First look: New Olympus PT-045 & PT-047 Housings

[billmosel]

Disclaimer: I am an authorized Olympus dealer and some links are to my site.

Olympus Imaging has recently reved it's 2009 Stylus lineup with new rebranded "Tough" cameras and now the new PT-045 and PT-047 housings.

The T-8000 now sports 12MP, with the T-6000 at 10MP. Both cameras are practically indestructible and feature a shock, crush, freeze and water-proof design. The T-6000 is depth-rated to 10' and the T-8000 to 33'. Both have a great 3.6x lens with a 35mm equivalent of 28-102mm and dual image stabilization for blur-free photos, first seen on the 1030sw. Built-in macro can shoot down to .8 of an inch. New is a "Tap" control where you can access certain camera features simply by tapping the side of the camera case, even with gloves on.

Besides their durability and depth rating, what makes these cameras ideal for underwater photographers is their four built-in underwater settings to adjust the camera for different types of shots. These include Underwater Snapshot, Wideangle 1 & 2, and Macro. This is great for new users to capture different shots right out of the box. More advanced users will enjoy Programmed Auto and other modes. Much more information is available from Olympus.

As nice as these upgraded cameras are, what makes their release for underwater photographers even better are the sexy new black housings the PT-045 (T-8000) and PT-47 (T-6000). Olympus has copied features from their run-away best-selling PT-EO5 housing for the Olympus E-520 DSLR camera and brought them to point and shoot simplicity.

Features of both the PT-045 and PT-047 housings are nearly identical.

New is a locked twist cam closure, that along with simple drop-in alignment, makes this a plug and play housing, no trays, screws or other internal mounting is necessary.

But the black isn't just there for looks, divers that use an external strobe have for years blocked off all the light coming from the camera's flash, except for a small area where a fiber optic sync cord is mounted to fire an external strobe. The trend today is for manufacturers to include a plug-in port for an optical sync cord on many DSLRs. Olympus now extends that idea with a black slide-in plug mount that replaces the strobe diffuser. The plug fits the standard Olympus, Sea & Sea, Fantasea and other plug-in cords.

Other intelligent features of the Olympus housings (that are on the last generation as well) include a "hotshoe" style mount for a small strobe or focus light and ranked, labeled, camera controls that are separated both by position and height, so that use with gloves is much easier. Ports have 55mm screw-in threads and accept external wide and macro angle lenses from Fantasea and others.

The cameras and housings are available separately or in bundles together.

Besides the above cameras, Olympus also released the value-priced PT-046 housing for the new FE-3010.

More photos here.

Jack
what is the difference between the 1030 and these new ones besides the pixels?

 

[billmosel]

By the way I have a 600 and am thinking of upgrading. Why I don't know because I love this camera and have gotten alot of good pics with it. Macro included.

 

[JackConnick]

Seems to be a bit faster, improvements here and there to the software. They have Tap control now. They are the same price and the PT-043 Housing (if you can find one) is not as nice as the PT-045.

Here's a link to a release on DP Review.

Jack

 

[Severin68]

Just ordered the Tough 8000 and PT-045. I have no experience in UW photo whatsover, and I am thrilled to get this new experience. Any suggestion about a suitable flash kit available in Europe ?

 

[JackConnick]

I have lots of Lighting Packages available. I ship internationally, no problem.

Thanks,
Jack

 

[muttznutz]

Thanks for the post, Jack.
I've been interested in these SW/Tough models for a while now, and I'm close to jumping on, now, with one of these models (if the pricing works out).
I can see me using one in 3 ways:
1) as a robust backup for my E-520 (I was left without any camera at all after day 3 of my holiday last year).
2) for boat/topside images, where my main camera's all nicely housed up for the day
3) for when I'm set for macro, and someone shouts "whale shark" (again, it happened last year)

I think it's good to see that Oly (or whoever makes their housings) are learning from their DSLR experience and feeding back through the compact range. Having lived for a while with the "plastic" cam closure (on the PT-E05) - it actually feels more effective than the metal clips of its predecessor.

Cheers,
Andy

 

[JackConnick]

Andy;

I too have one that I toss in my dive bag for all the same reasons you mentioned. They really are a great "knock around" camera and are easy to stick in a pocket hen you have your DSLR housed.

I've recently lowered my pricing and Oly USA has a $30 rebate going until June 22nd, so don't wait too long.

Jack

 

[MJSmith]

How do you get the black cover that goes over the clear opening of the flash opening to stay on? It slides off the plastic screen readily. I have already lost the gray slide-on cover. On my last dive to a deep wreck (110'), I put my gloved hand over the opening to diffuse the flash (noticed I had lost the gray slide on the second dive). For my PT-045 (Olympus 8000 tough), I use a Sea and Ski arm with an Olympus UF-1 strobe. Do I need to cover the eyelet of the black slip, or do you let a small amount of light go through? When I lost the gray slide, I thought about just painting the clear slide opening black. My UF-1 strobe works on sensing the light from the strobe of the 8000. I have a tremendous problem with back scatter, or I wind up with not enough light on my subject, so it is a blue washed picture with not the color it should be.

 

[fdrcva42]

This is the most helpful answer to my camera questions. T6000 it is.
Jack, I will check the prices and, hopefully will buy from you.

 

[rriddle]

How do you get the black cover that goes over the clear opening of the flash opening to stay on? It slides off the plastic screen readily. I have already lost the gray slide-on cover. On my last dive to a deep wreck (110'), I put my gloved hand over the opening to diffuse the flash (noticed I had lost the gray slide on the second dive). For my PT-045 (Olympus 8000 tough), I use a Sea and Ski arm with an Olympus UF-1 strobe. Do I need to cover the eyelet of the black slip, or do you let a small amount of light go through? When I lost the gray slide, I thought about just painting the clear slide opening black. My UF-1 strobe works on sensing the light from the strobe of the 8000. I have a tremendous problem with back scatter, or I wind up with not enough light on my subject, so it is a blue washed picture with not the color it should be.

I also have had a problem with the fiber optic port sliding off. I have exchanged several emails with Olympus to try to purchase a spare, but no one seems to know what part I am talking about. They keep sending me links to a fiber optic cable. It is getting very frustrating, as I really like the camera and the housing and the way the cable plugs in is great. They need to make this part available for purchase as an accessory.