Upgrade path for Oly E-620

[Brookieman10]

I have a 1 year old Oly 620 with Oly PT-06 u/w case 50 mm + 9-18 mm lens and matching Athena ports. Today Olympus does not list a e-620 camera and the E-5 doesn't appear to have a Olympus u/w case.

I realize that the camera and case would become obsolete but now less than 1 year I'm at a loss what to do with the lens and ports ( $$$$). I've contacted Olympus USA if there was an upgrade path but would not comment on it.

Is there any use for the ports and lens should I flood or the e-620 break?

I could buy another oly e-620 off e-bay or just scrap this system and start again

Ideas ?

Thanks

 

[PHIL RUDIN]

I am considering selling my SeaTool housing and Olympus E-3. all of your ports and lenses would work with this system which is in excellent condition.

Nexus has also announced the release of a new housing for the Olympus E-5 which would work with your ports and lenses with the optional Olympus port adapter. This housing will sell for around $3200.00 US with the port adapter.

If you or someone else is interested in my system you may contact me at philrudin@me.com

Phil Rudin

 

[Brookieman10]

Kind of looks like the Oly DSLR users got left holding the bag on this one.
Nexus case + adapter is worth more than port and lens.
Likely just buy a refub e-620 and keep it as a spare. After that start over again and plan a little better.

Thanks

 

[Ardy]

I bought my Olympus E-520 housing and lenses and moved away from Nikon and Aquatica housing about 2 years ago. I did this for a few reasons including:- Cost, the total system cost less than an Aqautica housing. Weight, it is very light compared to what I had. Quality, I struggled to see any improvement in IQ compared to Nikon shots I saw around the web.

My view is why worry. Unless you are professional then the system will last about 10 years (my guess) you can always pick up a second hand E-620 and the prices on those are dropping. Lenses are always in demand so you can sell them easily any time.

To dump a perfectly good system and spend at least $5k to replace it seems a bit weird to me. Still, if you see your system as some sort of investment your view might be different. If you are going to dump it there would be many people who are driving P&S cameras who would see your system as a significant step up.

You can't second guess what camera suppliers will do. With all my Nikon lenses I could not buy a basic Nikon SLR camera and needed at least a 90 equivalent to drive my lenses. I did not plan for this either.

 

[slowhands]

I bought my Olympus E-520 housing and lenses and moved away from Nikon and Aquatica housing about 2 years ago. I did this for a few reasons including:- Cost, the total system cost less than an Aqautica housing. Weight, it is very light compared to what I had. Quality, I struggled to see any improvement in IQ compared to Nikon shots I saw around the web.

My view is why worry. Unless you are professional then the system will last about 10 years (my guess) you can always pick up a second hand E-620 and the prices on those are dropping. Lenses are always in demand so you can sell them easily any time.

To dump a perfectly good system and spend at least $5k to replace it seems a bit weird to me. Still, if you see your system as some sort of investment your view might be different. If you are going to dump it there would be many people who are driving P&S cameras who would see your system as a significant step up.

You can't second guess what camera suppliers will do. With all my Nikon lenses I could not buy a basic Nikon SLR camera and needed at least a 90 equivalent to drive my lenses. I did not plan for this either.

I agree. It's really unfortunate that Olympus bowed to the Canikon monster and quit the DSLR business, but that's history. Their cameras and housings are still very good and cost competitive, the housings especially compared to the competition. At this point I would hate to dump them and take the loss, since they are working just fine and close enough to the bleeding edge for me.

Lately I have seen prices on cameras trending down sharply, and supply of housings is very tight. I too am considering picking up a backup E-620 body. I'm hurting for a dome, though, but maybe a dome port will turn up. For sure I will buy O-rings now, those will be a headache in a few years.

 

[Ardy]

I agree. It's really unfortunate that Olympus bowed to the Canikon monster and quit the DSLR business, but that's history. Their cameras and housings are still very good and cost competitive, the housings especially compared to the competition. At this point I would hate to dump them and take the loss, since they are working just fine and close enough to the bleeding edge for me.

Lately I have seen prices on cameras trending down sharply, and supply of housings is very tight. I too am considering picking up a backup E-620 body. I'm hurting for a dome, though, but maybe a dome port will turn up. For sure I will buy O-rings now, those will be a headache in a few years.

Funny you should mention o'rings, when I was posting this morning I thought I had better buy up a supply of o'rings for the housing.

I hope the price trends on down and I can pick up a E-520 for $200. Very happy with the system and if I work it right it will turn out to be the best system I could have bought.

Domes don't do it for me I had 2 on my Aquatica and only used them twice. Once to test them out and once more when the dive guide reckoned there was a large group of grey nurse there. I swam all over and didn't see one. Did see a couple of great nudi's which I couldn't shoot.

Such is the undersea life! If I got a $5 for every dive where I was supposed to see X, I would have paid for my cameras and housings easily.

 

[slowhands]

I have a 1 year old Oly 620 with Oly PT-06 u/w case 50 mm + 9-18 mm lens and matching Athena ports. Today Olympus does not list a e-620 camera and the E-5 doesn't appear to have a Olympus u/w case.

I realize that the camera and case would become obsolete but now less than 1 year I'm at a loss what to do with the lens and ports ( $$$$). I've contacted Olympus USA if there was an upgrade path but would not comment on it.

Is there any use for the ports and lens should I flood or the e-620 break?

I could buy another oly e-620 off e-bay or just scrap this system and start again

Ideas ?

Thanks

Olympus still has the E620 listed as a current product on the Olympus USA site. But they have decided not to make future "midrange" DSLRs, moving to the PEN family instead. That means no new bodies, and probably no new lenses for the 4/3 line of cameras. They left the door open perhaps to making new pro bodies, but I doubt there will be demand for them in the face of the withering competition from Nikon and Canon. They lost a lot of credibility by abandoning the market and loyal customers.

Frankly you have a very nice system there, and with reasonable maintenance it should last for 5+ years. Olympus has a 4 year support life after discontinuance, so minor faults should be repairable for the next 5 years or so. By that time, there may be a quantum leap in technology that makes a new setup irresistible, but what you have is pretty good for now. Buy the extra options and consumable spares you need now, like O-rings, batteries and so on and you should be set for a good while.