Panasonic GF-1 in Seatool Housing

[jd950]

So, I finally got around to downloading files and realized (I knew this, but had forgotten) that I needed to get a newer version of Elements in order to be able to view my raw images in Elements. I tried to find my Panasonic disc so I could use their included program, but no luck there.

I ordered Elements 8, got it and installed it. I have been able to view my shots and began doing some editing (mostly white balance, some cropping, a bit of backscatter here and there) and found the process painfully slow, I guess because my computer is just a bit too old to efficiently run the program.

I will try to upload some images soon, but I am going out of town again this weekend so it won't be right away. In the meantime, I was pleased with the wide angle shots and the closeups as far as the equipment goes. I had been wondering how I would feel about the 7-14 as a wide angle in the small seatool dome, and I think I am satisfied. As to my own photographic abilities, that is another matter. Because of my computer issues, dealing with my high def video has not been very successful yet.

Overall, I am pleased with the camera and housing choice. Enough so that I am considering adding the 45mm port and the 45mm macro lens.

The housing manual has now been translated into English by Yuzo at uwdigitalcamera and I believe the 8mm fisheye port should be released later this year.

I see the Inon x-2 is priced now and is around the same price as the Seatool. I haven't compared the price once all ports are factored in. If I were starting out and the x-2 was actually available, I am not sure which I would choose, but I am happy with the seatool and put off by the size of the x-2, so I THINK I would make the same purchase again..

 

[ggibson]

Thanks for the update! I love the Seatool housing, but it is very pricey. The other option I've looked at is the E-PL1 kit and additional dome housing for the 9-18mm. Since I have the m.ZD 9-18mm, the price is nearly the same and I get the extra camera body to boot.

 

[eagleray sg]

Hi
I finally took the plunge too and got the Seatools GF1 housing with the 14-45 port.
Very happy with it and will be going on to add a 45mm macro port

After much considerations ... i found that the 10bar housing for the GF1 just not "workable"
Too much rotating and un-rotating especially for the 5 button area

As for the Inon X2, just to note that according to the website, the "select" option for the rear rotating wheel is not accessible with the casing

 

[jd950]

I am glad that there is someone else out there with the same housing. I was beginning to think I was the only one!

In case it is of interest to you, the 8mm fisheye port is now out, as is the lens.

 

[eagleray sg]

Hi jd950
Thanks for the update

I just got a hold of a panny 45mm macro lens. Since its auto focus seems quite ok, going to try if it works ok in the 14-45 port, maybe could save buying the macro port if it can be re-used

 

[wbuzatto]

Hello there. I live in Brazil and am new to this forum (my first post), but I've been poking around for any information that could help me with my GF1 and Seatool housing. Here's the story:

After doing some search last year, I purchased the Seatool housing with the 14-45 port from Reefphoto (very good customer service!) last September. I took it the same month to a live-aboard in the GBR. That was my first real experience with UW photo equipment (I used a P&S previously for a short while), and I was pretty happy with it until I got an alarm message on the last of 25 dives in 7 days, so I just turned off the camera and finished the dive. Camera worked flawlessly over water since that event.
A few weeks ago I took off for another live-aboard, this time in the Maldives. This time, I could narrow down the alarm situation: as soon as I go below 15 m (it could be 12 or 17...), I get that alarm (alarm in Portuguese says the lens is not sitting well in the camera; I don't know the exact words in English). Failure persists until I go back to 7~8m depth, when camera works again, and then I can go again to no more than 15m. I'm frustrated, to say the least; can't take photos deeper than 17m... I will write to the customer service from Panasonic, but has anyone here experienced a similar problem with this camera? Any hints?

I'm learning a lot from this great forum, thanks!

 

[wbuzatto]

Well, answering my own question... ;-) I just found out that the port-release button of the Seatool housing, when pressed while the camera is ON, will trigger the message 'PLEASE CHECK THAT THE LENS IS ATTACHED CORRECTLY'. This was the first message I got every time, and then 'THE LENS IS NOT ATTACHED PROPERLY'. There's a chance that I hit that button inadvertently; I hold the handle with my left hand, and my index and middle fingers stay away from the button, but... in any stance, once pressed under 15m of water, it doesn't come back! If I have been hitting that button, it would happen at random, regardless of depth. Once I suspected of the correlation with the depth, I made the test: when the problem showed up, I moved up in the water to shallower areas, and at about 7m the problem went away; I then moved back to a deeper area of the reef, and the problem showed up again at about 17m. Very consistently.

Anyway, problem solved? I hope so! I will remove a small plastic piece that makes the physical connection between port release button in the housing and lens release button in the camera body.