My underwater photo setup …
I’d used Olympus film SLR cameras in the past, and the C5050z seemed ideal for underwater work - and there was a housing available.
The main features which seemed relevant were :
- “My Mode” - which meant that I could preconfigure presets, and get to them quickly
- RAW format files - meant that the white balance (and exposure!) could be adjusted after the dive
- TTL flash (although I didn’t realise at the time how useful this was)
- Fast lens - needs less light to register an image
I got a Sea and Sea YS-25 strobe. It flooded on my second trip. I got a replacement, which flooded as well.
Sea and Sea reckon that this was due to user error. As I’m clearly too stupid to use their products, I’m not buying any more.
I bought an Inon D2000 (in tiem for the first Red Sea trip), which doesn’t seem to have suffered from my idiocy, and which has given reliable results. I’ll probably stick with them …
I bought some extras lenses through 2005 - Epoque macro and wide-angle.
I supplemented this with a (less powerful) Inon 165 macro in 2006, when I also bought a Fuji E900 and Ikelite housing.
At the time of writing, I’m waiting for all of the bits to hook up the strobe (Ikelite uses a different screw fitting to just about everyone else).
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E900 Tray
OK, so the housing needed a couple of screws from Ikelite.
Cameras Underwater sourced those for me.
Mark J. from my club made up a tray for me, which was ideal. Big Thanks, Mark. A couple of “Oceanic Fit” shoes, and it was compatible with my 10-Bar tray for the C5050Z. This meant I could switch cameras between dives, which is really handy.
Posted by muttznutz on 22 May, 2007
Sibling strobe
… Not really a “twin”
The last piece of the jigsaw was an Inon Z240 strobe from Ocean Optics.
The controls and modes are - not surprisingly - very similar to the D2000, but (as well as a bit more power)the Z240 has a “hard-wire” connector if I go SLR, and the pre-flash magnet can be switched in-dive (this has to be unscrewed on the D2000).
ULCS arms and clamps completed the setup.
Posted by muttznutz on 22 May, 2007
Housing Service
I’ve just got my PT015 housing back from her first service (it’s only been 3½ years!) - some of the buttons were sticking a bit. I still really like the Oly, so if I can keep using her for another couple of trips, that’d be nice.
So here’s a thank-you to Kevin from AquaPhot.
Kevin’s given me really helpful advice in the past, sourcing my D2000 and lots of other bits & pieces.
Posted by muttznutz on 22 May, 2007