Ok, need quick advice please! My wife owns a Sony NEX-5 and I haven't bought a housing yet. I could but risk flooding her camera and upsetting her. Or I get this EPL-1 now for $150 and not have to share.
If I do this, what's the housing options and cost for the EPL-1? Also I see it doesn't come with a lens. What is a good choice for underwater and what does that cost?
I would definitely buy a separate system, cheaper than divorce. You need to consider the cost of a whole system before making the leap. A whole system includes E-PL1 body, lens, housing, lens port, tray and strobe, same for the NEX. My estimate for the OLY system would be $1500-2000, while for the NEX, $2500-3000. The E-PL1 is discontinued, and I would definitely consider later models in the series, though the housings cost more for less. E-PL1 housings may become hard to find, too, so make sure one is available before you commit to OLY E-PL1.
The Olympus system is much cheaper, mainly because the OLY housing is relatively inexpensive, compared to the available housings for the NEX. The NEX housings are definitely a step up in quality, but I doubt that a person starting out would benefit, and the risk of flooding is high for any first system. For a pro, my gut feel is the NEX system would be better, even though I own Olympus E-PL1 etc.
For OLY, you need a lens. The kit lens with the E-PL1 is noisy and slow, so I would buy the later 14-42 IIR version separately. Cost is about the same, and the lens is definitely better. Later you may want a close up or wide lens, but the kit lens is surprisingly good for starting out, and it fits the standard port you get with the OLY housing. For a flash, the Inon S2000 seems to be very well liked. Very compact and works well, but not cheap.
I would also suggest you read everything you can about UW photography, and practice in a pool. Get to know the equipment, and you should have a lot of fun with it.
