TG-6

[Barmaglot]

The Seafrog housing says in it's specs "both 52 AND 67mm lens thread" but I see no evidence of this on a close-up photo of the housing. I see only 52mm thread, same as the Olympus. It does not come with an adapter ring, so I don't see how the Seafrog can make that claim. (it even clearly says "52mm" on the red aluminum lens opening ring in the photo).

See the photos here and here - inner ring is 52mm, outer ring is 67mm.

 

[sunnyboy]

I clearly see threads on the outer ring, but the inner ring looks smooth in the photos. I'll defer to their ad copy however.

 

[Mike1967]

Not twice the price here.

They are here....
Olympus PT-059 Underwater Housing for TG-6

SeaFrogs 60m/195ft Underwater Camera Housings Case for Olympus TG-5 with MEIKON Red Filter 67mm: Amazon.com.au: Electronics

Thanks for all the comparison info

 

[sunnyboy]

So in AUS you pay double, while in CDN you don't. I fail to see the point except that it would appear Seafrog is a better deal for AUS folks. OK.

 

[Mike1967]

I fail to see the point

My point is I'm trying to see if it's worth paying double for the Oly housing, only the prices in Australia matter to me. Right?

 

[sunnyboy]

My point is I'm trying to see if it's worth paying double for the Oly housing, only the prices in Australia matter to me. Right?

Fair enough. So what are your criteria then besides price? If it's only price it's a clear choice. I suspect that like me you are more concerned whether the extra money sent to Olympus buys you more than just a name.

Given both housings are probably made in the same factory (more or less), it would be a toss up on features. As I mentioned, they aren't identical - the locking mechanism is on the other side and doesn't have a secondary safety lock. But other than that they sure look similar (which is why I wondered about the 52 & 67mm claim - the Olympus ONLY has a 52mm thread).

I've wondered about the Seafrog stuff before as well. It looks pretty good and is certainly less expensive than other brands. I'd love to hear from anyone who's purchased their stuff and has a report, and I suspect you are as well.

In the end I opted for the PT-059 (for the TG-6) simply because my preferred Canadian camera store had one in stock when I phoned and I wanted both camera and housing ASAP. There's almost nothing worse than getting a new underwater camera and then having to wait a couple of weeks for the housing. It happened with my G16/Ikelite stuff and it was painful not being able to take it out.

 

[Mike1967]

I suspect that like me you are more concerned whether the extra money sent to Olympus buys you more than just a name.

That's it, I'd happily pay triple for the Oly if it was three times as good.

I'd love to hear from anyone who's purchased their stuff and has a report, and I suspect you are as well.

Definitely.

There's almost nothing worse than getting a new underwater camera and then having to wait a couple of weeks for the housing.

I hear ya!

Cheers, Mike

 

[saxman242]

I've wondered about the Seafrog stuff before as well. It looks pretty good and is certainly less expensive than other brands. I'd love to hear from anyone who's purchased their stuff and has a report, and I suspect you are as well.

I don't have any experience with the olympus housing, but do have one of the seafrogs salted line housings for my sony a6000. Went that route because of how many positive reviews they seemed to get and how good the customer service from seafrogs seems to be (although being able to go to your local olympus dealer does have a nice advantage vs having to deal with an overseas company, no matter how good the service.)

 

[Chris Ross]

I have used the TG-4 in Oly housing, seems well made and is neutrally buoyant out of the box, so if you let go it stays there. Haven't seen the SeaFrogs in the hand so don't really know much about build quality - I've never been tempted by them I see issues with their other housings posted on here, they work but often compromise things to work to a price point - some people are happy to put up with that to get a cheap housing.

 

[FezUSA]

+1 on the Oly housing with a TG-4. 3 years of diving with it, just inspect/clean/lube O-rings. Sometimes it's just good to buy once cry once! In the grand scheme of things, especially UW photography equipment it's not that bad!