ZEN Underwater PEN dome Results

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PHIL RUDIN

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The Zen Underwater Pen Dome is a replacement for the standard Olympus dome port that comes with the PT-EP01 housing. It can be used with both the 9 to 18 mm wide angle zoom and the 14 to 42 "kit" lens sold with the Pen E-PL1 camera. The port has the same two O-ring seals as the Olympus port and has a very high quality coated 100 mm optical glass lens. Switching the ports is a breeze and the Olympus gears for the lenses work very well. I did not find any issue with moving the zoom wheel on the housing wearing light gloves. With my dry suit gloves this may become a little harder.

The zoom range of the 9 to 18 mm is quite good for both wide 100 degree AOV shots at the 9 mm wide end and also quite good as a fish and portrait lens at the 18 mm setting.

Flare seemed well controlled by the built in dome hood when the camera is not pointed to near the sun.

This port is no bigger than the stock port and allows the strobes to be brought very close to the lens for CFWA shots. At F-8 the lens will focus to about five inches (127 mm).

This port allows for a very small system both in the water and while packing for a dive trip. Zen has dome it again with another great port option.

Phil Rudin

Zen Underwater Pen Dome [zen.wa100.ep] - $499.00 : Reef Photo & Video!, The Underwater Photo Pros
 

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Hello Phil
I am trying to decide on a new system and thought I would like to hear your thoughts. I am torn between housing my E3 or going for a more compact system such as the EPL1. I am considering the Seatool for the E3 as one option for the viewfinder and speed. The EPL1 for its size, but I am concerned about the shutter lag on moving subjects. I figure this has improved since my Oly 5050. What is the housing size comparsion between the E3 Seatool and the EPL1 housing. Will I save that much in packing for a trip. One more question, does the EPL1 setup work with Inon D2000 strobes using fiber optics?
 
Even though I have the EPL1, I'd suggest you house your E3. You are used to it, you have lenses for it, and it's shutter lag is much smaller than the EPL1. Either will work fine with Inon D2000 strobes on fiber.

The reason I have the EPL1 is for frequent trips to Asia for diving. I just don't want to schlep a bigger setup. But Once you are used to the performance of a real DSLR like the E3, you won't be happy with the slow shutter delay. That's my feeling anyway; I rarely use my E520 for size reasons.
 
Hi Muaddib1,

To compare the E-3 and EPL1 is a bit like apples and oranges. The E-3 is a "pro" level camera with high speed auto focus, and pro quality lenses. Much as I like the EPL1 and Olympus housing it is a very large step up from the consumer digi cams but it is hardly in the class of a pro quality camera.

So my first question to you is what lenses do you already have for you E-3 and what is your goal with the system. With the EPL1 the more advanced the macro lens the slower the auto focus. I have been using the Panasonic 45 macro the last two days and it is as slow as my old Nikonos RS macro lens with a 2X tele converter. The images are quite sharp but hard to get compared to the E-3. The lens also kills the battery at about 125-150 shots depending on how much you use the LCD.

Next the diffrence between the SeaTool housing with an Inon viewfinder shooting an optical finder and the "live view" screen is like night and day. Live view is great for wide angle and atuo focus shines with the 9 to 18 and Pany 7 to 14 zooms where you realy on auto focus. But closeup you have little control other than to hope that the auto focus is aimed where you want it to be.

Don't get me wrong, I am in love with the EPL1 system for its size, weight and easy of use. I am very happy with the 14 to 42 zoom as a close-up lens but I don't see being able to use a 50 macro with a 2X tele converter on this system with much success at this time. Going forward I beleave the AF system and lenses will improve and that a 100 mm macro will not be out of the question.

For now I will use both systems for the best of both worlds.

I may have a SeaTool housing for the E-3 coming up for sale along with a port or two if you are interested send me a PM and I will detail the equipment.

Phil Rudin
 
Thanks for the answers. Here is a side question. I had a discussion with a friend about what is best for photographers for control -back inflated BC or jacket style. I dive with back inflation but she swears that jacket style offer more control for photographers. I think it's what you like best and are use to.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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