Its all here!
The rig is in, and I couldn't be more fired up. So after playing with the housing for 3 days, the strobe, arm and tray for two, and the Cam for about 12 hours, here are my "I haven't got this stuff wet yet" thoughts:
The PT-015 Housing
First of all, eBay rules. Got the Housing and the housing and the PCU-01 for an unreal price. Manuals still sealed, spare Orings and grease, etc.... I love that place.
This is my second Oly housing, so there were no real surprises here. It brings all of the camera's functions from the inside to the outside, just like a housing should. I'm loving the LCD shade topside. We'll see underwater. Did a couple of leak tests last night (6", 2' 6') and it stayed dry. This Sunday I'll take it down to 80 filled with TP for one last leak test before I put the cam into it.
I dive with glove that have the forefinger and thumb exposed. This allows me to clip on and off my SPG, light, etc. easier. It will also make using this housing easier. This is clearly designed for beach parties and not for divers with 3mm or 5mm gloves. The handle is too small, the buttons way too small and compact, the thing is slippery when wet. Its a sand / surf case and not a scuba housing.
Although I haven't used this housing yet, I can tell right now that I'm not going to keep it for very long. Unless it bowls me off my feet, this will not be my last housing. That's not a knock - its a great entry level housing, and has served its purpose of attracting me into UW photography by not being prohibitively expensive. But in working with the buttons and levers, and looking at the overall design of the hinges, lens port, etc. - I'm sure I'll upgrade before much longer.
If I'm investing in a second strobe (and another set of ULCS arms), The Inon wide angle and Inon dome port, I can't see buying another Fisheye handle and top bracket. I mean, honestly, am I really going to attach $2200 worth of state-of-the-art underwater photography accessories to a $125 housing? By summer I'll pole-vault over this entry level housing, as I'm sure my confidence in it will be waning. By the same token, do I really want a $425 camera at the heart of my rig? Dunno. I'm new, I'm taking it slowly and carefully purchasing transferable accessories.
The thing that will drive me NUTS about this housing is the Zoom and Wide are backwards when the camera is inside. Same with the Scroll dial, but that won't make me as crazy, simply because I'll use that less by setting up the menus ahead of time.
The Tray, ULCS Arms and Strobe
First of all, Yuzo rules.
Has anyone else received their Fisheye tray, and said, "wow, I thought it would be bigger..." I am not a big guy (5-8, 174) but with gloves on, the handle just fits my hand. I can only imagine if you had wrists like mortadella it'd be a tough fit. I'll post pics soon, but trust me, its smaller than you think it is.
Its built very well, and when matched to the tray with the hex screws and lock washers its rock solid. I got the black one.
The UCLS arms rock. I like them a lot, and I'm I upgraded. I'll be adding the Inon W/W and Dome before summer, and that will likely mean another strobe, so I wanted to build in the flexibility of the ULCS. I was a little worried that the 5" arm wouldn't be long enough, and I almost got the 8"... but the fiver is fine. Again, no UW pics yet, but from looking at it, I should be able to position the strobe well enough away to light up the subject without lighting up the flotsam in the water, too.
The Inon (how do you say this... E-non? e-NON? EYE-non?) D180 is the strobe I selected. Its easy to understand, the settings make sense and I like its small size. Again, no UW photos yet, but on land, its all good. Recycles quickly enough, I like the built in modeling light (trust me, its BRIGHT... I got zotted right in the face as I was looking over the strobe... before I realized its a "push" on as well as a lock on... I've regained most of my sight now.)
The CAM - C5050
Did I mention, eBay rules?
My last C series was the C4040, then I went to the e20. WOW, have things changed with the C series.
This C5050 is SO TINY! Its smaller (or seems) than my C4040. It looks like a little toy on my Stroboframe with the FL40! I love that it has a shoe, so I don't need to go by yet another flash cable.
It still has the fast 1.8 lens.. I like that. I also like that its adopted some of the functional features of the e20 - specifically the scrolling menu options. A buddy of mine, when he went from the 4040 to the 5050 HATED the menus. I admit, they're a little cartoon-y, and the sounds and animation is so much fluffola - but being able to change flash settings, and focus settings and stuff without having to dive into layers of menus ROCKS. Flash off, OK... push the button and turn the wheel... just like the e20. I love it.
They also added an On-off to the C series (finally.) NOW - what is with the on-off lever? Everyone knows you turn on and off a camera with your right thumb... You can't on the C5050. I'll have to get used to it, but I don't have to like it. There are a lot of other features that are departures from the Cline and lifted from the E line that I won't bore you with... but suffice it to say I expected more "C" and less "E".... I'm very surprised and very pleased.
With the upgraded flash feature set, this thing is built for a slave-driven system like the D180. Is it Sunday, yet? Can I go get wet, now?
XD. You're kidding me, right? I'm really glad they added a CF slot to the C series, because no way I can use XD. Its too small. I guarantee I'll lose that card within the next week or so. All my CF's are going in the bag, and that XD is going on eBay.
I equipped the C5050 with the Raynox lens tube and a 52 B+W Skylight. Also changed out some of my other filters (polarizers, Grad ND's, etc.) to 52's. They're so tiny after using my e20 and its 62's for the last 8 months... too funny. I never use the laughably underpowered internal flash, as the cam resides on my frame with the FL40 when topside, so the Raynox lens armor and 52 mm filters aren't an issue.
shout about a hundred images last night around the house and the neighborhood. I miss my e20... its strange composing through the LCD again... holding the "camera' in front of my face and not my eye. But its all good and I'll stop whining about it now. I'll get a WCON very soon for this, as I do a lot of indoors stuff and miss it already.
Other Thoughts
I built a Portable Dunk Tank for it. Read this someplace and I think its a cool idea if you're diving far from fresh water
Also put together a Strobe Leash (pic to come) that will keep the strobe attached to the handle should the bolt fail or I simply space out and forget to check it.
Next up is a case for this stuff - and of course actually iusing it IN THE WATER!!
Part 3 next week after my first dives with it this weekend.
K
The rig is in, and I couldn't be more fired up. So after playing with the housing for 3 days, the strobe, arm and tray for two, and the Cam for about 12 hours, here are my "I haven't got this stuff wet yet" thoughts:
The PT-015 Housing
First of all, eBay rules. Got the Housing and the housing and the PCU-01 for an unreal price. Manuals still sealed, spare Orings and grease, etc.... I love that place.
This is my second Oly housing, so there were no real surprises here. It brings all of the camera's functions from the inside to the outside, just like a housing should. I'm loving the LCD shade topside. We'll see underwater. Did a couple of leak tests last night (6", 2' 6') and it stayed dry. This Sunday I'll take it down to 80 filled with TP for one last leak test before I put the cam into it.
I dive with glove that have the forefinger and thumb exposed. This allows me to clip on and off my SPG, light, etc. easier. It will also make using this housing easier. This is clearly designed for beach parties and not for divers with 3mm or 5mm gloves. The handle is too small, the buttons way too small and compact, the thing is slippery when wet. Its a sand / surf case and not a scuba housing.
Although I haven't used this housing yet, I can tell right now that I'm not going to keep it for very long. Unless it bowls me off my feet, this will not be my last housing. That's not a knock - its a great entry level housing, and has served its purpose of attracting me into UW photography by not being prohibitively expensive. But in working with the buttons and levers, and looking at the overall design of the hinges, lens port, etc. - I'm sure I'll upgrade before much longer.
If I'm investing in a second strobe (and another set of ULCS arms), The Inon wide angle and Inon dome port, I can't see buying another Fisheye handle and top bracket. I mean, honestly, am I really going to attach $2200 worth of state-of-the-art underwater photography accessories to a $125 housing? By summer I'll pole-vault over this entry level housing, as I'm sure my confidence in it will be waning. By the same token, do I really want a $425 camera at the heart of my rig? Dunno. I'm new, I'm taking it slowly and carefully purchasing transferable accessories.
The thing that will drive me NUTS about this housing is the Zoom and Wide are backwards when the camera is inside. Same with the Scroll dial, but that won't make me as crazy, simply because I'll use that less by setting up the menus ahead of time.
The Tray, ULCS Arms and Strobe
First of all, Yuzo rules.
Has anyone else received their Fisheye tray, and said, "wow, I thought it would be bigger..." I am not a big guy (5-8, 174) but with gloves on, the handle just fits my hand. I can only imagine if you had wrists like mortadella it'd be a tough fit. I'll post pics soon, but trust me, its smaller than you think it is.
Its built very well, and when matched to the tray with the hex screws and lock washers its rock solid. I got the black one.
The UCLS arms rock. I like them a lot, and I'm I upgraded. I'll be adding the Inon W/W and Dome before summer, and that will likely mean another strobe, so I wanted to build in the flexibility of the ULCS. I was a little worried that the 5" arm wouldn't be long enough, and I almost got the 8"... but the fiver is fine. Again, no UW pics yet, but from looking at it, I should be able to position the strobe well enough away to light up the subject without lighting up the flotsam in the water, too.
The Inon (how do you say this... E-non? e-NON? EYE-non?) D180 is the strobe I selected. Its easy to understand, the settings make sense and I like its small size. Again, no UW photos yet, but on land, its all good. Recycles quickly enough, I like the built in modeling light (trust me, its BRIGHT... I got zotted right in the face as I was looking over the strobe... before I realized its a "push" on as well as a lock on... I've regained most of my sight now.)
The CAM - C5050
Did I mention, eBay rules?
My last C series was the C4040, then I went to the e20. WOW, have things changed with the C series.
This C5050 is SO TINY! Its smaller (or seems) than my C4040. It looks like a little toy on my Stroboframe with the FL40! I love that it has a shoe, so I don't need to go by yet another flash cable.
It still has the fast 1.8 lens.. I like that. I also like that its adopted some of the functional features of the e20 - specifically the scrolling menu options. A buddy of mine, when he went from the 4040 to the 5050 HATED the menus. I admit, they're a little cartoon-y, and the sounds and animation is so much fluffola - but being able to change flash settings, and focus settings and stuff without having to dive into layers of menus ROCKS. Flash off, OK... push the button and turn the wheel... just like the e20. I love it.
They also added an On-off to the C series (finally.) NOW - what is with the on-off lever? Everyone knows you turn on and off a camera with your right thumb... You can't on the C5050. I'll have to get used to it, but I don't have to like it. There are a lot of other features that are departures from the Cline and lifted from the E line that I won't bore you with... but suffice it to say I expected more "C" and less "E".... I'm very surprised and very pleased.
With the upgraded flash feature set, this thing is built for a slave-driven system like the D180. Is it Sunday, yet? Can I go get wet, now?
XD. You're kidding me, right? I'm really glad they added a CF slot to the C series, because no way I can use XD. Its too small. I guarantee I'll lose that card within the next week or so. All my CF's are going in the bag, and that XD is going on eBay.
I equipped the C5050 with the Raynox lens tube and a 52 B+W Skylight. Also changed out some of my other filters (polarizers, Grad ND's, etc.) to 52's. They're so tiny after using my e20 and its 62's for the last 8 months... too funny. I never use the laughably underpowered internal flash, as the cam resides on my frame with the FL40 when topside, so the Raynox lens armor and 52 mm filters aren't an issue.
shout about a hundred images last night around the house and the neighborhood. I miss my e20... its strange composing through the LCD again... holding the "camera' in front of my face and not my eye. But its all good and I'll stop whining about it now. I'll get a WCON very soon for this, as I do a lot of indoors stuff and miss it already.
Other Thoughts
I built a Portable Dunk Tank for it. Read this someplace and I think its a cool idea if you're diving far from fresh water
Also put together a Strobe Leash (pic to come) that will keep the strobe attached to the handle should the bolt fail or I simply space out and forget to check it.
Next up is a case for this stuff - and of course actually iusing it IN THE WATER!!
Part 3 next week after my first dives with it this weekend.
K
