M Zuiko ED 9-18mm f4.5-5.6

[chile7236]

"Down the road" may not be far away for me I'm 75 years old and don't know how much longer I'll be able to dive, so I'm not ready to invest much more in u/w photo equipment. Every dive I do nowadays could be my last A zen dome and the 9-18mm lens would cost me around $1000 with shipping, customs duty and tax, which is more than twice as much as I paid for the camera, 14-42mm lens and housing. I've also spent money on a dual tray with grips, a strobe and EV controller, various adapters, a focus light (which doubles as a video light for close-up filming) and a more powerful video light (for filming from somewhat greater distances), as well as a macro adapter and wet dioptre, so I just don't want to spend a lot more.

I think Gilligan has this quote in his signature block..."it's not the years in your life that count...but the life in your years"....or something to that effect

 

[chris196]

The Zen dome and the 9-18 will both hold their value for resale, if you are forced to stop diving.
The camera and housing, not so much.

 

[John Gulliver]

Hi John, why not look at a Wet Lens, but a WA (Inon do one) and use it with the 14-42m you already have?

Diving at 75, you plenty left mate! Keep it up!

According to Scott Gietler, the port will not support a WA wet lens. But thanks for the suggestion.

 

[ggibson]

"Down the road" may not be far away for me I'm 75 years old and don't know how much longer I'll be able to dive, so I'm not ready to invest much more in u/w photo equipment. Every dive I do nowadays could be my last A zen dome and the 9-18mm lens would cost me around $1000 with shipping, customs duty and tax, which is more than twice as much as I paid for the camera, 14-42mm lens and housing. I've also spent money on a dual tray with grips, a strobe and EV controller, various adapters, a focus light (which doubles as a video light for close-up filming) and a more powerful video light (for filming from somewhat greater distances), as well as a macro adapter and wet dioptre, so I just don't want to spend a lot more.

I've only used the 9-18mm under the standard flat port so far. It's a big step up from the 14-42mm resolution-wise, and it offers a MUCH wider view even without a dome. Yes, it's not the OPTIMAL setup (some blur in the corners), but I still think it's easily a worthy upgrade on its own and it's one of my favorite top-side lenses. I was completely satisfied by the quality. Example of a photo I took with it on my last dive (E-PL1 + 9-18mm):