flybigjet
Contributor
Hi guys-- a little help?
I sold my last camera rig (Ikelite housing & DS51 strobe, Canon G3) a while back basically because it was a surprisingly large package to carry on airplanes in addition to everything else; I only get a few good dive trips a year (I'm landlocked in Colorado), so I really wanted to replace it with something that was a) fairly easy to use since I don't get to practice underwater photography much (and therefore would end up becoming the entire focus of the dive) b) was compact and c) wouldn't break the bank, as underwater photography for me and my wife is more a "nice to do" rather than a serious hobby.
I came across a lightly used Olympus E-PM1 w/ waterproof Olympus PT-EP06 setup (no flash) and clip-on macro lens for $400 locally.
That seems a bit high (thoughts?) in comparison to some of the prices here on SB (which seem to trend about $300ish?), but when I tried to do some research, I've seen everything from "It's a great little underwater camera w/ fast focus and nice IQ" to "It's the worst thing I've ever used, has horrible lag times and it's IQ is a joke". Seriously-- some of the reviews are almost directly opposite. However, it does seem to have a reasonable aperture without having to get a separate fisheye lens (at least in comparison to the G-3) which is nice, but it's quite a bit older (7-8 years), so maybe it's "too" old? I don't need the shiniest and newest, but I do want something solid and dependable that I can use pretty much forever going forward.
Then, I saw the E-PL5 camera with the PT-EP10 housing. It was on closeout a while back, so maybe if I hold off, one will pop up? Would I be better off looking for something like that?
I really like the size of the Olympus rigs and the price is around what I'm looking at-- I figure I'd be into it for another $300-400 for a TTL strobe, tray and sync cord. That puts me about $800 as an out the door price, which is just about the edge of my budget. I've also used Olympus land camera's before and have been pleased with them (although I have more experience with Fuji & Panasonic for digital and Pentax & Minolta for 35mm).
So-- any suggestions on the E-PM1? Get it? Forget it? Wait for something else?
Suggestions on something else?
I'm headed to Palau next month, so this suddenly started a "WHY did you get rid of your camera?" discussion (let's call it that) with my wife. Not the end of the world if I don't have a camera, but it would be nice.
Thanks-- I was up all too late last night trying to research, and now I'm kind of shell-shocked on information overload.
R.
I sold my last camera rig (Ikelite housing & DS51 strobe, Canon G3) a while back basically because it was a surprisingly large package to carry on airplanes in addition to everything else; I only get a few good dive trips a year (I'm landlocked in Colorado), so I really wanted to replace it with something that was a) fairly easy to use since I don't get to practice underwater photography much (and therefore would end up becoming the entire focus of the dive) b) was compact and c) wouldn't break the bank, as underwater photography for me and my wife is more a "nice to do" rather than a serious hobby.
I came across a lightly used Olympus E-PM1 w/ waterproof Olympus PT-EP06 setup (no flash) and clip-on macro lens for $400 locally.
That seems a bit high (thoughts?) in comparison to some of the prices here on SB (which seem to trend about $300ish?), but when I tried to do some research, I've seen everything from "It's a great little underwater camera w/ fast focus and nice IQ" to "It's the worst thing I've ever used, has horrible lag times and it's IQ is a joke". Seriously-- some of the reviews are almost directly opposite. However, it does seem to have a reasonable aperture without having to get a separate fisheye lens (at least in comparison to the G-3) which is nice, but it's quite a bit older (7-8 years), so maybe it's "too" old? I don't need the shiniest and newest, but I do want something solid and dependable that I can use pretty much forever going forward.
Then, I saw the E-PL5 camera with the PT-EP10 housing. It was on closeout a while back, so maybe if I hold off, one will pop up? Would I be better off looking for something like that?
I really like the size of the Olympus rigs and the price is around what I'm looking at-- I figure I'd be into it for another $300-400 for a TTL strobe, tray and sync cord. That puts me about $800 as an out the door price, which is just about the edge of my budget. I've also used Olympus land camera's before and have been pleased with them (although I have more experience with Fuji & Panasonic for digital and Pentax & Minolta for 35mm).
So-- any suggestions on the E-PM1? Get it? Forget it? Wait for something else?
Suggestions on something else?
I'm headed to Palau next month, so this suddenly started a "WHY did you get rid of your camera?" discussion (let's call it that) with my wife. Not the end of the world if I don't have a camera, but it would be nice.
Thanks-- I was up all too late last night trying to research, and now I'm kind of shell-shocked on information overload.
R.
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