro using the flat port, kit 14-42, and removable wet lens diopter.

Seeing your gorgeous macro shots above definitely clue me in to what I'm missing by not having a true macro setup with the 60mm.

I'm currently shooting with the E-PL1 in Oly housing, hoping to make the (massive) jump to the an E-M1 II in a year or so (hoping for a price drop by then), so I may hold off on getting any new ports until then.

 

[jgnu]

Great pics and great review. I've been debating picking up the 9-18 zoom. Since you mostly shot with it at 9mm, perhaps I can skip it since I already have the 8mm FE with AOI dome port and have been very happy with the results.

Yeah another dome for the 9-18 when you have the 8 mm fisheye could be a bit redundant..

I definitely like the ability to use the 60mm macro with the same dome however (like chris196 pointed out). It's a huge plus for me.

Also don't forget that the 9-18 is a rectilinear wide angle and not a fisheye. It comes with its own set of problems (corner sharpness), but I myself have never been a fan of the fisheye distorted lines and extreme FoV. (but I haven't actually used a fisheye under water yet, so I might change my mind on that one )

I use the 9-18 a ton on land too (I shoot a lot of landscapes).

 

[chris196]

Yank,
Those pics weren't mine, but here are a few. First is the 9-18 on an epl2 with single Inon D2000:

 

[chris196]

This is the 60mm behind the Zen dome, epl2, single inon D2000:

 

[chris196]

And finally the 8mm behind AOI dome on epl7 natural light

 

[chris196]

BTW, you can really use 3 lenses at least behind the dome for the 9-18.
The 9-18, 60 & 14-42. Probably could use the 12-50 also, I just don't have that lens.
And I rarely use the 14-42 as I just like the images from the 9-18 & 60 more.

 

[Furnari]

Probably could use the 12-50 also, I just don't have that lens.

If the AOI dome has the same dimensions as the Zen dome, then I can attest that the 12-50 will not work. Kind of a bummer, especially since the electronic zoom would be nice to have underwater.

 

[johnohuk]

I have the AIO dome and the 12-50 and it physically fits in. However, I can't test it optically because i've bricked my lense in an update (sob, sob), I'll check again when I've pleaded with olympus to fix out of warranty... Shame, it was a useful lense.

 

[TravelDave]

Thank you for posting this. I had been trying to figure out why my 9-18 wasn't working in the OLY flat port that came with my housing, and apparently my model is a one-off where the 9-18 won't work, so have been looking at these ports.

I noticed there is a DLP-04 and a DLP-04P (which is cheaper). Any idea what the differences are? Is there any advantage to going to the more expensive glass port (DLP-03) or the Zen-WA100? From what I can tell from this post, the acrylic looks like it does a great job. Pictures are gorgeous!

 

[tarponchik]

Great pics overall, though the shark is smeared at 1/60 sec, as expected. Was this exposure set by you or by the camera? What mode did you shoot in?