Olympus PT-E06 housing and E-620 review

[PHIL RUDIN]

During the past few weeks I have been contacted several times with questions about the E-620/PT-E06 combination. Here is a link to my review of this system along with the UFL-2 strobe, 9 to 18 zoom and "art filters" for underwater use. This is a reprint from Dive Chronicles magazine.

FourThirdsPhoto.com | Olympus E-620 and PT-E06 Housing

P.S. Some of you may recognize ScubaBoard's NetDoc AKA Pete about to enter the water in one of the attached photos.

Phil Rudin

Phil Rudin Bio

 

[ewaiea]

During the past few weeks I have been contacted several times with questions about the E-620/PT-E06 combination. Here is a link to my review of this system along with the UFL-2 strobe, 9 to 18 zoom and "art filters" for underwater use. This is a reprint from Dive Chronicles magazine.

FourThirdsPhoto.com | Olympus E-620 and PT-E06 Housing

P.S. Some of you may recognize ScubaBoard's NetDoc AKA Pete about to enter the water in one of the attached photos.

Phil Rudin

Phil Rudin Bio

I like the camera and it seems like the whole kit would be somewhat cheaper than an Aquatica housing, but with it only being waterproof down to 130ft, don't you think a 130 foot dive would be pushing the limits a bit too much? I rarely dive to 130ft but wouldn't it be nice to have a little lee-way?

I'm new to the DSLR world and am in the "browsing" phase. Is Olympus considered a good "low cost" approach when compared to Nikon or Canon and their housings/accessories?

 

[PHIL RUDIN]

Olympus has targeted Sport divers with most of their U/W photo equipment and the limit for sport diving is set a 40 meters (130 feet) by most dive agencies.

I have dived all three of the 40 meter limit Olympus housings for DSLR's, (E-410, E-510 and E-620) well beyond the 130 foot limit without problems. Olympus first two DSLR housings for the E-300 & E-330 were rated to 60 meters but I don't thing many went that deep with them. I have had the housing to 150 feet without problems but don't recommend that depth without advanced training.

Not only is the Olympus E-620/PT-E06 combination "low cost" it is also high quality and a system that can be built on with a number of outstanding lenses and ports.

Phil Rudin

 

[davelew]

Olympus has targeted Sport divers with most of their
Not only is the Olympus E-620/PT-E06 combination "low cost" it is also high quality and a system that can be built on with a number of outstanding lenses and ports.

The complaints I hear about Olympus systems are the autofocus speed, and the size of the viewfinder.

The image quality is top notch, and there are some fantastic lenses and ports available.

 

[ewaiea]

So compared to Canon and Nikon, how mainstream is Olympus? I have noticed most DSLR photographers I've met use Nikon or Canon. I figure it doesn't matter to me either way, but is there as much support from Olympus warranty-wise and do they break more often? Or for any other reason does Olympus have a "not as good" reputation as Nikon or Canon?

Again, I'm just newer than all get out to the DSLR world so I have to ask these rather silly questions....

I'm thinking that based on quality and overall economics, the E620 and PT E-06 housing might be my purchase unless I can be convinced otherwise.

 

[davelew]

So compared to Canon and Nikon, how mainstream is Olympus?

Olympus is a distant third behind Canon and Nikon in the dSLR world. However, neither Canon nor Nikon makes a housing for a dSLR, while Olympus does. Olympus supports underwater photography as part of their business model more so than Canon or Nikon.

In general, there are more lenses available for Canon and Nikon mounts. When you cost out your system, you should compare the E-620 with a 7-14mm zoom (or a 9-18mm zoom) and a 50mm macro to, a Nikon D90 with a Tokina 10-17 zoom and an 60mm macro lens. Because the 7-14mm zoom for the Olympus is a lot more expensive than the 10-17 zoom for Nikon or Canon mounts, you might not be saving much money by going with Olympus. Also, the Athena ports for Olympus housings tend to be expensive.

I don't want to scare you away from Olympus. Although the 7-14mm lens is expensive, the build quality and image quality are what you would expect for a $1500 lens. The same goes with the Athena ports, which are some of the most expensive and highest quality dome ports available. The issue with Olympus is that you are often locked into one price/quality point, and it's not always what the one you, personally, might want.

The only pro underwater photographer I know who uses an Olympus camera, has an Ikelite housing, not the Olympus OEM housing.

edit to the last line: Phil is obviously a pro underwater photographer who has used the Olympus housings, but I don't know him well personally.

 

[PHIL RUDIN]

In my article I make a case for the fact that this is one of the best entry level systems in the market today. Canon, Nikon and Olympus all make very high quality cameras and any of the brands would serve you well.

At the present price for the E-620 camera body or body and 14 to 42 "kit" lens the matching price range cameras would be the Canon 450/500D and the Nikon D5000. All of these cameras take high quality images. They also ALL have optical view finders that are on the small side. One of the upsides to the Olympus DSLR housings is that they have an excellent pickup finder which overcomes this shortcoming. Regarding auto focus speed I have had no problems with the E-620.

While there are hundreds of lenses for Canon and Nikon from several after market companies (and even a few for Olympus) you need to ask yourself what lenses will I use as a new underwater photographer. I do commercial work with the Olympus E-3 "pro quality" camera in a SeaTool housing. I have however sold many images taken with the E-620, E-520 and older models. For a good 95% of my images I use two lenses, the 50 macro and the 7 to 14 or 9 to 18 zoom. The 8 mm fisheye is my third choice. For sixteen years I used a Nikonos RS with a 50 macro and an 18 mm wide angle and little else.

While I agree that Canon and Nikon have a much larger share of the market I fail to see what that has to do with taking excellent U/W photos. Regarding port choices Olympus housings have one of the largest ranges of port choices of any housings made and in several price ranges. Remembering that all of the port choices are optical glass for macro you have Athena, Olympus and Inon with Inon being the least expensive choice for the 50 macro. For your needs I would recommend the 9 to 18 as your wide angle choice. It is in the same price range as the Tokina fisheye. For dome choices you have the Athena/Olympus 170 mm port and the Athena 100 mm port. The 170 mm port covers an entire range of lenses including the 8 mm fisheye and is of outstanding quality. With the 9 to 18 zoom requires no extension tube and the Olympus zoom gear is on low end compared to most (about 1/3 what I paid for the SeaTool). You can also use strobes that fire in TTL or manual with fiber optic cables another cost cutting feature. Trays and arms also come in a range of prices depending on which brand you chose.

Olympus has also provide a path forward with the underwater line, I started with an E-300 and housing, all of my ports, gears, lenses, arms and more have carried over to newer models including my SeaTool housing (except gears) and the E-3 Nexus housing. If you want a great system at a great price relative to the market this is it.

Phil Rudin

 

[davelew]

Phil, it seems like you and I are in violent agreement. We're both saying that the E-620 is a great camera, and there are great underwater accessories for it. We disagree on one thing: I don't think a full underwater setup with an Olympus dSLR is that much cheaper than a setup with a Nikon or Canon dSLR. I think that when you price out a full system with housing, lenses, ports, two strobes, and strobe arms, the Olympus system will cost around $5,000 to $6,000 (although you can certainly start out for $3500 or less), and you can get a Canon or Nikon system for about that price, maybe 10% more. Ikelite housings are more expensive than Olytmpus housings, but you can get cheaper domes, and in the end it starts to even out.

Regardless of the exact price differences, I don't think anyone should buy their first dSLR system based on a 10% difference in price. Look at Phil's story of starting with an E-300 and re-using lenses, ports and gears in an E-520, E-620 and E-3. When you buy your first interchangeable lens camera, you are committing to a camera system for life, and saving a few hundred dollars over the rest of your photographic life might be a mistake.

If you want to get an Olympus system because the Olympus 50mm macro lens is the best macro lens in the world, go for it.

If you want an Olympus system because Olympus has always made the smallest SLRs and size is important to you, go for it.

If you want an Olympus system because you like their software (I'm a big fan of the "properly expose shadows but blow out highlights" and "properly expose highlights but lose the shadows" modes which I haven't seen on Canon or Nikon), go for it.

If you want to get an Olympus system just because it's cheaper than others, I would ask you to consider the total cost of ownership. If you ever decide to switch to Canikon and have to sell your Olympus gear, you will have lost much more than the 10% cost difference.

 

[jdfmail]

Phil, it seems like you and I are in violent agreement. We're both saying that the E-620 is a great camera, and there are great underwater accessories for it. We disagree on one thing: I don't think a full underwater setup with an Olympus dSLR is that much cheaper than a setup with a Nikon or Canon dSLR. I think that when you price out a full system with housing, lenses, ports, two strobes, and strobe arms, the Olympus system will cost around $5,000 to $6,000 (although you can certainly start out for $3500 or less), and you can get a Canon or Nikon system for about that price, maybe 10% more. Ikelite housings are more expensive than Olytmpus housings, but you can get cheaper domes, and in the end it starts to even out.

Regardless of the exact price differences, I don't think anyone should buy their first dSLR system based on a 10% difference in price. Look at Phil's story of starting with an E-300 and re-using lenses, ports and gears in an E-520, E-620 and E-3. When you buy your first interchangeable lens camera, you are committing to a camera system for life, and saving a few hundred dollars over the rest of your photographic life might be a mistake.

If you want to get an Olympus system because the Olympus 50mm macro lens is the best macro lens in the world, go for it.

If you want an Olympus system because Olympus has always made the smallest SLRs and size is important to you, go for it.

If you want an Olympus system because you like their software (I'm a big fan of the "properly expose shadows but blow out highlights" and "properly expose highlights but lose the shadows" modes which I haven't seen on Canon or Nikon), go for it.

If you want to get an Olympus system just because it's cheaper than others, I would ask you to consider the total cost of ownership. If you ever decide to switch to Canikon and have to sell your Olympus gear, you will have lost much more than the 10% cost difference.

Housing - $879
Port 50mm - $409
Port 9-18 - $899
50mm - $429
9-18mm - $479
Tray/Arms - $200 approx
Strobes - $485 each
Fiber - $70 each
Camera - $499
Can start with the 50mm and one strobe. You're looking at under $3000. I've got the camera and lens so I'm at around $2100. Not bad really. and a big step up from the a570 I'm shooting with now.

 

[jdfmail]

Phil

Funny that I just read your report before I found this thread. I was wondering about the pictured setup with one strobe where the strobe is mounted in the shoe. Would you recommend that setup for someone with only the 50mm. Where would I find the short arm setup?

Thanks for the great report!

Jon