I am looking for a housing for the E-pl5 . I've noticed that people either use the Oly housing or the much more expensive nauticam housing. The 10bar housing is in between the two yet ive yet to read about anyone using them. Is there something I don't know about 10bar.
Why no love for 10bar housing?
- Thread starter orenbvip
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We carry all three brands and deal with them every day. 10Bar is very good housing at their price point. Well made, heavy duty and the price is right. They are very popular with warm water divers that don't wear gloves or just very thin ones. The main issues with 10Bar is one way they keep the price down is by putting the control buttons exactly where they are on the camera and sometimes they are so close together cold water divers with heavy glove systems have trouble engaging the buttons. Olympus also places the buttons right where they are on the camera but they "tier", "plateau" them so a little easier for cold water divers to push. Of course the one issue with Olympus is it's max depth of 140fsw. Both have ok port systems but each have their quirks but as long as you are aware of them and ok with them they are good choices.
Comparing those two brands to Nauticam is a bit like comparing a good pickup truck to a Mercedes. Nauticam housings are just built to a higher standard. Much more engineering goes into them to spread out controls, put them at finger tips and one of the best port systems in the industry.
Comparing those two brands to Nauticam is a bit like comparing a good pickup truck to a Mercedes. Nauticam housings are just built to a higher standard. Much more engineering goes into them to spread out controls, put them at finger tips and one of the best port systems in the industry.
tamas970
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I am using the 10bar EPL5 housing. My #1 complaint is that the 10bar 9-48/14-42 port is giving awful corners with the 9-18 lens. Are there any other combined ports that give reasonable IQ in the corners?
As for the housing I am satisfied so far. However, the support doesn't like to answer emails...
My other concern is, that you're supposed to send the camera to Hong Kong for servicing YEARLY(!!). This is quite costy+risky by itself and I don't know if I can avoid paying VAT twice...
As for the housing I am satisfied so far. However, the support doesn't like to answer emails...
My other concern is, that you're supposed to send the camera to Hong Kong for servicing YEARLY(!!). This is quite costy+risky by itself and I don't know if I can avoid paying VAT twice...
As Martin mentioned, we have sold 10Bar in the US probably longer than anyone. People tend to either be very happy with them, or not so happy...go figure ;-).
They are pretty rugged housings overall. Buttons are close together, but some are raised up. Other dial controls are a bit hard to engage, but work ok with some practice. They are a bit heavy in the water as well. As a good value they are hard to beat, but they just aren't designed/built to the standards that Nauticam uses.
Their support can be a bit problematic, that's why having a good dealer that works with them is a big help. They have recently hired another person for support and it has been getting better. But I still call them directly to get help for my customers as needed.
As far as the above corner issues with the 9-18, I haven't seen it when stopped down to f/8 or above when at 9mm; something that you really need to do with any housing.
I have a blog article comparing the 3 popular housings (10Bar, Oly, Nauticam) it's a little older, but the info is still valid.
See: Purchasing a Mirrorless Camera System
BTW, we have one 10Bar E-PL5 housing in stock on sale; with an extra parts kit for only $899 right now. The cameras are also on sale for $50 off.
They are pretty rugged housings overall. Buttons are close together, but some are raised up. Other dial controls are a bit hard to engage, but work ok with some practice. They are a bit heavy in the water as well. As a good value they are hard to beat, but they just aren't designed/built to the standards that Nauticam uses.
Their support can be a bit problematic, that's why having a good dealer that works with them is a big help. They have recently hired another person for support and it has been getting better. But I still call them directly to get help for my customers as needed.
As far as the above corner issues with the 9-18, I haven't seen it when stopped down to f/8 or above when at 9mm; something that you really need to do with any housing.
I have a blog article comparing the 3 popular housings (10Bar, Oly, Nauticam) it's a little older, but the info is still valid.
See: Purchasing a Mirrorless Camera System
BTW, we have one 10Bar E-PL5 housing in stock on sale; with an extra parts kit for only $899 right now. The cameras are also on sale for $50 off.
tamas970
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That might have been the issue, i was shooting @f6.3.
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