Olympus SP-350 Setup

I am a beginner to both scuba and underwater photography, and was looking into an olympus sp-350 setup.

What do you all think of this?

"The Backscatter Olympus PT-030 Underwater Housing Package comes with the new Olympus PT-030 underwater housing for the SP-310 & SP-350 cameras. We added the Inon D-2000S strobe which has an STTL mode. If you use the strobe in this setting it gives you the ability to get an automatic exposure underwater! The strobe also has a full Manual setting as well.

If you're looking for a great starter package this is highly recommended.

"

yes, this looks like a good package to me. the 350 is a very popular camera with the ability to do RAW, not a lot of the compact cameras can do that these days.

You might also look at the Ikelite housing option for this camera as it is a bit more robust, but also more expensive.

If you are new to both SCUBA and underwater photography, you may want to hold off from investing too much in strobes etc just in case its not for you.

Also, please don't take this as an insult, but i know i would have had trouble thinking about strobe placement etc when i was just starting out.

I would recommend getting some dives in with varying conditions before you take a camera with you, and when you do take a camera maybe try to choose a divesite with nice sandy areas between small coral heads/reefs. this will allow you to rest on the sand while you play around with different bits on your camera.

Simon

With housings, if you go for the ikelite housing http://ikelite.com/web_pages/oly_sp350.html you would probably be better served with an Ikelite strobe such as the DS51 or DS125. If you go for the Olympus housing go for the Inon/ Sea & Sea route

Are you looking to do macro or wide angle? Specialize in one first. If it's macro, go ahead and get the strobe. For wide angle, the Inon lens and a Magic filter would make a nice start.

I want to be able to take pictures of specific fish, corals, and inverts because I plan on making an ID journal to keep record of what I see.

Next Fall I am embarking on a trip that will take me from dive sites in the Mediterranean to the Caribbean, so somewhere in that trip I expect there will be places that will make it easy for me to concentrate on picture taking.

I think I am going to go ahead with the SP-350 and the Olympus housing, perhaps not the strobe just yet.

If that is the case, what other accesories will I need to get good clear colorful pictures? besides experience and practice of course.

I want to be able to take pictures of specific fish, corals, and inverts because I plan on making an ID journal to keep record of what I see.

 

Next Fall I am embarking on a trip that will take me from dive sites in the Mediterranean to the Caribbean, so somewhere in that trip I expect there will be places that will make it easy for me to concentrate on picture taking.

 

I think I am going to go ahead with the SP-350 and the Olympus housing, perhaps not the strobe just yet.

 

If that is the case, what other accesories will I need to get good clear colorful pictures? besides experience and practice of course.

If you want clear, colorful, pictures of fish, you will eventually want the strobe. If you want snapshots and what you want to photograph will be within a couple feet, then the internal strobe might suffice. Also note that if you want pictures of stuff very close to the lens port, you may get ugly shadows using just the internal strobe as the housing port may block the flash.

Having said that, if you are truly new to both SCUBA and photography, it might be frustrating, but you will be best served in the long term by honing your diving and buoyancy skills before taking the camera along with you. Unless you have have pretty good control of what you are doing and where you are in relation to the reef at all times, you may inadvertently do a whole lot of damage to the corals and invertebrates you want to photograph if you try to do too much at once right away. If you are intent upon taking a camera along from the very beginning, by all means take it slow and leave the flash behind until you get things sorted.

Mike

Thanks for all the help everyone.

So as a beginner, do you all agree that the Olympus Sp-350 will be a camera that will allow me to learn the ropes of photography and continue to improve my skill as my experience increases.

Also, what model of strobe would you all recommend for this camera and the olympus housing or ikelite housing? Are there any wide angle lenses available that fit the olympus housing or ikelite housing?

Do you all think the Magic-Filter would be in my best interest?

Thanks for all the help everyone.

 

So as a beginner, do you all agree that the Olympus Sp-350 will be a camera that will allow me to learn the ropes of photography and continue to improve my skill as my experience increases.

 

Also, what model of strobe would you all recommend for this camera and the olympus housing or ikelite housing? Are there any wide angle lenses available that fit the olympus housing or ikelite housing?

 

Do you all think the Magic-Filter would be in my best interest?

As noted above in the thread, here is the link to the Ikelite housing:

http://www.ikelite.com/web_pages/oly_sp350.html

That page states that adapters are available for add-on lenses from Inon. Check http://www.inonamerica.com for adapters for the Olympus housing and the lenses. As stated above, Ikelite strobes (probably the DS-51) for the Ikelite housing (hard-wired connection) and INON strobes (D-2000 or D-2000s) for the Olympus housing (with the fiber optic synch cord and AD lens adapter).

I'm sure the folks at Reef Photo, Marine Camera, Backscatter or UW Photo Tech (all site sponsors) would be more than happy to talk you through it in person as well.

Magic filter does look pretty cool but I've never tried one.

I would think the SP-350 would keep any beginner (and many experienced people as well) quite happy . . .

Mike

The sp350 is a good choice. It is an inexpensive camera with lots of features (hot shoe for TTL, RAW etc.). Before you decide on the housing you will have to decide which strobe you want to buy when you get there. If you want an ikelite strobe I will also get the ikelite housing. If you want sea & sea or Inon the Olympus housing will be fine. You need to install a special bulkhead converter to use an ikelite strobe on the Olympus housing.

The ikelite housing is also much more bulky than the Olympus housing (but also more robust).

I went the ikelite route because I already had an ikelite DS 50 strobe. But If I had to start from scratch I might just as easily have gone for the Olympus housing and Inon strobes, just because of the compactness.

You can add Inon lenses to either set up.

The SP350 is no longer available in South Africa, so when I did find it I bought 2 cameras (my insurance against flooding!)

happy diving

Wilhelm

What is the difference between the strobes?

You say that the housing will decide the strobe I can choose, so I need some info bout what makes those strobes different.

I plan to purchase the SP350 sometime in the near future, and the housing along with it.

Also, what can anyone tell me about the magic filters?

What is the difference between the strobes?

 

You say that the housing will decide the strobe I can choose, so I need some info bout what makes those strobes different.

 

I plan to purchase the SP350 sometime in the near future, and the housing along with it.

 

Also, what can anyone tell me about the magic filters?

The Ikelite housing TTL circuitry only works with Ikelite strobes. Hence, if you want to use hard-wired TTL, you need the Ike housing and an Ike strobe. In theory, you could use the INON strobes with either housing but you will not get hardwired TTL. The INON strobe will operate as a manual strobe if you hard-wire it to the Ike housing. It will work as an "S-TTL" strobe via a built-in slave sensor (connected by a fiber-optic cable if you so choose (and that really works best)) that will sense the internal flash of the camera and mimic it to give you an approximation (pretty good by all reliable reports) of TTL. You can also use the INON strobe as a manual strobe using the slave sensor. You can also hook up the Ikelite strobe to one of Ike's slave sensors but my experience has been that the INON works better when used that way.

I've never used one of the magic filters, but it is a filter that allows you to "add the red" back into ambient light shots. Check out the website for more info:

http://www.magic-filters.com/

Mike

PS SP-350 has been discontinued so availability may become an issue soon . . .

Can someone explain to me what TTL is all about and the differences between the ways that it can and cannot be setup?

What would be the best route for me to take?

I still havent decided on a housing... I like the Olympus one because it is about 250-300 bucks cheaper than the Ikelite one though.

I have the Oly SP350 with a hardwire TTL connected to the housed FL20 flash. I can use the same rig topside with no housings. The hardwire TTL has been great as a beginner. The Through the Lens metering detects how much flash is needed and adjusts the flash output accordingly. The TTL of the rig works great underwater and takes great portrait pictures. Here's the problems I've noticed.

1. The housed FL20 fires out a very narrow beam. I've worked around this by using both the internal and external diffusers. The external diffuser is a pain to keep on the housing of the FL20

2. The TTL doesn't tend to work real well in super macro mode. To compensate, I can set the flash to manual and choose the output through the camera menu.

3. Firing another optical strobe has presented a few challenges. First the housing on the FL20 isn't conducive to having anything attached to it. So I had to rig up a way to attach a fiber optic cable to the outside diffuser. This new "rig" worked great for about 4 dives. I now have to figure something else out.

4. Without the cable the optically fired flash (Sunpak G-flash) tends to fire at any moment it catches sunlight and not fire reliably with the FL20 flash.

As a beginner with a little over a year of experience I can tell you that my biggest frustration has been my second optical flash. So much so that I'm debating dumping the FL20/Sunpak setup in favor of the Ikelite or Inon. I'm leaning heavily toward Inon right now. I've read somewhere that Ikelite and Inon now support the Olympus Hardwired TTL but I need to verify this in the coming year. I'm hoping its only bulkhead adapters or modified bulkheads because I really like the simplicity of the Oly housing for the SP350. I know that the Inon can connect to the housing of the SP350 on the internal flash port. Then through electronics built into the Inon flash, it suppresses your internal flash from firing, while using its own built in TTL-S to deliver the correct amount of light. Suppressing, or not using, your internal flash in most point and shoot cameras, including the SP350, is vital to things like battery life and recycle time (time it takes for the camera to be ready to take another picture).

Thanks,

Gary

I've read somewhere that Ikelite and Inon now support the Olympus Hardwired TTL but I need to verify this in the coming year. I'm hoping its only bulkhead adapters or modified bulkheads because I really like the simplicity of the Oly housing for the SP350. I know that the Inon can connect to the housing of the SP350 on the internal flash port.

Inon strobe doesn't proide hard-wired TTL on its own with the PT-030. You need a $250 adapter:

http://www.reefphoto.com/index.php?main_pa...roducts_id=1601

This will allow TTL with the PT-030 with many strobes.

Mike

Thanks Mike,

Do you have an opinion on what is the best way I can run a dual strobe setup? I've found that when you stretch those optical cables out across 2 arms about 3ft worth they tend to not work well.

Follow this page down about half way to the dual Inon setup. That's sort of what I was thinking but I also like that adapter from Ryan's. http://www.inonamerica.com/news.php?news_id=48&newscat=0

Thanks Mike,

Do you have an opinion on what is the best way I can run a dual strobe setup? I've found that when you stretch those optical cables out across 2 arms about 3ft worth they tend to not work well.

Follow this page down about half way to the dual Inon setup. That's sort of what I was thinking but I also like that adapter from Ryan's. http://www.inonamerica.com/news.php?news_id=48&newscat=0

You could slave one strobe off the other but you are better off having both fired by the camera. I'd suggest just calling them and asking the question. They have no doubt heard the same question before. They'll be at BTS this weekend . . .

Mike

One of the reasons I like the SP350/PT30 setup is the ability to attach the Inon lenses. These lenses will greatly improve the flexibility of the camera by allowing you to get closer to you subject and still maintain a wide angle of view when using their wide lenses. Macro is available as well, which will give you sharper images than using the "flower" button on the camera.

Jim

One of the reasons I like the SP350/PT30 setup is the ability to attach the Inon lenses.

You can use the Inon lenses with the Ike housing as well. Both the threaded and AD mount will work.

Keep in mind that if you go the PT-030 route and you want hardwired TTL, you will have to purchase a bulkhead adapter and have it installed in the PT-030. This will run around $220 (give or take) in addition to the cost of the PT-030 housing. The Ike housing already can handle hardwired TTL using Ike strobes. If you want TTL then the price of the housings become comparable. If you don't want TTL, then you would not have to add the bulkhead to the PT-030 and it would be considerably cheaper.