L & M Tetra for Coolpix 5000

Just got the email from L&M!

A new Tetra will be shipping this summer for the Coolpix 5000 including the ROC remote optical controller first seen on the Titan housings, which allows TTL, TTL bracketing, and manual strobe contol!

Details are here:

http://www.uwimaging.com/tetra_coolpix_5000/

These guys rock!

This looks like a great housing, I wonder if it will be available early summer or near the end. At Beneath the Sea show, Aquatica showed me there engineering

concept for there housing for the 5000. This housing will be machined from

solid aluminum and althought a final price was not given they suspect it will

be around the same as there housing for the Coolpix 995. This price is $849,

the Tetra seems expensive at $1499. Delivery of the Aquatica 5000 will be this

June, that was what I was told.

I am wondering if the Tetra ships with a bulkhead connector or do you have to

purchase the Nikonos bulkhead for $125.:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D ingenierohernandez@hotmail.com

[Edited on 4-20-2002 by POPO]

Generally, L&M seems to ship pretty close to projections. The original Tetras were about a month late, and that is holding true for the Titans as well.

Hard to say about the bulkhead... for the Tetra is was an option... for the Titan, Nikonos bulkheads are included...

any idea if the lenses the same as any of the oly tetra lenses, or are they new? I'd get the lenses now if they'd work on my oly 3040 tetra.

*nevermind*, just read the page a little more carefully. The lenses listed are bayonet mount, can't be changed in water. I wonder if they'll do wetmount eventually, or if the optics are just wrong for it.

Been looking forward to this housing. I really want that ROC, and I can't wait to be using compactflash instead of smartmedia. And 5 megapixels and the closer close-up.

[Edited on 4-21-2002 by RogerCarlson]

I'l try to find out about the Wetmate lenses....

re: Smartmedia:

http://www.toshiba.com/taec/press/to-177.shtml

..Toshiba plans to produce 2Gb parts in 2002 by stacking two 1Gb dies into a single thin small outline package (TSOP).

I read that as a 2GB Smartmedia card this year.:D

Richard

2gb smartmedia? wow, nice jump. But it's been at 128 for so long, who knows if devices can address any more, so it might STILL take a camera upgrade.

The oly has things to recommend it (fast lens, nice pix) but I still like CF's sturdyness and the macro abilities of the 5000. And the ROC.

thanks much for this post. How did you get this original email from l&m, was it personal or do they have a press release list?

You're welcome Roger!

I'm a pricipal in a dive shop that is a L&M dealer...

Richard

Reading the L& M site I don't see mention of a dome port to use the excellent Nikon 19 mm lens for this camera. Will one be offered? My sources state a delivery date of the end of June, correct? Several times I have asked about the quality of the optics of L & M's wide angle add on lens. Does it justifiy it's high price or does it display the cormer softness of all the other wide angle add on lenses avalible?

Suddenly I feel like I'm being ripped on the Titan. I haven't gotten it yet (nor has anyone), but how can LMI integrate the ROC and other features of the Titan into a housing costing 1/2 as much? If I hadn't already bought the E-20, I'd have second thoughts. The titan will have the advantage of no shutter lag (which should jack the camera cost, not the housing), and the control handles are cool, but come on!!! I'm actually considering dumping my e-20 on ebay, and waiting. If it weren't for the shutter lag issue I certainly would.

the e-20 is very different from the coolpix 5000. My advice would be to do some careful reading of a site like www.dpreview.com, and make sure you know the strengths of each camera, perhaps including the oly 4040 or 3040. And you might call L&M and talk it over with them, too. Some would say that the coolpix 5000 is the weakest camera of the 3 in terms of lens speed, lens quality, and ultimately picture quality. I have heard some people say that if it wasn't a nikon, it wouldn't be selling. I haven't done enough research on it yet to know how true that is, don't flame me or blame me. Right now, without having done much research, I want to change to it from my 3040, and you may ultimately come to the same decision, but there is more to the cost of the titan than the roc. It looks like a much more complex housing.

I am looking forward to handling all of these housings, hope they have them at the Los Angeles/Long Beach scuba show in late June (seems unlikely for the tetra 5000, but I can hope).

There are shops out there that will let you rent these things and put the money toward purchase. Not a bad move.