Thinking of the PT-023 - DON'T DO IT!!!

[LVX]

OK, This has got to be one of the most frustrating things I have gone through with my housing. A few weeks back, I cracked the diffuser on my PT-023 underwater housing for my C-8080 digital camera. This is a simple plastic box that sits on top of the lens and backs up to the main body. It is very easy to remove and replace. Anyway, I went to the Olympus website and there was not a part listed as a replacement. So, I called Olympus and they said they don't sell the part and that I would have to send the housing back for repair. I said, well, if you can repair it, can't you just send it to me and let me put it on. They said no, they don't have the part, they said we will have to order it. I said, well, let me call whoever you order it from. They said, no, we can't.

Now, they want to charge me $148.00 (flat fee) to send back my housing just so they can slip the diffuser on it. The diffuser probably costa about $5. Unfortunately, my strobe hooks onto the diffuser (Inon D-2000) so I have to have it.

Does anyone have an idea if there is another way before I ship this thing off today.

thanks

LVX

 

[Gilligan]

Other than repairing it yourself, if that's possible, I believe you are at the mercy of Olympus.

This is the downside of camera brand housings.

I have two Oly housings and needed a return spring for the zoom control on one of them. No parts existed as my older PT-010 housings were gray market. Those housings were considered "disposable".

 

[LVX]

yeah, there would be no way for me to fix it. It is unfixable. I just did not know if anyone else has had the problem and how they solved it. I guess I have to send it in and wait 2 months to get it back for something that should take about 10 minutes to fix.

Not great Customer Service so anyone interested in this housing can buy mine. I don't want anything to do with it.

STAY AWAY FROM THIS HOUSING.....

 

[justin-branam]

yeah, there would be no way for me to fix it. It is unfixable.

whoa whoa!! You dont know who all you are talking to! Can you post a picture of the problem. I guarantee someone can give you an easy fix.

 

[herman]

If it's just the diffuser, you should be able to replace it with a piece of plastic of some kind. This is esp true if you are just using it to hold the strobe pickup, any color of plastic should do. Before you give up, a nice letter to a customer service manager may do some good. Many times what they can do and that they will do is based on some silly company policy and getting to someone with the clout to override the policy can do wonders, you just have to go up the chain a little.
If all that doesn not work, send it to me, I will be happy to take it off your hands...I'll even pay the shipping.

 

[lanwu]

I agree w/ herman, just go to a little workshop or hardward shop & they could prob. make a replacement plastic for less $$$$ & in less time. since you have the D2000 strobe anyway, I would suggest that you use black plastic as a replacement to cut out the onboard strobe flashes (unless you're using the INON "cut out the flash" flash cover")...

Otherwise, your housing is perfectly okay.

 

[LVX]

OK, let me rephrase that. When I wrote the diffuser was cracked I should have said destroyed. There is no way to get it all back together again. Now, moving on, "I" could not make one and was wondering if anyone else might be able to or might know where to get one.

thanks

 

[pickens_46929]

So there are a couple of options here:

1) Get someone locally to cut a piece of frosted plastic to size, drill a couple holes in it. Provided the mounting posts are still in tact, you just need to unscrew, remove the pieces of the old diffuser and install the new one. Not too difficult and probably run you about $20. Glass shops might have the plastic but a hobbyist / woodworker might have scraps or know better (own) source.

2) Unscrew and remove remaining bits of diffuser, file down the remaining mounting post(s) or not... use frosted packing tape where the flash is... may need multiple layers... or white packing tape is somewhat transparent... should work fine... if not use multiple layers of tape... put base layer down... use marker or something to create a translucent layer... put another layer of tape over that... you can find frosted film at Lowes for showers or mirrors... privacy frosting or something or other...

 

[aabond]

Actually, I believe Inon has an actual mount to be used with the the d2000, I use one with my canon s70. It mounts to the bottom base of the housing, goes around the lens port and covers the area where the flash comes out of it. It then has a little socket that screws tight which holds the strobe cable in place. This might be what you are looking for.

You might try Ryan at reefphoto.com, which is who I got my strobe from and seems to be quite knowledgeble of most cameras.

 

[LVX]

You might try Ryan at reefphoto.com, which is who I got my strobe from and seems to be quite knowledgeble of most cameras.

Thanks, I called and they had a solution and I dont' have to mess with Olympus.

thanks for the info

LVX