Entire new rig ... $805

B) As my underwater housing for my SP350 arrived today, I couldn't contain myself...I went to work immediately.

Camera Olympus SP-350 - online through Dell $305 bucks...no shipping.

Camera Housing by Olympus - $199

Memory Card - $70 through Ebay

Flash (fl-20) and Flash housing PFL-01... $210 on Ebay...new through Olympus Ebay Reseller.

Arm - ??? its marked TUS and pat pending. I purchased it for $20.

DIY part. Had to make this arm designed for something else fit this oly outfit. Used a grinder and a few plastic and stainless parts in the garage to come up with the pictured rig. The nice thing...its almost fully articulating due to the ball joints. I can place the flash over my left shoulder and angled down at about 5ft. The camera sits on its own arm and also articluates. Its really versatile and easy to adjust. Now for the bad. Its pretty heavy. I'm not sure exactly how much it weighs but I'm picturing myself doing a headstand in the water...

I wasn't aiming for it...but it matches the housing...

Nicely done!

Does the arm part under the camera housing fold flat? Otherwise, you'll be limited when trying to shoot up for subjects near the bottom...

Matt,

It took me a second or two but I see what you're talking about. No...the lowest I can get it with that arm and still have a subject framed correctly would be as how you see it. I suppose I could take a fairly flat shot in portrait instead of landscape frame. I was originally planning on replacing the 45 degree mount with a ball joint but couldn't manage to get the larger screw out. Maybe I'll try again...thanks for the tip.

Hi Ce4jesus, i like your rig.. as you probally know (you replied to my other post) im looking at something similar and i was just wondering about your flash and housing, i had seen them for sale but didnt realise it could be mounted away from the camera as you have there so had discounted it as an option. I assume the connectors you have pictured are waterproof!? And were they part of the flash/housing deal or where did you get them and do you have a part number or similar? Thanks Joe

Looks great Gary. Hope you're an Octopus though, cause with a rig that big, I'd need two more arms for my gauges and my dump. In fact, my first dive with the camera I was trying to figure out how to deal with my light, my board (for notes and white balance) the camera, the dump, the gauges. When we were ready to drop from the boat, I had trouble finding my reg because my camera was in the same hand on a short tether and I didn't want to bash it about! This photography thing sure complicates your dive, doesn't it. As I'm trying to figure out the strobe thing I'll look forward to hearing how yours works out. The price was certainly right.

Joe, All of the flash cables came with the Olympus Flash Housing which I absconded on Ebay for around $125? (Actually I've seen them even go lower than that) The flash was another $85. So everything was all-inclusive...a good thing because just a couple of those cables would have run more than the housing altogether. I've thought about buying a backup flash housing (pfl-01) because it would contain all the spare cabling if needed. BTW, its all waterproof and made by Olympus. Olympus was attractive to me for my first underwater camera due to the number of accessories designed for it and they're relative inexpensive in nature. If I had deeper pockets, Ikelite housing with dual Ikelite DS-150s would be mine!!! Maybe one day when I upgrade to that inevitable DSLR I'll go all out. This rig, however, should get me started down the road in a nice fashion. I've taken some awesome indoor photos of my family and general macro stuff inside the house just to practice. So I'm pleased with the overall quality of the photograph it takes. Just one item of note, I remember reading your post and you mentioned freediving. This camera with the arm and strobe would be a tough swim back to the surface. Anyway...good luck. If I can answer any other questions, I'll be happy to try. Larry above has already taken some underwater pics with his without a flash and they look good so I'm optimistic about my setup.

Larry,

I think you've hit the nail on the head. Although I'm relatively new to the sport (30 dives?) I'm fairly good with my buoyancy and weighting. My biggest concern isn't controlling buoyancy so much as it will be surface floatation. I have a back inflation BCD and it makes it difficult to keep your head out of the water. I've found throwing a snorkel in and just not fighting it to be the best solution. Rough days, I just leave the reg in and don't bother with the snorkel. I've seen where some guy put some foam on his camera arm to help make it neutrally buoyant. I will probably do something along these lines before taking it in the open ocean. That way if I have to let go of it, It won't be this weight pulling down...as a matter of preference, I'd even like to get it partially positive on buoyancy. Maybe that's a pipe dream but hey...I've just set foot down a path where won't be any heading back. I will in all likelihood not get to use the arm in Florida with the manatees. I'll bring it but I'm thinking just the camera with the magic filter will be sufficient. The arm and flash will be in tow and I might go ahead and try a few macros for fun if I have time. I won't get the opportunity to do an actual dive until late spring. Being landlot in Colorado doesn't leave you a lot of options. Take care.

I do not want to be a party pooper but the design of your rig will work extremely bad for macro photography.

Why you wounder?

Well, the thing with getting good pictures as I see it is too get the picture as clean as possible. Shots from up and staright down is rarely good, you often get the mosaic colors of the bottom destroying the picture.

The trick is to shoot from below if possible or atleast from the side if you cannot come any lower.

The fine thing with a compact camera is that you can get very near and also easily position the camera in ways that woukld be impossible with a DSLR.

The flash arm seems good, but I would dissassemble your rig and place the flash arm on a flat aluminium tray, this solution would only build a few millimeters below the housing and allowing you to get the shots you want.

Here is a gallery with alot ov customs trays and arms http://www.heinrichsweikamp.net/blitz/gallery.htm

Vannar,

Thanks. All feedback is welcome. I am already in the process of replacing the tray as I've had some other issues.

Here's the latest configuration of my camera. Gone is the large red link between the ball joints and arms. I've replaced it with a product designed for mounting depth/fish finders. The coupler is made by RAM. It ran me $15 at Cabelas. Anyway, I also found a way to level out the camera mount somewhat. While its not completely flat, its better than it was. I found the knob on the red coupler tough to adjust underwater and heavy above water. The RAM coupler is small, strong and light. Additionally its very easy to adjust the knob. The wide angle lens is a Sea&Sea made for a Nikonos V as a wet conversion lens. I guess the entire rig went up in price by $145 counting the lens.

Later,

Gary