Hi everyone
I am looking for some advice on the Oly XZ-1 and PT-050
First a bit of background as this is my first post! I am a fairly experienced snorkler / free diver who loves taking lots of photos on shallow tropical reefs and I am now looking to move up to a new camera from my current Panny TZ3 and OEM housing as I am looking for something more capable ahead of our third trip to Wakatobi, Indonesia in Dec this year. The TZ3 can take pretty good pics if I take several shots of everything but really struggles with the light if I go deeper and also struggles when I see a macro critter I want to capture, causing me to take sometimes 20-30 pics before I finally get one that comes out good enough.
My main requirement is that a new camera/housing must still be small enough to be held in one hand whilst I swim, so arms, strobes etc are probably a no-no as is any housing that is aproaching SLR dimensions on its own. I have also ruled out any camera that doesnt come with an OEM housing as this tends to push up the price quite considerably. Short list candidates have been the Canon G12, S95, the Oly XZ-1 and Panny TZ20. Ive ruled out anything larger than these prosumer compacts as even the Oly Pen series housings look like they will be a little too big for my liking. The TZ20 seemed to have the best macro capabilities by some considerable margin when I tested them all in a shop but I have ruled it out having read too many horror stores about poor low light image quality and also it just doesnt feel like a proper step up from my TZ3 - just a sideways refresh.
So, the XZ-1 is my top contender at the moment as the lens and capabilities of the camera are great, plus the size and features of the housing all make it look really good and something I can grow my skills with, however I do have some significant reservation since using one (albeit only in a shop) about its macro capabilities. I couldnt get get it to focus on anything small enough at a decent distance in macro mode and although super macro did compensate you have to be so close that I suspect the critter will have long since retreated away before I actually get close enough for the shot I wanted. Also there is the issue of super macro mode disabling the flash.
Initially this poor macro distance issue had put me off the XZ-1 but I have now gone full circle ruling out each of the other cameras and feel the XZ-1 might still be the best choice if I also buy a macro wet lens. This however presents the potential problem of how to store the lens when not in use as I dont want to rely upon just putting it in a velco pocket in my shorts or having it dangling from my belt in a neoprene pouch. Remember I am a snorkeler and do not want to compromise my mobility / agility in the water with rig with arms/trays etc but I am wondering if there is a way to attach a 67mm lens holder to the shoe at the top of the PT-050 whilst keeping everything small. I cannot find what attachment I would need to make say a Fatansea F67 eyegrabber connect to the PT-050 top shoe, if indeed that is actually possible?
So I have a few questions :
* Can anybody advise what I would need to attach the eyegrabber to the PT-050 top shoe and is it likely to be secure and not too bulky for snorkeling.
* Is there another way of safely storing a 67mm lens when not in use that I might have missed?
* Is a macro lens just going to be a bad idea and too much of a pfaff to keep fitting and removing as I change between small / medium sized subjects. Can you actually take "normal" pics with the Marco lens still fitted?
* Should I just ditch the macro lens idea and would I be happy with a xz-1 without given its aparent macro limitation, or am I perhaps generally barking up with wrong tree with the XZ-1 and should I really be considering a different camera?
* Any other thoughts on the subject would be most welcome...
Regards
Adam
I am looking for some advice on the Oly XZ-1 and PT-050
First a bit of background as this is my first post! I am a fairly experienced snorkler / free diver who loves taking lots of photos on shallow tropical reefs and I am now looking to move up to a new camera from my current Panny TZ3 and OEM housing as I am looking for something more capable ahead of our third trip to Wakatobi, Indonesia in Dec this year. The TZ3 can take pretty good pics if I take several shots of everything but really struggles with the light if I go deeper and also struggles when I see a macro critter I want to capture, causing me to take sometimes 20-30 pics before I finally get one that comes out good enough.
My main requirement is that a new camera/housing must still be small enough to be held in one hand whilst I swim, so arms, strobes etc are probably a no-no as is any housing that is aproaching SLR dimensions on its own. I have also ruled out any camera that doesnt come with an OEM housing as this tends to push up the price quite considerably. Short list candidates have been the Canon G12, S95, the Oly XZ-1 and Panny TZ20. Ive ruled out anything larger than these prosumer compacts as even the Oly Pen series housings look like they will be a little too big for my liking. The TZ20 seemed to have the best macro capabilities by some considerable margin when I tested them all in a shop but I have ruled it out having read too many horror stores about poor low light image quality and also it just doesnt feel like a proper step up from my TZ3 - just a sideways refresh.
So, the XZ-1 is my top contender at the moment as the lens and capabilities of the camera are great, plus the size and features of the housing all make it look really good and something I can grow my skills with, however I do have some significant reservation since using one (albeit only in a shop) about its macro capabilities. I couldnt get get it to focus on anything small enough at a decent distance in macro mode and although super macro did compensate you have to be so close that I suspect the critter will have long since retreated away before I actually get close enough for the shot I wanted. Also there is the issue of super macro mode disabling the flash.
Initially this poor macro distance issue had put me off the XZ-1 but I have now gone full circle ruling out each of the other cameras and feel the XZ-1 might still be the best choice if I also buy a macro wet lens. This however presents the potential problem of how to store the lens when not in use as I dont want to rely upon just putting it in a velco pocket in my shorts or having it dangling from my belt in a neoprene pouch. Remember I am a snorkeler and do not want to compromise my mobility / agility in the water with rig with arms/trays etc but I am wondering if there is a way to attach a 67mm lens holder to the shoe at the top of the PT-050 whilst keeping everything small. I cannot find what attachment I would need to make say a Fatansea F67 eyegrabber connect to the PT-050 top shoe, if indeed that is actually possible?
So I have a few questions :
* Can anybody advise what I would need to attach the eyegrabber to the PT-050 top shoe and is it likely to be secure and not too bulky for snorkeling.
* Is there another way of safely storing a 67mm lens when not in use that I might have missed?
* Is a macro lens just going to be a bad idea and too much of a pfaff to keep fitting and removing as I change between small / medium sized subjects. Can you actually take "normal" pics with the Marco lens still fitted?
* Should I just ditch the macro lens idea and would I be happy with a xz-1 without given its aparent macro limitation, or am I perhaps generally barking up with wrong tree with the XZ-1 and should I really be considering a different camera?
* Any other thoughts on the subject would be most welcome...
Regards
Adam
