olympus sp 350 housing. Olympus pt-030 or ikelite?

I'm buying the oly sp 350 camera,and was wondering if any sp 350 users out there had an ikelite housing?All of the post that I have seen on here mention the oly pt-030 and I was curious how the two would compare.

Which is better,inon screw on lens or the bayonet type? Thanks for the help.

Jon

I have had great results with the sp350 in an Ikelite housing with a ds125 strobe. I was worried about the size difference between the Oly and the Ike, but the Ike is very easy to handle.

John

I'm leaning toward the ikelite,but was wondering about the bulkhead plug on the pt-030.What cords fit it,ikelite or nikonos,sea and sea or what?Ican get a good deal on the oly housing at the dive shop I work at,but don't want to have to give up the ttl and go to slave.Any answers are appreciated.

Where have I been...just found wetpixel.

I too am getting the SP-350 and have decided to go with the Ikelite. My reasons are mainly that I have more than just an o-ring to replace or repair with Ikelite opposed to only the o-ring with the Olympus housing.

Size doesnt matter as this will be my first setup...I have nothing to compare it too so it wil be the "norm".

Also, I figure go with better. Most of what I've read points to Ikelite as a better setup.

Thanks,

John

I own the PT-030 because Ike didn't have a housing when I took it out in January of last year.

Pros

1. very cheap - Ebay Olympus has it for around $179

2. Small.

3. Olympus TTL or with the Matthew Heinrichs converter you can get Nikonos

Cons -

1. Feels like a toy.

2. It has 1 Oring instead of two. This is a major concern because I already had a partial flood in a pool and couldn't figure out why. Hasn't happened since and the camera survived.

3. Olympus customer support is awful. I broke a plastic connector on the flash housing and had to buy an entire new housing. They refused to even sell me the part. Again, the housings are relatively cheap to purchase but they're also somewhat cheaply designed. If you need a new oring, you're fine but if you need more than an oring, Olympus will have you send it in for repair even if its a simple fix. Customer service is their way, or the highway. If you plan on purchasing one, you might want to consider purchasing an extra one as a backup.

I recently purchased the SP-350, Ikelite housing, and DS-125 strobe for my wife. We played with it in the pool last weekend, and were off to Cozumel this weekend for a couple of dives to really give it a go. So far it looks like a nice setup, We considered the OLY housing, but the TTL on the DS-125 would have not worked using their connector from my understanding, so I went with the one I knew would work.

Vic

ce4jesus has it about right.

My wife and I have been using Olympus housings for abot 3 years. They're cheap and easy to use but you have to police the o-rings without fail. I think the Ikelites may last the life of the camera. You should expect the Olympus housing to be disposable unless you have it serviced, (the service may cost more than a new, shiny housing). So it might be a good idea to buy a spare if you plan on keeping the same camera more than 3-4 years.

You can get the Olympus housings for ridiculously low prices. I just bought a spare, brand new, PT-020 for $70 US.

We both have the Heinrich's adapter and bulkhead replacement. The metal bulkheads are far less prone to problems. The combination has allowed us to use inexpensive, used, Sea & Sea YS-60 strobes bought off eBay for under $200 US. She has two connected with an old Sea & Sea dual TTL adapter and they work fine for wide angle.

I've used the SP-350 on two trips while she has stayed with her trusty C-5060. The SP-350 is a really nice camera for the money, ($199 at Costco this week!), but it is frightfully slow at writing the pictures! It's not an issue for what I shoot but it would never work for the wife's fish and tortoise portraits.

I always think about a super fast SLR and then I look at the $1200 housings. Yow!

Sebastian,

The new "s" XD cards knock about 3 seconds off the overall write time. Also, if you you're using your internal flash sometimes the recharge time is greater than the write time! Take care,

Gary

Good points,

Thanks

If you're willing to spend the money, the Ikelite housing with their converter and the DS-125 is a really nice combo. The Ike housing works nicely with add on lenses as well. Threaded lenses can be a pain. The bayonet set-up is much faster and pretty foolproof. I have the PT-030 housing. I've had some issues with buttons sticking, especially the shutter button on deeper, and colder dives. I've taken to carrying a surgical clamp on my tether to pull it back out. I asked Oly about the issue, and they sympathized and told me I have a six month warranty on the housing, and could send it in for an estimate if I like. Can't complain about the camera. It's been really good to me. The slow write time hasn't been much of an issue since I started using "H" type memory. The slow autofocus and ttl response are a big issue. The battery saving "sleep" mode also makes me a little crazy. Last week, I had a Harbor Seal come right up about a foot from my face and look me in the eye. I had my camera already positioned and in macro mode. I pointed, clicked and nothing. The screen was black. Click, click, wait, 2,3,4,5,6,7,8 flash. I got a lovely shot of backscatter in the wake of a seal running away. Make sure you periodically dab a button or two during your dives.

i use the sp350 in the pt30 housing - with a inon 2000w with ttl connection. the cable is a sea and sea and works fine. the quality of the ttl is not sensational. actually not much better that optical cable. but a little better. and thats worth it, because you dont have the internal flash (saves reloadtime and battery). the housing itself is perfect ... i dont see a reason for the ike ...

i use the screw on (67mm) lenses from INON. My girlfriend has the same camera and strobe, but uses the bayonet version. they are about the same ... i just took the m67 version, because they fit on other oly housings as well (5050, 7070 etc).

if you want to have a look at pictures with this setup: www.serge-mondial.com

ahh ... and larry: you can switch the sleep-mode off ... better for the harbour seals.

cheers.

serge

The battery saving "sleep" mode also makes me a little crazy.

Larry,

If your camera is going to sleep while you're diving, you aren't taking enough pictures!

"Shoot until your finger bleeds!"

Ikelite has great support, has rock solid construction and very reliable

Olympus is slightly less bulky cheaper and also does the job though the question of flooding tends to stay in the back of my mind.

I will be going the Ikelite route shortly (and Ike DS125 strobe). I have high hopes!

i use the sp350 in the pt30 housing - with a inon 2000w with ttl connection. the cable is a sea and sea and works fine. the quality of the ttl is not sensational. actually not much better that optical cable. but a little better. and thats worth it, because you dont have the internal flash (saves reloadtime and battery). the housing itself is perfect ... i dont see a reason for the ike ...

 

i use the screw on (67mm) lenses from INON. My girlfriend has the same camera and strobe, but uses the bayonet version. they are about the same ... i just took the m67 version, because they fit on other oly housings as well (5050, 7070 etc).

if you want to have a look at pictures with this setup: www.serge-mondial.com

 

ahh ... and larry: you can switch the sleep-mode off ... better for the harbour seals.

 

cheers.

serge

Serge,

Im using the exact same set as you. SP350 + PT030 + Inon 2000W. Can you tell me which Sea&sea TTL sync Cord you are using? I only see 3 types of sync cord from sea2 website.

i use the sp350 in the pt30 housing -

 

ahh ... and larry: you can switch the sleep-mode off ... better for the harbour seals.

Occasionally I use the same and auto sleep bothers me a lot. Would you please save me browsing thru the manual and give me a hint how to switch it off. Thanks.

Dejan