E-M5, Nauticam Housing, Lenses and Ports

[calicant]

What I have bought so far:

-OM-D EM-5 Silver
-12-50mm/f3.5-6.3 Kit Lens came with camera (I plan to use on land only)
-Panasonic 20mm/f1.7 pancake lens (couldn't resist, for land use only)
-Nauticam NA EM5 Housing
-2 spare aftermarket batteries (couldn't get Olympus, but like the cord free charger included)


What is easy to get next:
-Sea & Sea YS-D1 Strobe
-Light and Motion Sola 2000 video light
-arms etc......



What is difficult to get next:
-Want to choose either the Olympus 60mm/f2.8 Macro (not released yet and no port) or Leica 45mm/f2.8 Macro (available with port)
-Olympus 12mm/f2.0 prime (hard to find but should be able to get one soon) (Don't see a port for this lens)



I might be forced to buy the port for my 12-50mm kit lens if the above lenses/ports are not obtainable before December. Either way, I am sure lots of fun and frustration will come with learning how to use all this gear and hopefully a rapid improvement in my 5-axis buoyancy stabilization.

 

[unclebob]

I'm going through the same exercise. In particular trying to decide if i want the Leica 45mm or wait for the 60mm Olympus or instead just use the more versatile 12-50mm w/macro (since the port will support the macro-mode switch.) I haven't decided if i'm going to shoot more video or stills and so will end up with a YS-01 and a Sola.

Both the 60mm Olympus and the 12-50mm (will) have, on the OM-D E-M5, special image stabilisation that works in macro mode which corrects for lateral movements of the camera (it is quite possibly the only camera system that can correct for this.) This promises excellent image stabilisation for macro video and it's a good reason to not purchase the Leica 45mm (which won't support this mode of IS). If one is shooting only stills macro with strobes, then any movement will be stopped by the strobes and this is simply not really a consideration.

The 60mm Olympus also promises a series of focus limiting choices, so that slow focus hunting (which apparently is an issue with the 45mm Leica) can be minimised. Newer lenses also tend to focus faster than older ones (like the 45mm Leica), so probably a big step up here.

The 12-50mm Oly in macro mode (which is at 43mm) is only about 0.35x magnification (as opposed to 1:1 or 1.0x for both the 60mm Olympus and 45mm Leica). While the 60mm Olympus will give a greater working distance, it's quite a long FL if you happen across any large pelagics when your macro is attached.

The Leica 45mm is very sharp, one would expect the 60mm Olympus also to be very sharp. The 12-50mm is good, but a bit soft in the corners in particular. For video work, the difference may not be noticeable.

Finally, if one is shooting video, there is a 2x digital zoom on the OM-D which should double the FL without having any adverse affect on image quality.

Prices:
US$800 for the Oly 12-50mm port with gear.
US$300 for the Panasonic/Leica 45mm port (there seems to be an optional manual focus gear for an additional $225)
Unknown price for the 60mm Olympus, but it's certain to be more expensive than the 45mm port.

 

[calicant]

You have put a lot of good thought into this Bob, thanks for sharing. I didn't realize the 12-50mm port was $800, but it just arrived at my LUIS (local underwater imaging store) and the person I spoke to guessed at the price.

I thought the Olympus OM-D 5 Axis stabilization was built into the body and thus would work the same with the Leica 45mm Macro (in which case it's internal IS would be switched off), or absolutely any lens for that matter. Can we confirm this since it matters greatly!

---------- Post Merged at 05:33 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 05:14 PM ----------

From OlympusUSA web site

"Unprecedented 5-axis image stabilization
The Olympus E-M5 is distinguished by the world’s first 5-axis image-stabilization mechanism capable of reducing the effects of camera motion and image blur from five directions on stills and video, even including motion blur caused by the photographer walking or running. Previous IS mechanisms compensated for camera shake by addressing only two kinds of movement along the vertical and horizontal axis. However, camera shake can actually be caused by five different kinds of movement: horizontal shift, vertical shift, rotary motion, as well as the yaw and pitch. While some technology has attempted to correct for camera blur by building the Image Stabilization mechanism into the lens, the Olympus E-M5 IS mechanism is incorporated into the camera body itself so that all lenses mounted on the body can take advantage of this sophisticated technology, whether shooting stills or HD video."

 

[unclebob]

I've owned the OM-D for several months now and for certain, all 5 axis of stabilisation are not used with all lenses. Also note that the 2 lateral movements (horizontal and vertical movements of the camera without tilting or rotation) have no real effect except at close distances. I don't have the 45mm, so can't say for certain, but my understanding is that these movements are not compensated for with the Panasonic/Leica lens. Certainly i can see this clearly with my Panasonic 20mm (which focuses at 17cm). In particular, with the 20mm lens at min focus, if i tilt the camera up and down or right and left, the IS is capable of maintaining a rock solid image in the view finder -- it's very impressive. But if i move the camera horizontally or vertically just a few mm (without tilting), i can see all of my movement in the viewfinder -- no lag, no attempt at IS for this in-plane movement. I have no doubt the 45mm will behave in the same way.

It's also worth noting, that these in-plane axis of IS cannot have any way to compensate correctly if you use diopters (macro conversion lenses) even on Olympus lenses.

A check of YouTube didn't reveal any video examples of the OM-D with the Panasonic 45mm doing macro. There are some examples with the 12-50mm...

 

[calicant]

Good luck with your research and testing

 

[unclebob]

Handheld macro video with the 12-50mm:
OM-D E-M5 macro video (12-50mm Zuiko) - YouTube
Olympus OM-D E-M5 Macro Video Test w/ Olympus 12-50mm Micro 4/3 1080p - YouTube

 

[PHIL RUDIN]

I have been using the Panasonic 45 macro lens with the E-M5 and Nauticam housing for over fifty dives now. I use S-AF and the EVF for macro and the results have already paid for the lens. I intend to buy the Olympus 60 macro when it comes and I think based on past macro lenses from Olympus that it should be very good. I would like to see a 25 or 30 macro now for a wider range of close up subjects. I have turned off the IS on the 45 macro and found that the 5 axis IS works quite well, that being said I do not do much video so will leave that to others for comment. I do feel that a true macro lens is a better choice than the 12-50 in macro mode if your shoot lots of macro/close up.

The only time I have turned off the IS on the E-M5 has been shooting the 8mm fisheye.

On another note, while I have heard good things about the S&S YS-D1 strobes that are working. I have heard that many new strobes have been returned to S&S with problems. On the Nauticam Demo Days event I assisted with this month I met a dive shop owner from the mid-west who said he had returned all twelve of the YS-D1's they had reviewed because of problems. I am sure this will be a fine product after the bugs are worked out but I would have a hard time making the switch from Inon after over twenty years without a problem from my original two Z-220's.

Phil Rudin

 

[calicant]

These videos showed nice results for the 12-50mm shooting macro in daylight. I would like to see a direct comparison with the Leica.

Has anyone shot the Olympus 12mm/f2 in the Nauticam 8mm fisheye port with the OM-D?

Worrying about the YS-D1 problems now.

 

[PHIL RUDIN]

I shot both the Olympus 12mm F/2 and Panasonic 8mm Fisheye for a review in Underwater Photography magazine (UWPMAG.com) using the Nauticam 4.33 inch dome. Both are great lenses with the Olympus 12 F/2 and 75mm F1.8 being the best Olympus M43 lenses to date. I like the angle of view for the 12 and it will focus very close. If you own the lens you should give it a try.

Phil Rudin

 

[PhilW]

+1 for the 12mm lens, which is great UW. Also it is such a convenience that it works in the same port as the fisheye.