Where is Olympus going U/W and above?

[Ardy]

I was sort of expecting more in terms of releases out of Olympus ie a full frame M4/3rds camera and not the E-M1X which has little interest for me. I also note that all the latest lenses are pro lenses around $1500 up! I could not see any Stnd lenses on the roadmap. So I guess that means that Olympus seems to be focused on the pro level shooters and TG-5 style for entry level, does that mean that the average OMD user is of not much interest to Olympus?

Not sure how many Oly divers are U/W pro's as that area seems to be mostly Nican. The couple of pro's I have spoken to have an Olympus + lenses in their bag but it is not their go to camera, more used for specialist jobs or where weight is an issue.

I am very happy with my OMD's EM5 and EM1 and I have most of the lenses I need apart from a MC 1.4/2.0 for my 75-300 zoom (Birds). I think the macro lenses are fine and the 9-18 is OK but not as sharp as I hoped it would be.

No complaints but a bit concerned about where they are going in my world.

Note the reason for my interest in Olympus FF was that I do a fair amount bird photography and I'm considering a Nikon FF as I have a few old lenses.
Olympus - Olympus Australia

 

[Furnari]

I saw an article where an Olympus exec indicated that the E-Mx line is not intended to replace the E-M1 line; there's also reports out there that an M5mkIII could be expected later this year. My guess is that those two lines will be where they focus their underwater efforts- just wish they would have the 1/320 sync speed of the M1mkI. As far as lenses go, there really aren't a lot of gaps in the system for underwater use other than a fisheye zoom and maybe a longer macro. The smaller size of this format is especially handy for travel, and FF advantages pretty much disappear underwater as we bring our own light.

You didn't ask, but looking at your lenses- I've had both the 12-50 and the 9-18 and wasn't especially happy with either underwater. If you can swing the 12-40, you'll get all the sharpness you need. For a rectilinear wide zoom, I worked with the Oly 7-14 for a while but ended up with the Panasonic 8-18 because of it's better range and ability to take filters for topside use. All of which work nicely in my 170mm dome.

 

[Ardy]

Interesting Furnari, I am wondering, do you use the 12-40 for semi wide and fish shots or something else? I would like to do some CUWA. Had a fool around with the 9-18 in Bali last year but wasnt happy with the results.

I have an EM1 Mk1 body which I use for my bird photos, are there many advantages to using it underwater apart from the 1/320 which is very handy for black background. I use a couple of EM5's Mk1 (one for backup) and might consider using EM1 if there are advantages to it.

I am reasonably happy with my macro's both 30 and 60 but neither of them seem as good as the 50 I had with my old set up. Not unhappy but just wondering what I might consider as an upgrade, without breaking the bank.

 

[Chris Ross]

You know that you can't have a full frame m43 camera? m43 is a standard built around a 18 x 13.5 sensor. I kind of doubt Olympus would launch into a whole new format, it'd mean completely re-developing their lens lineup.

I'm not sure what you were hoping to see, between Olympus and Panasonic you have just about the most complete lineup of lenses suited to underwater work and at quite reasonable prices, for example the 12-40 is $799, while in the US, BHPhoto list it for $US999. The 12-40 is quite useful around Sydney, I dive with it at Oak Park and any of the offshore dive sites and I shoot anything from large Nudis through blue gropers and schools of fish. It focuses very close and at 40mm you can fill the frame with something about 60mm across, though you are very close at that point. I have a 7-14mm but find I don't use it much around Sydney, in fact I've really only used it with whale sharks at Ningaloo.

The 9-18 does not have a great reputation, what port are using with it? If you want to do CFWA look into a fisheye lens, I see digital camera warehouse has the 8mm Panasonic on sale at $721 right now. It's a bit of a learning curve but I was happy with the results, you need to get your strobes positioned properly and get in close - keeping you dive buddy/guide out of the frame corners. Have a look at the Halmahera gallery on my website: Weda Resort Halmahera that is basically all the 8mm fisheye. I've also used it round Sydney, this is at Oak Park cave: Pomfret & Bullseyes

This : Old Wives 18 and this Eastern Blue Groper 4 among many others are the 12-40.

With your EM-5 you EP08 housing you can get ports for the 12-40 and the fisheye. You could house your EM-1, but unless you found a good deal on a second hand housing, I would be reluctant to splash out the cash for a new housing for an older camera. I'm using the EM-1 MkII and it is performs really well, about 2/3 stop less noise and the AF is really very good as is the IBIS, I've shot sharp images at crazy low shutter speeds. The price is steadily reducing and it's now at $2199 at digi direct.

Full frame has its main advantage as noise performance at high ISO, you only get to keep that if you don't crop, which means you need long glass for birds. I recently bought the Oly 300mm f4 lens, I know it's expensive, I waited for a digi direct 15% off sale. On my EM-1 MkII it works really well. It is razor sharp wide open at f4, which has the same depth of field as a 600mm lens at f8. I have a Canon 500mm as well but it's getting less use these days due to weight and size, but I usually shoot that at f8. Shooting at f4 ISO800 is the same amount of light as f8 ISO3200, so for me it's quite a viable birding lens, particularly for travelling.

 

[Furnari]

Hi Ardy-
I'm a big fan of the 12-40 underwater. I started out with the flat port Olympus notes in their port chart- PPO-01, or some similar designation. With a swing away wet lens holder it was a pretty nice combo for fish portraits and near macro shots. I graduated to the Inon 170mm dome sold through Divervision; it was a port originally designed for the old 4/3 system so you need to use a PAD-EP08 port adapter and a PER-E02 2" extension (or 2x 1" extensions) for use with the 12-40, Oly 7-14, and Panasonic 8-18. Remove the extension ring and put the adapter back on and you're all set for the Olympus 8mm fisheye and the world of CFWA, spilt shots, etc. For the relatively small difference in money, it was a better choice for me than the Panasonic fisheye as the wide aperture is great for astro shots. At the time, the Inon dome was reasonably priced for a big glass dome- there may be other solutions on the market now, including some stuff from AOI. I'll try to attach some 12-40 shots here from a trip last month to Roatan, including a portrait, a generic reefscape, and wide scape. Note that one of my fiber optic cables didn't survive the flight there, so I was stuck using one strobe; I felt like I was back in the stone age.

I don't think your M1 would add much underwater to what you have now, especially as the housing is about $1000 US. If it were me, I'd consider going all in on the M1mkII or waiting to see what's up with the M5mkIII or M1mkIII (if they make one).

For macro, you could use the 60 with the Inon dome (not ideal, obviously but doable if had to travel light). I have the 60 and 30, and lately I stick with the 30 underwater. Splurging on Olympus' dedicated macro port makes a huge difference in usability compared to the default flat port, and really doesn't add a lot of weight to your luggage. If you're referring to the 4/3 50mm, I've never used it but I understand it's pretty much the gold standard for sharpness so I can understand why the modern macros don't quite measure up.

Speaking of 4/3 lenses (and while I'm spending all your money for you), have you considered the 50-200 for birding with your M1? It's a great combination, especially as the lens works well with the 1.4 teleconverter as long as you go through the trouble of focus tuning. I loved that lens, but as I hadn't used it in a while I sold it to help finance my Roatan trip. Why did I stop using it? I got the 150 f2 and the 35-100 f2 SHG lenses. They're like getting a divorce: expensive, but worth it. There's nothing else- in any system- quite like the SHG glass. Anyways, I hope all this rambling was useful- hit me up if you have other questions.

 

[Chris Ross]

Further info, this is the system chart for the EM-1, Em-5 and EM-1 MkII housings: https://www.olympus.at/s/uw_usage_guide/en/products/pdf/Lens_systemchart_FZ-2_photokina_en.pdf

it shows you the olympus port options for various lenses. The cameras listed above all use the large port system, for some reason the EM-5 MkII uses the smaller PEN port system which restricts your lens choice. You can still buy this new but it's expensive. Otherwise you are hunting around trying to find a vendor for AOI or INON domes in Australia. Another option is Zen domes but they only do 4" domes for this system and you would be gussing the right extension required if you could find it.

 

[pelsasser]

I have been shooting the em1 mk 2 with the Panasonic 8mm fisheye and the Olympus 60mm macro, and have been really enjoying this set up.

I recently bought the 12-40 pro for above water use and am not sure I will make the investment into a larger dome to use it underwater.

Here are two recent galleries using that setup

Mexico - 2019 - Elsasser Photography

Red Sea, Egypt - 2018 - Elsasser Photography

 

[Ardy]

Further info, this is the system chart for the EM-1, Em-5 and EM-1 MkII housings: https://www.olympus.at/s/uw_usage_guide/en/products/pdf/Lens_systemchart_FZ-2_photokina_en.pdf

it shows you the olympus port options for various lenses. The cameras listed above all use the large port system, for some reason the EM-5 MkII uses the smaller PEN port system which restricts your lens choice. You can still buy this new but it's expensive. Otherwise you are hunting around trying to find a vendor for AOI or INON domes in Australia. Another option is Zen domes but they only do 4" domes for this system and you would be gussing the right extension required if you could find it.

Thanks Chris the chart is very useful.

 

[Ardy]

I have been shooting the em1 mk 2 with the Panasonic 8mm fisheye and the Olympus 60mm macro, and have been really enjoying this set up.

I recently bought the 12-40 pro for above water use and am not sure I will make the investment into a larger dome to use it underwater.

Here are two recent galleries using that setup

Mexico - 2019 - Elsasser Photography

Red Sea, Egypt - 2018 - Elsasser Photography

Excellent photography Elsasser. Enjoyed your portfolios.

 

[nudibranco]

Another interesting option is the wide angle corrector to be used over the 30mm mcro lens.
It allows both Macro and wide angle in the same dive. Quality is supposed to be super but I have not found reviews yet.
Macro to Wide Angle Lens 1 (MWL-1) ~150 deg. FOV with Full Frame 60mm Macro Lens