ZX-1 questions

[scuba mermaid]

Hello Olympus users,
It`s time to buy a new camera, my 2 runner up`s are the Olympus XZ-1 and the Panasonic LX5. I`ve read all posts relating to these cameras, looked at pictures and videos taken but reached a dead end.
Each of the cameras has some strong points and some weak ones, my main concerns with the XZ-1 are:
- Housing limited to 40 meters
- Flash disabled in super macro mode
- WA lens is huge and heavy-will the housing be able to hold it on?
- DOF in macro mode seems rather small
On the other hand my prior experience with the Oly housing and camera (C-5060) is very good and compared with the bulky Ikelite housing offered for the Panasonic it is both cheaper and sits better in the hand.

Now to the question of strobes, preferably ones that can provide decent video light as well, what are my options?
In order to keep costs down I`m hoping to be able to utilise my old XL tray bought from Fantasea some years ago with a 12" B & J arm which worked well with the C-5060.
One of the reasons to pick these 2 cameras is their size, travelling with scuba gear is cumbersome and costly so I`m trying to keep my kit as light as possible-any recommendations?

Hope you can help me with some answers.

Cheers!

 

[Meyr]

hi scuba mermaid,

i was in your position a couple of months back.
but i chose the XZ1.

After i bought it, then nauticam announced that they developed a housing for it.
if i were you, i would wait for the nauticam housing to came out. then u can really compare the lx5 and xz1.
but based on my personal research and 0.02$,
the xz1 is a better camera.

 

[Broct]

The people at Backscatter.com are really helpful, and helped my with my Olympus Pen setup including strobes. Best of all they give you "cheat sheets" so you start off getting good shots. Nice to speak to people who actual have experience with the gear they sell. Hope that helps...

 

[musi]

Hi,

I was in the same situation . Couldn't decide between xz-1, E-Pl2 and LX 5. Just this saturday I got lucky and could look at both Olympus underwater housings and cameras in a store.
The xz-1 housing seems fine (I come from a small point and shoot) but the E-Pl2 housing was too big and especially too heavy for my taste Anyhow I took pictures with both cameras and looked at them at home on the computer. I somehow can't get used to this Olympus look. Everybody raves about their colors but for me they just seem a little too artifical and I have the feeling that noise reduction just makes everything a touch too smooth. That is only jpeg of course (I don't want to convert every picture from raw since I also want to use the camera above water) Another real downer for me is that you have to switch between macro and super macro mode with the xz-1. I got my best underwater pictures so far by getting really close to the object under water. If I then have to fiddle around with the shooting mode... my object, even a slug will just buzz away (not even speaking about the problem of not being able to use the flash in supermacro) So after being very close to buying an Olympus system I have returned to the Lx 5 with the Nauticam housing. Unfortunately it is more expensive but I gather I will get a very good housing (haven't seen it yet). So ... I will see if I stick to my decision. I still have time till this summer but the fast autofocus, the great macro mode and the better movie quality seems to outweigh the lower cost of the xz-1 setup.
Have you compared the galleries of xz-1 and lx5 on the nauticam website? I think those are quite helpful. The lx5 seems a little notch sharper. But that might just be personal taste or dependant on the actual person taking the pictures.

Greetings from Germany,
Daniel

 

[anenomefishman]

Hello Olympus users,
It`s time to buy a new camera, my 2 runner up`s are the Olympus XZ-1 and the Panasonic LX5. I`ve read all posts relating to these cameras, looked at pictures and videos taken but reached a dead end.
Each of the cameras has some strong points and some weak ones, my main concerns with the XZ-1 are:
- Housing limited to 40 meters
- Flash disabled in super macro mode
- WA lens is huge and heavy-will the housing be able to hold it on?
- DOF in macro mode seems rather small
On the other hand my prior experience with the Oly housing and camera (C-5060) is very good and compared with the bulky Ikelite housing offered for the Panasonic it is both cheaper and sits better in the hand.

Now to the question of strobes, preferably ones that can provide decent video light as well, what are my options?
In order to keep costs down I`m hoping to be able to utilise my old XL tray bought from Fantasea some years ago with a 12" B & J arm which worked well with the C-5060.
One of the reasons to pick these 2 cameras is their size, travelling with scuba gear is cumbersome and costly so I`m trying to keep my kit as light as possible-any recommendations?

Hope you can help me with some answers.

Cheers!

40 meters pretty decent. How far down do you want to go.? I have had my SP-350/PT-030 to 50 meters, even though only rated for 40 meters, still works fine. There is not much below 25 meters to me sea life ways.

Bruce

 

[Nemrod]

There is not much below 25 meters to me sea life ways.

Bruce

Nothing much down there, just 99.9999% of the ocean.

Life begins at 130 feet. The kiddie pool is upstairs.

N

 

[anenomefishman]

Nothing much down there, just 99.9999% of the ocean.

Life begins at 130 feet. The kiddie pool is upstairs.

N

You must be running tri-mix or something. Air only good for 170ft (briefly). Nitrox only good for ~110 ft (32 %). I normally do not dive much below ~100 ft as I run 32% Nitrox most of the time. I ran into some rebreather dudes in Truk that ran very deep for long times though.

Bruce

 

[Nemrod]

You must be running tri-mix or something. Air only good for 170ft (briefly). Nitrox only good for ~110 ft (32 %). I normally do not dive much below ~100 ft as I run 32% Nitrox most of the time. I ran into some rebreather dudes in Truk that ran very deep for long times though.

Bruce

I usually just hold my breath.

What you do is what you do, what I do or others do is another thing entirely. To state that there is nothing below 100 feet worthy of photography or diving, well, if you say so.

N

 

[anenomefishman]

I usually just hold my breath.

What you do is what you do, what I do or others do is another thing entirely. To state that there is nothing below 100 feet worthy of photography or diving, well, if you say so.

N

Not really, I am just saying that most of the life on the reef is from 20 to 70 ft to me. I take most of my pictures in that area. I have pictures also from 100 ft to 150 ft, but sea life is more scarce to me there.

Bruce

 

[BluewaterPhoto]

>> Flash disabled in super macro mode
- this is not an issue, you can get great macro with a macro lens

>> - WA lens is huge and heavy-will the housing be able to hold it on?
yes, it can hold on to it no problem

>> - DOF in macro mode seems rather small
this is the same of all compact cameras, the DOF on the XZ-1 is no different

btw, there is a new Dyron lens that will give great WA with the ikelite LX5 housing

hope this helps!
Scott