Outrageous Deal on Camera and Housing

[Scubak]

Thanks Peter....
That has alot of information.
Answers some questions.
Kirsten

[Furnari]

Really thinking hard about this. Before I upgrade, I've got some questions for the experts here:

-How much "growth" can we get out of these? Peter mentioned the dome, but what other lenses should we be thinking about? Diopters? Anything else?

-I currently have a YS-02 strobe since my current camera can't do TTL. Should I sell it and buy a YS-01? If I kept it and bought an 01, would they work well together in manual mode?

[Tom Nic]

Thank you to Peter and all those who are being generous with their time and knowledge in helping a noob - much appreciated. And thank you so much for posting that file - again, much appreciated!

I finally found my old tray -

Thanks to Laura I know that my old UFL-1 stobe will work with a sync cord, so I technically have one working strobe, inadequate as it is.

So... I have camera, one armed tray, and an old strobe, so technically I think all I need to give this puppy a whirl is a sync cord. Perhaps I can remedy that situation tomorrow and actually consider taking this guy to Sitka with me, we shall see.

Little by little...

Any other newbies to this Olympus taken any pictures yet?

[enchantmentdivi]

Any other newbies to this Olympus taken any pictures yet?

Took mine for a spin today!

FYI--the PPZR-EP01 zoom gear ring does not fit this 14-42mm lens. As far as I can tell, it's because the lens is the II R version.

[Tom Nic]

Nice shot!

Details Please!

Did you use a strobe? Just your onboard flash? More info, please!!!

[Tom Nic]

FYI--the PPZR-EP01 zoom gear ring does not fit this 14-42mm lens. As far as I can tell, it's because the lens is the II R version.

Thanks for that tip!

Any solution on this so far? Does Olympus have one that fits it?

[enchantmentdivi]

Nice shot!

Details Please!

Did you use a strobe? Just your onboard flash? More info, please!!!

Thanks! I used my Sea & Sea YS-01 strobe, lens zoomed all the way out to 42mm with the macro adapter lens thingy on it.

Here's another. Poor little starfish that became a snack....

[enchantmentdivi]

FYI--the PPZR-EP01 zoom gear ring does not fit this 14-42mm lens. As far as I can tell, it's because the lens is the II R version.

Thanks for that tip!

Any solution on this so far? Does Olympus have one that fits it?

From what I can tell, the PPZR-EP02 (which is for the 9-18mm lens) will fit it. The info out there is sketchy, but I found this link and also a review on Amazon. http://www.getolympus.com/us/en/pt-ep01 ... -ep01.html I msged Peter, and he seemed to think it would work also. Fingers crossed!

[Peter Guy]

a. I'm going to start a new thread on the E-PL1 -- a virtual camera club.

b. It looks like the 14-42MM II lens (the one that apparently comes with this package) needs the OTHER zoom ring -- Optical Oceans (Jack's place on Westlake) has them -- http://opticaloceansales.com/ports-exte ... -gear.html

c. I talked with Scott Lundy yesterday at Cove 2 and he told me he thought he should put together a class just for PEN users and I told him he should do one just for E-PL1 users! He also told me I should give Lynne my strobe -- which means I could then buy a new one(s)!! I think that's a good idea.

[dtodd]

Advice needed.
Do folks think the EPl - 1 would be a step up, down or lateral from my current Canon G10 in a canon housing?
I really like the macro on the G10, Would the Olympus compare?

[Peter Guy]

It's an interesting issue trying to compare a PnS like the G10 with and "EVIL" like the E-PL1. The G10 is (by all reports) a good camera and one that few people will "max out."

That written, the biggest differences between a camera like the G10 and an EVIL (electronic viewfinder, interchangable lenses) 4/3s camera like the E-PL1 are:

a. Sensor size for the E-PL1 is about 6 times larger (physically larger) and thus should have significantly less noise at the same ISO;

b. The G10 has just the one lens whereas the EVILs have many lenses (but only one per dive!) and so you should be able to have better macro or wide angle images IF you have purchased and are using that particular lens.

Will you, or anyone else, notice a difference between the pics any one person takes with a G10 or an E-PL1? That really depends on the photographer -- how good are you? How much do you "stress" your camera?

[Tom Nic]

Will you, or anyone else, notice a difference between the pics any one person takes with a G10 or an E-PL1? That really depends on the photographer -- how good are you? How much do you "stress" your camera?

This.

Awesome equipment will help a mediocre photographer take the occasional good shot, and some pictures demand a certain kind of equipment to even be possible, but I don't think the gear ultimately makes the photographer.

Buy as much camera as you can afford, shoot the heck out of it, and upgrade as you get better.

If you can afford whatever you want, talk to some of the really good photographers on this board. See what they shoot. Go diving with them. See if you can see yourself carrying their 'death star' rig with you when you dive. Then make your decision accordingly.

[Dusty2]

There is a world of difference between the 2. I shoot the G10 and I would love to be able to move up to this rig. It is much more versatile and the really huge thing is the larger sensor. You will never get the sharpness and definition possible with the 4/3rds sensor from the G10 or any other P&S camera. It is just not possible. Whether or not you are are capable of using that difference is the question. If you think you are being limited by your G10 then by all means you will find a lot more possibilities with the larger sensor. Another big thing is the changeable lenses. A single purpose dedicated purpose lens will always be superior to a general purpose lens. However that can be good and bad. It means that once you hit the water you are committed to shoot whatever lens you chose. If you chose macro and a six gill happens by it's crying time! Another factor there is when you jump on this bandwagon you become income property for the shops because there is always another lens or port on your want list. It is a great price on a very good camera but just keep in mind what you are getting yourself into.

[LCF]

Gear doesn't make the photographer . . . but the wrong gear can "unmake" one. I didn't like taking pictures underwater for a long time, because in general, I'm not a picture-taker, and the pictures I took were never anything I was excited to look at or wanted to share. I assumed that was because I didn't have any photographic talent.

Then Peter made me take his EPL-1 on a dive in the Red Sea -- I mean, literally swam up to me, took my camera away from me, and gave me his! -- and when I got back on the boat and looked at what I had done, I thought, "Hey, there are some cool pictures here!" I haven't looked back.

There is a huge jump between shooting an inexpensive P&S and a camera like this one, and making that jump can let your inner photographer out

Oh, and with regards to Dusty's comments . . . I still look at the folks with the big DSLR rigs and think, "I would never want to dive with anything like that." And I haven't bought any extra lenses or attachments for my camera, at least not yet

[RoxnDox]

Gear doesn't make the photographer . . . but the wrong gear can "unmake" one. I didn't like taking pictures underwater for a long time, because in general, I'm not a picture-taker, and the pictures I took were never anything I was excited to look at or wanted to share. I assumed that was because I didn't have any photographic talent.

Then Peter made me take his EPL-1 on a dive in the Red Sea -- I mean, literally swam up to me, took my camera away from me, and gave me his! -- and when I got back on the boat and looked at what I had done, I thought, "Hey, there are some cool pictures here!" I haven't looked back.

There is a huge jump between shooting an inexpensive P&S and a camera like this one, and making that jump can let your inner photographer out

Oh, and with regards to Dusty's comments . . . I still look at the folks with the big DSLR rigs and think, "I would never want to dive with anything like that." And I haven't bought any extra lenses or attachments for my camera, at least not yet

Lynne, there's a name for the syndrome you have (so far) avoided: LBA, Lens Buying Addiction... Quite common among the owners of SLR - film or digital - and now the EVIL family of cameras... It starts quietly with the addiction of a wide angle lens, just for those shots where the kit lens isn't quite enough. Then a tele lens to get just a little more reach... Then a macro lens to get up close and personal... Then a new port to use that lens. Then a ring flash. Then another lens now that you have the flash. Then a teleconverter to get more reach. Then a .........

Jim (with only 5 lenses for my SLR)

[Tom Nic]

EVIL. 'Nuff said.

[LCF]

Well, if I keep doing workshops with Lundy, I'm sure the camera thing is going to begin to cost us money on my account. I'm already rolling the thought of another strobe around, looking at it from all angles . . .

[fmerkel]

All right-Got my first PL1 dive in! We went critter hunting at Redondo last night with the Marker Buoys, my wife Joyce hosting the dive. I have a loaner strobe from another member so it was a double first never having used one of those either. I used Peter's initial setting advice. Settled in on the first boat and messed with the strobe setting, position, and focus light until I got something that looked like a reasonable picture on the screen. Then we went hunting.....
Pretty much all picture are close ups with the lens in wide setting.
Notable impressions:
With that extra housing space the kit was only mildly negative even with a Big Blue focus light (which is heavy) and the strobe.
The lens cap falls off easily. Make sure you have it secured well. I lost it and accidentally found it later. The tie line I made up did not hold underwater. I have the stock one on now.
Video button is too easy to hit, mostly outside the housing. Seems my thumb wants to rest right on it.
I LOVE the green light focus indicator. I was impressed with the focus speed and generally decent focusing accuracy, at least compared to my old Casio and G9.
The increase in detail was noticeable in SOME pictures. My wife's Olympus XZ1 PnS taking a lot of the same photos made a very good showing, but she's a better shooter.
It would take pictures I have never been able to take no mater how hard I tried, like the Red Madusa.
All pix have been tweaked in Elements 8, and re-sized for uploading. I was pretty happy with a lot of them right out of the camera. For a first outing with a completely new kit I was impressed.

I can't believe we saw 7 snailfish but not a single lumpy or bay pipefish.

New questions.
I did max size jpg + RAW. Unexpectedly this gives you an [*.ORF] file. Elements will not open this and there is no application at Adobe to fix this. Olympus provides [ib] software that will but I'm very uncertain about the organization component it has, and the RAW file handling seemed pretty basic. I use [Irfanview] for general browsing and slideshow use. It will open the ORF file and frankly I can't tell the difference between the jpg and the ORF in that application.
I'm wondering whether to bother with RAW.

It has a battery charger. My wife has the Olympus XZ1 PnS that charges via transfer cable. The PL1 on/off button lights up when plugged in like hers. Is it charging also? The manual does not specify. Not a big deal but worth knowing if it does.

[LCF]

Lightroom will handle the RAW files.

I take the battery out of mine to charge it.

CONGRATULATIONS on the medusa shot -- I try and try and try to shoot jellies, and almost always have some part of the critter out of focus!

[fmerkel]

EVERY picture I took of the Madusa was decent > good. That is absolutely unprecedented.
I also took some pictures of a winged sea slug while both of us were drifting in current. The critter is small and in the past I would have had no chance. The results are not worth sharing but they are decent given the situation.

[Peter Guy]

While I now shoot RAW +Jpeg, for a long time I just shot Jpegs. Honestly, I can't see the difference but then I'm shooting mostly Macro with a strobe so white balance/color temp hasn't been much of an issue.

There should be a download for Elements 8 to handle the RAW format -- I've found one and am attempting to download/install it to see if I can get it to work.

Well, I downloaded the file from Adobe and it appeared to install however I still can't open the .ORF file in Elements 8. Maybe a reboot will do something.

[Dusty2]

EVIL. 'Nuff said.

Yep I was thinking the same thing!

[fmerkel]

There should be a download for Elements 8 to handle the RAW format -- I've found one and am attempting to download/install it to see if I can get it to work.

Well, I downloaded the file from Adobe and it appeared to install however I still can't open the .ORF file in Elements 8. Maybe a reboot will do something.

The only download I could find for Photoshop were for CS, not for Elements.

[enchantmentdivi]

Looks like they have sold out: http://www.adorama.com/catalog.tpl?op=r ... nt0product

[dphershman]

There should be a download for Elements 8 to handle the RAW format -- I've found one and am attempting to download/install it to see if I can get it to work.

Well, I downloaded the file from Adobe and it appeared to install however I still can't open the .ORF file in Elements 8. Maybe a reboot will do something.

The only download I could find for Photoshop were for CS, not for Elements.

try this link at Adobe.com

http://www.adobe.com/cfusion/tdrc/index ... nts&loc=us