Olympus 350 - images & impressions

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alcina

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As per this thread...

This thread is for everyone to post their images from this camera. It will be linked to a master list in the Sticky. Please make sure to include your settings and if you used any extra lenses or strobes. This is also the place for you to add your personal, summarized Pros & Cons. Discussions and questions go in separate threads, please!

Please make sure to attach, or better yet embed, some images as these threads are intended to be one stop resources. Please do also add links to your full galleries if you wish, so those who want to see more can easily find more images.
 
The SP-350 has all the features you look for in a point and shoot for underwater use. In addition to UW scene settings, it does full manual everything. It has a hotshoe and has settings in camera for both manual and ttl strobe firing, with manual settings from 1-10. It is capable of very nice pictures and is very versatile. It shoots RAW, JPEG or both.
Battery life: Initial knocks on the camera included poor battery life. It uses both AA's and CRV3 lithium ion batteries. The camera comes with a non-rechargeable CRV-3. Olympus put out a firmware update because the camera would shut down with the lower voltage AA's even though the batteries were almost fully charged. The higher voltage CRV-3's had no such problem. Topside, CRV3's last for thousands of shots. I typically recharge after 2 dives, but have gone as many as 4 with the camera on full time. The PT-030 housing is conveniently threaded for a 46mm fitting and will accept multiple types of wet lenses with a step ring or AD adaptor.
The camera allows 4 "MyMode" settings that will let you preset the camera for multiple conditions and quickly change between modes from a wide angle preset focus to a macro auto focus, etc. You can adjust flash settings for + or - up to 3 and change them for each MyMode, or you can turn the flash off and use manual white balance with a one touch button if you want. There is a programmable button that you can set to quickly scroll through your MyModes or whatever other menu feature you deem important.

Downsides of the SP-350 are slow auto-focus in low light: The camera hunts, the preflash fires, the subject leaves, the shutter releases and catches a tail or some muddy water.
Super macro auto focus is TERRIBLE in low light. Even with a focus light it hunts constantly, and often finds a sharp focus only to continue hunting and give you a fuzzy, out of focus picture. Autofocus in macro, down to about 8 inches works great. I've given up on autofocus in super macro and now set the camera for manual focus and move the camera in or out a bit till the picture is sharp. It shoots faster that way and I can take two or three shots to get a really sharp one.
The xD cards that Olympus uses are SLOOOW. With the standard M "megaslow" card, it takes about 11 seconds to process a RAW shot. With the H type "half as slow" card the same shot will process in about 7 seconds. While you wait the camera says "Busy". JPEGs are much faster and will process as fast as your strobe will recycle. A one Gig card (significantly more expensive than CF or SD) will hold 84 RAW or about 500 std. size JPEG.
The camera sleep mode kicks in too fast and takes several stabs at the shutter button and about 10 seconds to cut back in. By the time you can shoot again, the subject has left, or your dive buddy is long gone. If you stab once too many times, the camera takes a nice picture of your knee or the sand when it comes back on.
As with all Olympus cameras, Olympus has their own strobe cord pin set-up and a different protocol than the Nikonos protocol that most others use. In order to shoot ttl with a non Olympus strobe, you need to change the bulkhead to a ttl adapter using Heinrichs/Weikamp ttl converter card.
When it came out, this camera was as good as anything you could get for the money. Now, there are newer models that are faster processing, better in low light, etc. Generally though, newer cameras with the same features cost twice as much and most are super zooms that need too long a port to allow wide angle lens use.

Here are some shots taken with the SP-350:

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I will concur with Larry C's assessment. I love my SP-350 but you just have to know how to manage the quirks. That takes some time and experience with the camera. My overall opinion is that it is an inexpensive option for someone who wants to get some great pictures without going whole hog on an SLR / HUGE housing.

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Larry covered all the bases.

I would add that the Divervision hot-shoe converter and Divervision Olympus to Sea&Sea/Inon sync cord combination is a single-strobe E-TTL option to the Heinrichs/Weikamp bulkhead.

For my money, I'm very pleased with this setup so far.
Olympus SP-350
Olympus PT-030
Divervision hot shoe converter & sync cord
Sea&Sea YS-110
Inon AD mount base
Inon UWL-105AD wide angle lens
Inon dual-stacked UCL-165AD close-up lenses
Homemade tray, arm, and lens caddy

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It's ashame we lost the 400+ post Sp-350 thread which was started just as the camera was introduced. LarryC was one of the main posters on that thread and ably described the evolution of his camera system.
 

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As an owner for about a year and a half, I was happy with the results the camera gave me. I used Duracell 2650mah batteries and could easily fill up a 1G card with RAW files. I'll also post a cheap, but excellent WA solution. My only caution is that I wouldn't remove, or install, it underwater. I removed it and installed the macro screw on lens on a sandy bottom. Sand got between the threads and ruined the port. However, it doesn't take away from the results this lens provided me and had I been a little bit better photog at the time, there wasn't much of a limit to the quality of photos that this combo can produce. Furthermore, it is cheap by WA lens standards. SP350 Wide Angle update - Wetpixel :: Underwater Photography Forums

Reef_Natural_LightCozumelJune2006_WP.jpg


Trumpet_FishbestFlorida2006_WP.jpg


..and more without the lens attached

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Just one more item of note, I took many of these shots with a housed, FL20 flash. The big advantage of using an oly flash was the onboard flash didn't need to fire. This really helped with recycle times and battery life. The downside was when you tried to add a 2nd strobe. There was no clean way to connect a fiber optic to trigger the 2nd strobe. Furthermore, the diffuser would hardly ever stay on. But I enjoyed starting out with the combination because the strobe would always fire due to the electrical connection. My 2nd strobe for these photos was a YS27DX.
 
I also would like to thank Larry...I bought my 350 after extensive research... on another camera. I read Larry's posts starting in 2005 (?) when the camera first came out. I think it is an excellent choice for UW action and can grow with you as you learn. Just a few....
blackwhithuntingeel2.jpg

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Here are some saves from the massive and now lost SP-350 thread. This is somewhat in order, but is biased to the things I was most interested in. However, it should be a useful fragment. It will be coming through in two parts:

The only ones I know of currently are the ones on the previous post-two back from this one. The lens thread is 46mm. That's the size I bought my filter in, and it fits fine. The outer mount for S&S 16mm for Nikonos is 52-58 adaptor for the 67mm lens according to the thread I referred to. (after looking back I goofed twice-once calling it 52-56 and once on 68mm instead of 67) I think the 16mm works out to 100 degrees, but I'm not certain. That's not really an area of expertise for me. I have no idea even what the 16mm refers to. The digital diver thread is a fair amount of info, and Old Diver plans to post pictures from a Manatee dive that he took with the Epoque. Check the PT-030 wide angle thread. Don't ask me how you use a 52-58 adaptor on a 50mm o.d. lens ring, but the guy has a picture and all the stuff is very clearly marked. Also on a previous post either here or on Wetpixel, Ryan said Inon would have a mount for their (WLA165 I think it is) in late March. I keep looking on their InonAmerica.com website and it isn't there yet. Their mounts are pretty cheap. Only like $30 or so, and the lenses aren't bad either. They have a great reputation for quality as well, as does S & S.

Inon's AD Mount Base PT-030 has been bumped back a bit. I'm now told a prototype will be on hand at the Beneath the Sea show this weekend, and production versions will start shipping some time in April.
This mount will allow the UCL-165 AD Macro, UWL-105 AD (100 deg wide angle), and UWL-165 AD (semi-fisheye) lenses to be used.

The optics of these lenses are excellent, and they are very easy to swap via the 1/4 turn bayonet fitting.

Since graduating from the UW presets so I could shoot RAW, I've been using 3 base set-ups in MyMode. One is Super Macro, with a basic setting of f5.6@1/80, one with shutter priority (S) @ 1/60 and one with Aperture priority @f5.6. I've only had one dive with the strobe, and lots of teething pains per previous post. Once I got the strobe set properly on ttl-auto and found a good distance and angle I got some very nice pics with all three settings. Overexposure has been the biggest issue. Thank God for RAW converters. I've been toying with trying the UW presets with the strobe, as I had some really nice shots backscatter notwithstanding using just the built in flash on UW Macro and UW Wide 2. I'd just hate to waste a dive finding great shots and then come back with unfixable jpegs. Hoping when my second strobe arrives that it helps with wide shots, but in Monterey/Carmel water I might have to pop for a WA lens to get close enough to peer through the Plankton. I've also had some focus issues lately with SMacro and may set a fourth MyMode to Macro (and maybe get a Macro lens when the wife recovers from Camera sticker shock?) I'm also hovering between spot focus and i-esp.

You're too close for macro. I think the macro range starts at about 8-10 inches. If you want to be right on top of the subject, you'll need to go to super macro, which gets you down to about 3/4". In supermacro, the flash will only work in slave mode, and you'll get a lens shadow if you're too close, unless you're using a strobe. I think you might be able to turn on supermacro in the UW macro preset, but it will change back when you turn off the camera. One solution is to set up UW macro with your resolution and focus choices as a My Mode. Set the settings where you want them. Go to "Camera Set-up" menu. When you set the "My Mode" number, right click one more space where it says, "reset, custom or current". Click current settings for the "my mode" # you want to use, and it will stay there. That way you can set it up for manual or autofocus, auto spot focus, isp focus, etc. If you use manual focus, you can scroll the focus up or down using your menu buttons, and it will give you a screen with a slider bar that starts at 3/4" and works its way up to 8". If you pass that, you get a second screen with the next range, etc. Another issue with UW macro, is in dark water, you'll get a fairly slow shutter speed, i.e. 40-60. If you have surge and move a little, you'll get a blurred picture. You might try going to manual settings in "my mode". Start with maybe shutter speed of 80 on f4.5. Do a test shot at your depth. The camera will scroll shutter speed with the up/down buttons, f-stop with the l/r buttons. Check your screen immediately after a shot for light level and adjust accordingly. Another key is make sure you wait for the focus light to blink if you're in autofocus. Generally the screen will go kind of grainy when it does.

Have a look at the EXIF data on the shots - which aperture did the camera choose / use ?

As a starting point try setting the zoom to around 80% of maximum .Set the shutter to 1/00 or 1/125 and the aperture to f/11.0 .

One technique is to approach the subject from say around 12" and watch the viewfinder till the subject appears sharp . Do the 1/2 press on the shutter , when the camera locks focus press the button the rest of the way .

This is what worked for me when I first started shooting macro .The auto settings on the Oly's don't do such a great job , try to move to manual settings .


Just bought a 16mm Sea & Sea Wide angle lens on E-bay. With a 46-58 step ring, they'll fit on the SP. The website I checked them out on-$376 new- recommended against them for Olys with 46 and 67mm ports, but Gary (ce4jesus) on Wetpixel forums got a used one for his and liked it, so I thought I'd give it a try. 50 pounds GB, plus shipping. Word is, you have to zoom slightly to prevent vignetting. Until I can justify spending $500 for an Inon adaptor, wide angle and macro it will have to do. If it doesn't work to my satisfaction, I can always put it back on E-bay.

Go to manual mode. Set the settings you want. Then hit the menu button and go to mode menu. Scroll down to set-up. In set-up, scroll down to MyMode settings. Right scroll to "Current Settings", then click it and specify which of the four MyMode numbers you want it on. I set mine with one on wide settings, one on macro, one on supermacro, each with different flash settings and base settings for focus type and f-stop/shutter speed. Once they're set, you can alter the f-stop and shutter speed while you're shooting with the up/down or right/left buttons. You can also go to manual focus by hitting the menu button and left clicking to focus mode, then adjusting your focus distance.

Thomas Distributing.... in Paris, IL...

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Second Part of lost SP-350 thread:

Since graduating from the UW presets so I could shoot RAW, I've been using 3 base set-ups in MyMode. One is Super Macro, with a basic setting of f5.6@1/80, one with shutter priority (S) @ 1/60 and one with Aperture priority @f5.6. I've only had one dive with the strobe, and lots of teething pains per previous post. Once I got the strobe set properly on ttl-auto and found a good distance and angle I got some very nice pics with all three settings. Overexposure has been the biggest issue. Thank God for RAW converters. I've been toying with trying the UW presets with the strobe, as I had some really nice shots backscatter notwithstanding using just the built in flash on UW Macro and UW Wide 2. I'd just hate to waste a dive finding great shots and then come back with unfixable jpegs. Hoping when my second strobe arrives that it helps with wide shots, but in Monterey/Carmel water I might have to pop for a WA lens to get close enough to peer through the Plankton. I've also had some focus issues lately with SMacro and may set a fourth MyMode to Macro (and maybe get a Macro lens when the wife recovers from Camera sticker shock?) I'm also hovering between spot focus and i-esp.

Went out Saturday morning in 8-15 foot vis with lots of chunks. Loc-line rig worked awesome. Slightly negative. Well balanced. Loc-line adjusts quickly and easily to pretty much any position.
Had problems with strobe positioning. Sometimes snapped my shot with the strobe behind a rock for an all black picture. Still learning to adjust the camera for the strobe. Pictures were consistantly underexposed, some badly. Thanks to the wonders of Rawshooter, I saved most of them. Many came out quite good. Still having focus problems with SuperMacro. Sometimes I get great detail, sometimes it's totally out of focus. I think this is due to stuff floating around in front of the AF sensor and fooling the focus. Shot mostly in TTL-auto, and had trouble with exposure, plus the thing took all day to set the focus and flash. I'm going to try different strobe settings on Tuesday at Lobos. I'm still getting a lot of shadows and can't wait till the Sunpak comes. I'm hoping it will balance my lighting and eliminate the shadows. Also, it is stronger than the Oly and should cure the underexposure issues. New pics are posted in my gallery. Click on My Gallery to the left. I had a problem uploading (the server dropped off) and got some double shots of the big Cabezon. The thing blended so well with the pipe it was on, my wife pointed it out twice and I still couldn't see it till she shined her dive light on it. It was big enough that it probably would have been legal size for a lingcod and it was so sure it blended in that it just sat there for me while I took 5 shots and a SuperMacro right in its eye.

EXIF is camera and photo specific information that is embedded in every file/photo (whether JPEG or RAW) that your camera takes.

EXIF data would most likely have info on the date on which the photo was taken (specific time), shutter speed used, aperture setting, flash on or off, metering used, exposure compensation and so on...

More detailed explanation of EXIF here..
EXIF information

Yes, and yes. The firmware is available on the Oly website. It updates the battery charge indicator so that if you're using the lower voltage aa's (2.4v, compared to 3.0-3.3 for the CRV-3's), the low battery light doesn't come on after the first 10 or 15 minutes. If you're using the CRV-3's it's not an issue. There is also a huge variation in the quality of rechargeable aa's. There have been long threads on many camera related sites such as this one and Wetpixel on just which batteries to use. (Voltage, rechargeability and charge longevity being the factors). Honestly, I bought an R-CRV-3 locally when I bought my camera-and probably not an especially great one, and I typically get about 2+ hours of continuous use. That works out to 2 dives and a viewing session plus some topside camera use. If you can't find batteries locally, Thomas Distributing is often cited as a source for quality batteries and chargers on the internet.


You're too close for macro. I think the macro range starts at about 8-10 inches. If you want to be right on top of the subject, you'll need to go to super macro, which gets you down to about 3/4". In supermacro, the flash will only work in slave mode, and you'll get a lens shadow if you're too close, unless you're using a strobe. I think you might be able to turn on supermacro in the UW macro preset, but it will change back when you turn off the camera. One solution is to set up UW macro with your resolution and focus choices as a My Mode. Set the settings where you want them. Go to "Camera Set-up" menu. When you set the "My Mode" number, right click one more space where it says, "reset, custom or current". Click current settings for the "my mode" # you want to use, and it will stay there. That way you can set it up for manual or autofocus, auto spot focus, isp focus, etc. If you use manual focus, you can scroll the focus up or down using your menu buttons, and it will give you a screen with a slider bar that starts at 3/4" and works its way up to 8". If you pass that, you get a second screen with the next range, etc. Another issue with UW macro, is in dark water, you'll get a fairly slow shutter speed, i.e. 40-60. If you have surge and move a little, you'll get a blurred picture. You might try going to manual settings in "my mode". Start with maybe shutter speed of 80 on f4.5. Do a test shot at your depth. The camera will scroll shutter speed with the up/down buttons, f-stop with the l/r buttons. Check your screen immediately after a shot for light level and adjust accordingly. Another key is make sure you wait for the focus light to blink if you're in autofocus. Generally the screen will go kind of grainy when it does.

I've been getting very inconsistent focus on Supermacro. I think it's the lack of light at the depths I'm diving (typically 60+ feet in dark water). I bought a little UK pocket light for $14.95 and I'm going to hook that to one of the arms and try it as a focus light, and see if that helps.
I finally got to dive with the Sunpak. Having dual strobes really helped balance the light. I don't have the heavy shadows to one side. Also, on a couple of shots I was able to get under a shelf and still have light on the fish from both sides. I'm still struggling with the settings. I slaved the Sunpak to my Oly flash on ttl setting, and that worked well for the macros, but a lot of my wider shots came in dark. Probably the pea soup green water and 60-70 foot depth. I did get a couple of great shots of a juvenile harbor seal that was following us around, and though they were pretty much black I salvaged them in Rawshooter. I'll post some shots. I think I'll test the manual strobe settings in my camera and set the Oly strobe on Manual to see if I can get more consistent light.
The bad news is that though the Sunpak worked fine when I got home, this morning it wouldn't test fire. I took out the batteries and found a little condensation on them, but definitely no flood. I'm charging the batteries and left the battery door open so if I got condensation in the strobe it should hopefully evaporate out by the time I get home. Fingers crossed. I don't think there's any sort of dessicant in the strobe, so I don't know how I'll keep condensation out in our 50-54 degree water, short of leaving the battery door open overnight after a dive perhaps.


I can't answer all the questions, but one or two... The PFL-01 housing is an Oly product. They retail out at something under 300 bucks, but you can find them online for in the 200+/- range and ebay, if you are willing to do it, is the best bet. Olympusauctions is one of their "stores"... they sell returns, damaged packaged products and my guess, slow moving product, there. I just picked up a brand new, in slightly damaged box (their example shows a badly adhered lablel) PFL-01 housing for $58 plus $6 shipping. The auction just ended so I wont' have an "actual experience recommendation" for a week or so, but their satisfaction rate is very high. I can't even confirm my deal on the auction because of the typical "don't ship to PO box" and after-hours issues over the weekend, but I will probably be giving it a big test in 10-15 days once it arrives.

I saw a Japanese gentleman who had a 5050 setup with 2 fl-20s back in October of '04 when I was helping out at a Japanese operator here. I don't think he really knew much about photography, but everything looked relatively well exposed on the LCD screen at the end of the day. I've got to see if the dual strobe capabilities is something standard or just a Japan thing... work on a Japanese boat and you'll find that they have things which aren't available yet (or ever) here in the US, seems unusual.

Edit: It was on page 16, but the thumbnails aren't working, so I'll put a copy on photobucket and attach it to my next post. Mine is a knock off of Gilligan's, with some mod's, so if you go to his website you can get basic instructions on a similar set-up. Essentially, take a piece of 1 x 1/8 x 4ft. aluminum and bend it in a vise so you have a U shape wide enough to fit the camera and leave you room for an eyelet to hook to your BC plus room for your fingers to reach from the handle and still be able to open the housing. Soap and slide two pieces of 1" rubber fuel/water hose from Orchard Supply for handles. Bend the top with room to attach whatever you want to put there plus your loc-line or ultra-lite mounts. Put a screw or rivet through it to form a square. All the rest is just drilling holes to hang any other stuff you want on there. Your last hole is for the camera, so that it goes where you want with everything else hanging there and you can reach it with your finger from the handle. I'll provide more details with the next post. Maybe I'll Photoshop the materials and instructions on there.

On the strobe, for wide shots, the stronger the merrier. For macros, whatever you're using will probably be set on minimum, with a diffuser. In California water, the only way you're going to get good lighting for wide shots is with a good strong strobe on a long arm to prevent backscatter and a wide angle lens to get the whole subject from a closer distance. The key is get closer. I suck at lighting, so I'm sure someone else can answer this better. Any strobe is better than none, but they do make lighting more challenging. The built in flash will work great on everything but supermacros, but in our water, you'll get lots of backscatter on anything more than about 18 inches.
There are lots of posts on strobes, and they're fairly universal-basically hardwired ttl type or optically fired slave type. They both work fine, but ttl should be easier as it sets itself for the light conditions the camera sees through the lens at preflash. In the Oly housing, the only ttl option is the Oly flash unless you have the Heinrichs/Weikamp bulkhead replacement, but there are a lot of very nice slave strobes out there that work fine. The SP gives you 10 levels of manual adjustment. Most slaves have multiple adjustment levels for flash strength. Turn the dial, take a shot, check the lighting, readjust and retake. You'll get used to setting it for various conditions once you're familiar with whatever you buy.
Linda:
I haven't had any such problems, so I can't really answer that. It's odd that it happens in only scene mode. I have never used AA's. I have a R-CRV-3. The firmware fix is supposed to keep the low battery light from going on due to the lower voltage of the AA's. The CRV-3 the camera comes with is 3v. The alternative AA's are generally only 1.2v each for a total of 2.4, so the camera thinks the battery is low. The batteries seem to absorb more charge after they are charged a few times. I would certainly be concerned, take note and keep an eye on it, in case it needs to be returned for a warranty repair. In the meantime, I would charge it, use it and see how long it will go without quitting. I generally charge after 2-3 dives plus downloads. About 1 1/2 hours of continuous on use. When the battery dies, you'll know it. The camera will go black, but the lens won't retract until you recharge the batteries and put them back in. My charge indicator is pretty much always green till the thing dies. I just use it and keep a regular charging routine. Generally, I'll have it all charged up before any problems.
 
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