Athena Dome F100 for OMD

[chris196]

Has anyone used this dome on the olympus OMD housings for the em5 or em1?
http://www.divervisi...-F100-EP08.html

If so, what's the verdict and also how does it compare to the Zen dome?

Has anyone tried the samyang 7.5mm FE behind this dome?

Thanks,
Chris

 

[Reefwalker]

Hi Chris196
I haven't used this port with the OMD's, but have used the same design Athena dome with the PEN housings for the EPL camera's. The dome itself is the same, but the mount is different to suit the different housing to port mounts. But essentialy the same dome port in terms of curvature/glass/distance from camera lens (Panasonic 8mm fish eye).
The Athena glass dome gives a very similar result to the Zen glass dome, I can't see any difference in the resulting images.
I do (personally) prefer the Athena over the Zen, as the glass appears to have a different coating that seems to give less reflections from stray light.
As for the Samyang 7.5mm. This is a very nice lens that produces great photos..... on land!
Underwater, due to the location of its nodal point and the lens's construction; this lens needs a dome that sits closer to the lens than either of the Olympus housings allow (PEN or OM-D). The port design would need to have no barrel at-all and the base of the glass to sit back over the lens, so the barrel is not visible in the images. I've tried this by hand-holding a port in a pool with the camera also hand held inside the dome. I couldn't tell if the focus was perfect corner to corner, but the corners didn't crop and the lens was almost touching the port (maybe 1mm gap).
When I tried the Samyang behind the Athena dome on a housing, the port body is very visible in the images. I also tried with the Zen and Precision dome for the 8mm Panasonic Fish Eye lens and got the same result with each. The Precison port sits closest to the lens, but the port is still just as visible (Too much to crop out).

 

[PHIL RUDIN]

I would also add that the Samyang lens is full manual so that if you want to focus or change F/stops you would need to chose one of those and have a custom gear made. In the US the Samyang is around $250.00US and the Panasonic 8mm is around $550.00. I think a custom gear at best would be over $100.00 unless you own your own 3-D printer and could make your own custom gear. Athena makes great stuff but support for Athena in the US is hard to find and can involve months without equipment if a repair is needed.

 

[chris196]

Thanks for the replies.
I'm aware the Samyang is full manual. Was asking more out of curiosity. If I go this way, I'll definitely get the panasonic 8mm.

I currently shoot an epl2 in the oly housing with the Zen WA100 port. I primarily use the 9-18 or the 60 macro.
I own an em5 but have never housed it.
I'm currently trying to decide whether to house my em5 in the oly housing or go all the way to the em5ii in the oly housing.
the fact that oly has changed the port design on the em5ii give me pause about buying ports for the original OMD type housings.

oh well, decisions.

 

[Nickbell]

I have had the Athena F100 dome for around five months now on my EM1 and oly housing. Upgraded from epl2 and could not use the zen dome port due to mount change. Shame really as there are a few differences between the Athena and the Zen. Could not justify the price of the zen due to a newborn in the family and the fact that I only had the dome for the epl2 for six months before having to sell it. So.. Athena good value for money but wish I had the extra cash to buy the Zen. The glass in the Athena is beautiful, so is the coating. Image quality with the Panasonic is very good, but cannot say if the Zen is any better as I have not done any side by side comparisons. Where the Athena is not as good : machining is a little rough and unfinished. some very sharp edges that "eat" away at the Olympus rear dome port cap every time I put it on. Also the lens hood /shade that comes with the lens (you attach it yourself with an Allen key, unlike Zen that is a part or the lens) does not extend beyond the front of glass, so if the port is every put face down, it will touch the front glass. The port does not come with either a front or rear cap. I made a neoprene front cover but would recommend buying the one advertised on the site if you want a professionally made one. This is extremely important as the glass protrudes beyond the hood. I also purchased a couple of Olympus rear port caps to keep the dust and dirt out of the ports. They are quite unsubstantial in my opinion, but that is another story, as there are no others on the market, they will do for the moment.Finally, the biggest let down was that in the native 4:3 image ratio, the corners of the image when using the 8mm lens are cut off. This goes away when using the 35mm 3:2 equivalent or when cropping the image. I have looked at the new zen dome and it appears that they have slimmed down the port by a few mm. to prevent this from happening. Unfortunately no one tells you this when you buy the port and there was no mention of it anywhere on the net. So, if you have the money, buy the zen, but in my opinion, the Athena is good value for money, but you get what you pay for. Cheers.

 

[PHIL RUDIN]

Hi Chris,

I just finished using the E-M5 II for a month in a prototype (now released) Ikelite housing. Great new camera better in every way V. my old E-M5 but perhaps not so much that those already invested in a complete E-M5 system would want to make the switch. Regarding the Ikelite housing, if is smaller than the Olympus housing because if does not have the bump for the on board strobe and does not use fiber optics. The system ships with the Ikelite TTL system but my prototype housing just had manual firing as in an Ike or Nikonos bulkhead and cord. The new Ikelite port design for the mirrorless cameras and Canon SL1 is simple and works very well. Ports for 45 and 60 macro as well as zoom port for lenses like 9-18 and 7-14mm. For 7-14mm (both Panasonic and NEW Olympus 7-14) you can also use an extension and the eighth inch dome, my recommendation for the 7-14 as corners were a bit soft with the smaller port. Price point wise with all the ports and gears I think the Ikelite system will be less expensive and if is quite nice at this price point. Full review in a coming issue of UWPMAG.COM