Nikon D70 vs. Olympus C5050

[f3nikon]

Whats the problem with the 8080? Tried one on land,worked very well.

 

[Mo2vation]

Whats the problem with the 8080? Tried one on land,worked very well.

As far as model succession, its a bad fork in the road the noble C5050 came down.

Lets start with the bright star that decided to jam 8 million pixels into the same CCD that once held 5 million. Oly used the Spinal Tap marketing method... Having 8 million pixels on that tiny CCD is like turning your amp up to 11 and thinking its 1 louder. 8 doesn't beat 5. Sorry Oly, we're not buying it.

Add the form factor faux pas, the downgraded lens and you got a speedbump in what was a nearly perfect road of the C-XX line from the C2000 to the C5050 (the C-5060 was our first clue they lost their footing after the 5050....)

Anyway, I digress.

You don't need 8 million pixels in a P&S. Send Oly a message and just say no to the 8080 before these clowns foist a C1010 or some other wack P&S on us next year....

---
Ken

PS: Chris is an artist, not just a photographer. Listen to this guy and you'll do well.

 

[alcina]

And it's derriere ugly...hard to look cool with Oly's 8080 housing :rofl:

 

[ssra30]

One of the biggest disadvantage of C8080 I think is that it is not compatible with third party wetmount lenses like the Inon WAL/Domeport and macro lenses. What I like about my old C4040 and C5050 was the fact that I can do really wide angle shot (130 degree with Inon WAL/domeport) or macro shots with stacked macro lenses on the same dive, depending on whether I see and nudibranch or a whaleshark on that dive!
The C8080 may be an improvement over C5050 for landuse but if I am going back to Oly point and shoot, I would probably just stayed with C5050 rather than upgrading to something that is more of a pixel number game rather than usability.

 

[f3nikon]

As far as model succession, its a bad fork in the road the noble C5050 came down.

Lets start with the bright star that decided to jam 8 million pixels into the same CCD that once held 5 million. Oly used the Spinal Tap marketing method... Having 8 million pixels on that tiny CCD is like turning your amp up to 11 and thinking its 1 louder. 8 doesn't beat 5. Sorry Oly, we're not buying it.

Add the form factor faux pas, the downgraded lens and you got a speedbump in what was a nearly perfect road of the C-XX line from the C2000 to the C5050 (the C-5060 was our first clue they lost their footing after the 5050....)

Anyway, I digress.

You don't need 8 million pixels in a P&S. Send Oly a message and just say no to the 8080 before these clowns foist a C1010 or some other wack P&S on us next year....

---
Ken

PS: Chris is an artist, not just a photographer. Listen to this guy and you'll do well.

Are we talking about the same cameras????

CCD sensor specs: Olympus 5050/5060 5.3 mp gross, CCD size 1/1.8" or .55inch

Olympus 8080 8.31 mp gross, CCD size 2/3" or .66inch

 

[ChrisM]

Yeah, what they said ('cept the artist part [blush])......

My biggest beef with the 8080 is the moving lens element, making wetmates impossible. IMO, aside from cost (which is admittedly a big factor) the major benefit to prosumers is the ability to change lenses underwater. Subtract that and it's a big drawback.. And the PT-023 dimension wise is about as big as my Aquatica DSLR housing... never saw the Ike housing, I imagine it's big as well. Another big advantage of prosumers - compact size.

As far as the sensor- I have no clue about those things. I leave it to the guys that know, like Ken. But I have not heard good things noise wise.

I'm sure it's a fine camera. I just don't think it's ideal for uw use.

Chris

 

[f3nikon]

Yeah, what they said ('cept the artist part [blush])......

My biggest beef with the 8080 is the moving lens element, making wetmates impossible. IMO, aside from cost (which is admittedly a big factor) the major benefit to prosumers is the ability to change lenses underwater. Subtract that and it's a big drawback.. And the PT-023 dimension wise is about as big as my Aquatica DSLR housing... never saw the Ike housing, I imagine it's big as well. Another big advantage of prosumers - compact size.

As far as the sensor- I have no clue about those things. I leave it to the guys that know, like Ken. But I have not heard good things noise wise.

I'm sure it's a fine camera. I just don't think it's ideal for uw use.

Chris

The CCD (Charged Coupled Device) to digital cameras is what film is to SLR film cameras. The bigger the film the more the information it can hold. The film sizes are 110, 35mm, 120 (medium format), plate film, large format (Ansel Adams type) etc.

In digitals case, the bigger the CCD the better, in pro video camcorders the CCD chips (3 of them for the different colors) can be an inch wide!

I have seen an Olympus PT-23 housing for the 8080 its about 3/4 the size of my Ikelite SLR housing, when placed side by side.

I am NOT a fan of "wet lens" add on for wide angle shooting. The less additional glass you put in front of your lens the sharper the focus and color, its bad enough that you are shooting through a dome or flat port from your housing.

Wet lens were a "poormans" wide angle. If you could not afford a real wide angle 15mm Nikonos lens, Sea and Sea made a cheaper wet lens add on, that will change your 35mm lens to a wider angle.

What I don't get is that folks trying to shoot wider angles but use a macro single strobe! So half the picture is in the dark! And useless, so why not just shoot at the widest normal angle, without the add on?

 

[mjh]

Like you I pretty much jumped into a complete system. D100 in Aquatica housing, 2xS&S Strobes, etc…. If you are familiar with F-Stops have done some dry 35mm photography I don’t think you will find the learning curve to be as bad as people say. After a week tropical vacation I was taking ok shots.

I think ChrisM was being generous on price. If you travel and want back ups so don’t spoil a trip I am finding you will eventually end up with something like:

1 Camera Body (I have dove w/people who travel with 2) +1000
3-4 Lenses +1500
Housing +1200
2 Strobes + Arms +1200
Focus Light (high end) +400
2 Ports + Extensions + Gears +800
Sync Cord +140
A ton of Rechargeable batteries and said chargers +100
Memory Cards +100
A laptop or some picture storage device for trips $$$$
Some form of Pelican Case +150
Picture Editing Software 120-600
Misc +100

If you want to shoot the variety of reefscapes and critters this is where you end up. It is just not a set up conducive to starting "bare bones". Noticed your other post. A camera also complicates your diving. You need to have very, very, very good buoyancy. I try to never touch or bump the reef and at times that means not getting a shot.

 

[ChrisM]

Yeah, I know what a CCD is, I just don't know specifics for cameras.

I wouldn't compare any housing size to ike's,,,,, while great housings and great service, they are known for being large. The PT-023 may be smaller than Ike's, but is larger than my Aquatica 300D housing

My point re: wetmate lenses was most people shooting those cameras are point and shoot share with friends post on the web types. Versatility is much more important than ultimate optic quality. THat said, I have had 5050 pics blown up to 16 x 20, not bad at all..... If optics is the main concern, then an SLR with prime lenses is the only way to go., not the 8080. ANd the 8080 has as much lens between the camera and the water as does the 5050, no? Just can't change it

All my opinion, of course.

Chris

 

[ChrisA]

If you like the D70 you will really like the D100. The D100 has a plug on the bottom that allows another device to remotely control it. This allows Light and Motion to make a fully electronic housing for the D100. Finger tip controls like on some video housings. Much easier to use. Also thecontrols for the strobes are on the housing handles too. You can controll everything, including setting the power ratios on both strobes from the housing's handles.

But you will need a point and shoot also. A housed DSLR is so large that you will not want to take it with you on every dive. To bulky, expensive and heavy to take into the surf. But a little point and shoot can be clipped to a D-ring on your BCD. A housed DSLR is so expensive that the cost of a DSLR plus a point and shoot is not much different then just a DSLR

But to ask about a 5050 vs. a D70 is like asking if you should drive a pickup truck or a limo.

I've been looking at getting into UW photography, and originally considered the Oly 5050. But recently I've been thinking of biting the bullet and dropping some serious change on a Nikon D70 system.

I ran into this comparison of the two at

http://www.splashdowndivers.com/photo_gallery/underwater_photography/up_equipment_d70.htm

The bottom line was the following:

"Comparing the wide angle pictures I have taken with my D70 with those taken with my C-5050, my conclusion is that there is not a lot of difference in the quality of the pictures. What is different is that I am getting much better compositions with the D70. I attribute this to the ease of use of the optical view finder, the lack of shutter lag, and the ability to shoot RAW as fast as I can work the shutter lever."

It's making me feel better about sticking with an Oly 5050 and Ikelite housing. Anyone agree/disagree? I do a lot of surface photography as a hobby, and I'm looking at replacing my 5MP Minolta Dimage with something I can use over and underwater.