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

[YankBoffin]

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!

The "P" model uses a plastic body, whereas the other is anodized aluminum.

 

[TravelDave]

The "P" model uses a plastic body, whereas the other is anodized aluminum.

Thanks - do you think the anodized aluminum is worth it if I can get it for $50 more than the plastic body?

 

[johnohuk]

For what's it worth, when I had the two of them side by side (Metal/plastic) in the shop they looked and felt exactly the same. The plastic one is pretty robust, it's just like the stock port in terms of material. So I went for the cheaper one.

 

[jgnu]

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?

Manual mode with auto ISO capped at 1600. No strobes unfortunately.

I went back and forth between 1/60th and 1/80th. The sharks werent moving very fast, and I really dont like the noise i got at 1600.

 

[tarponchik]

Manual mode with auto ISO capped at 1600. No strobes unfortunately.

I went back and forth between 1/60th and 1/80th. The sharks werent moving very fast, and I really dont like the noise i got at 1600.

In such case, I'd rather have noise than smear. Noisy image can be OK if you make it grainy instead, or suppress noise with an appropriate soft likeTopaz denoise or smth like that. But there is pretty much nothing you can do about smear. Or shoot video?

 

[jgnu]

In such case, I'd rather have noise than smear. Noisy image can be OK if you make it grainy instead, or suppress noise with an appropriate soft likeTopaz denoise or smth like that. But there is pretty much nothing you can do about smear. Or shoot video?

We all have different thresholds for what is acceptable quality I guess. That level of motion blur is ok to me, but the noise (or the look after noise reduction) was not.

I would have loved to shoot with my strobes, but I found the arguments against it sensible (lots of divers on that site every morning, and if the sharks stop feeling comfortable and stop coming its game over)

 

[TravelDave]

Darn it, didn't think I needed the anti-reflection ring!

EM-5, PT-EP08 , 9-18mm, AOI AD-LP-01 PEN PORT ADAPTER with AOI DLP-04P SEMI-DOME PORT.

F4,1/60th, ISO 250.View attachment 388574

Darn - looks like the anti-reflection ring is needed. Any thoughts of a middle ground between buying the ridiculously priced Olympus anti-reflection ring and using tape? I was thinking maybe a step-down ring (not sure what size I'd need for my 9-18). Amazon has a 52-49 and a 52-42 both very reasonably priced

 

[johnohuk]

I taped over the text on the lens and for the most part this was successful, but noticed in a recent shot the threads between the tape showed up! I'll probably re-tape it again.. its not difficult and very cheap... I used black electrical tape.

 

[johnohuk]

I shot the Olympus 9-18mm / DLP-04P / EM-5 Mk1/EP-08 recently in Coron and loved it... Nice general all purpose lens/port combination for not mega money...

 

[Gachnar]

Darn - looks like the anti-reflection ring is needed. Any thoughts of a middle ground between buying the ridiculously priced Olympus anti-reflection ring and using tape? I was thinking maybe a step-down ring (not sure what size I'd need for my 9-18). Amazon has a 52-49 and a 52-42 both very reasonably priced

If you never plan on selling it, sometimes just using permanent marker is enough.