Ikelite / Olympus Digital Outfit For Sale

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Genesis

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The system starts out with the Olympus C-5050 Zoom Digital Camera, featuring:
  • 5 megapixel resolution.
  • Full manual and automatic controls - shutter, aperature, fully manual control, and "full automatic" modes.
  • MOVIE MODE shoots digital movies at 320x240, 15fps, for as long as your memory card holds out!
  • Built in speedlight (flash) for flash photography, along with an external hotshoe for additional strobe capability.
  • "My Modes" allow the instant recall of preferred settings.
  • Manual white balance allows for instant compensation of "white" at depth - this imakes the shooting of available light pictures, even at fairly serious depths, very possible with excellent color fidelity! Many other still cameras do not have this feature!
  • Multiple "film speed" equivalents are available - up to "400" speed.
  • Fast F1.8 lens - the lower the F-stop number, the more light the lens gathers. Critical for good underwater photo performance! This camera is superior to many of the later Olympus models in this line, because the later models went to a "slower" lens (cheaper - less glass!) and as such they are simply not able to gather as much light. Underwater, light gathering is King.
  • Accepts both a CF and XD card at the same time; you can switch between them at any time. 32Mb XD card comes with the camera, and is included.
Next up we have the Ikelite housing. This is a professional-grade housing for the camera, and unlike the cheap Olympus housing, has several enhancements that make for more reliability - and fewer problems. Among the features this housing has are:
  • 200 ft depth rating. Not the "131 foot" rating (which might be rather, uh, optimistic if reports I've heard are to be believed) of the Olympus housings.
  • CLEAR polycarbonate material allows you to SEE the body O-ring seal. You thus KNOW the seal is good before you get in the water. As Ikelite says, this is "clearly superior".
  • GLASS lens port - not plastic. More resistant to scratches, and better optical quality. After all, you're taking pictures, right?
  • "Stay pushed" mechanical controls. Many of the Olympus features require you to push and hold one button while manipulating another (the control wheel, etc.) Ikelite has an exclusive feature in the "stay pressed" buttons that make this simple. Most other housings make access to some settings nearly impossible. ALL functions on the camera are accessible underwater.
  • "X-ring" seals - twice the sealing surfaces of the more common "O-ring" seals in other housings. Ikelite has perfected the "gland" style seal they use on their housings, making for a more secure environment for your camera underwater, yet their design is easily serviced if required.
  • "Stay closed" positive-locking latches. There's nothing worse than snagging a camera housing latch on something underwater and popping it open! That can't happen with these latches, because they must first have the locking tab depressed.
  • Has a mounting point on the handle for an external strobe, and the bulkhead on the rear to connect it for "wired" strobes. The housing also comes with both a diffuser and blanking plate to block or diffuse the internal strobe for "slave" units that do not require a hardwired connection. You get maximum flexability for external strobe use, if desired, with Ikelite.
Finally, in the accessories portion, I am including a number of "extras" that add significant value to the package - and which you'd need to buy anyway. These are:
  • A set of 4 2100mah NiMH batteries, and the best charger on the market - the Maha Energy unit. This charger has both a slow (~6 hour) and fast (~1.5 hour) setting along with four completely independant charging circuits. NiMH batteries are subject to charge differences over time - if you charge them in a common "banked" charger, you will eventually find that the pack starts losing capacity. The Maha charger's design prevents this. High performance batteries are a must with a camera like this - so I'm including them! Value over $60.00 - this is NOT the cheap charger often found with NiMH batteries. This charger will also charge AAA NiMH cells if you have some. Note that it will NOT charge NiCads - this is a NiMH charger only.
  • Ridata 1GB Compact Flash memory card. Simply the best and fastest. Stores hundreds of still pictures, or up to approximately one hour (!) of digital movie. Yes, you read that right - 1 HOUR of movie capacity. Value over $150.00 at today's prices. This card is blistering fast - exactly what the doctor ordered for quick shot-to-shot recycling on today's digital cameras.
The original camera packing material and box, manuals for both the camera and housing, and the external interface cable for the camera (allowing you to display pictures on your TV) is included, along with the Olympus CAMEDIA software.

This complete package is missing only ONE thing - the housing back O-ring is not in a condition that I am happy with after inspecting it closely. Thus, you will need to buy a new one, as I will not include it - a failed O-ring can flood your housing and camera. Leisurepro.com has them avaialble for $5.00 at this link. Some local dive shops, any Ikelite dealer, or Ikelite themselves (direct) can also supply the O-rings - they're cheap, and you really ought to own two (so you have a spare.)

This is a real underwater digital camera outfit - not a toy. As such its priced appropriately, reflecting its nearly-new condition (there is absolutely nothing wrong with either the housing or the camera) and the considerable investment I have in this package. It has never seen a single drop of water inside the housing, nor has the camera exhibited any sort of trouble whatsoever.

Selling because I have found that I prefer shooting video instead of still pictures - so this setup is gathering dust. I'd far rather see someone get good use out of this outfit.

Don't forget - the Olympus 5050 is an excellent land still camera all on its own, and out of the housing it is of course perfectly suitable for all your picture-taking needs on land!

Asking $999 complete, prefer not to separate components.

Email "karl@denninger.net" and put "i-agree" in the subject line somewhere to avoid my spam filters if interested, or post here on the thread with a way to reach you.

Thanks.
 

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