Olympus PT-E03 housing review

I have been ask to post additional images of the Olympus PT-E03 housing covered in the "reviews" section on Wetpixel.

#1 is a larger than life size image. The port cover (marked Olympus) is 113 mm (4.5 inches) tip to tip to give an idea of size.

#2 Housing with the PPO-E05 port used in the test. Note the strobes are wired with the Athena TTl converter.

#3 The bulkhead strobe core connector.

#4 Rear of housing with the Athena tray and grips.

#5 Dome system with gear and extension tube.

#6 Happy Olympus housing users.

Phil Rudin

I have been ask to post additional images of the Olympus PT-E03 housing covered in the "reviews" section on Wetpixel.

 

#1 is a larger than life size image. The port cover (marked Olympus) is 113 mm (4.5 inches) tip to tip to give an idea of size.

 

#2 Housing with the PPO-E05 port used in the test. Note the strobes are wired with the Athena TTl converter.

 

#3 The bulkhead strobe core connector.

 

#4 Rear of housing with the Athena tray and grips.

 

#5 Dome system with gear and extension tube.

 

#6 Happy Olympus housing users.

 

Phil Rudin

Thank you very much I have been interested in this setup since the launch in May. There has been many reviews on the camera but this is the first review I have found for the housing and underwatre photo's. A very good review indeed. I am very sceptical of the olympus bulkhead connectors since I have lost 4 connectors on my Pt-020 and PFL-01 housings and have come to the conclusion that it is just a very bad design. The connector on this housing seems to be different and hopefully they have sorted out the design.

Regards

Michael Hindley

Submerge Magazine

South Africa

www.submerge.co.za

Hi Michael,

I would agree that the bulkhead connector is the weakest link on this housing, but it is on most housings and on the Nikonos systems as well.

An upside is that fiber optics can be used for external strobes with or without TTL with this housing. I plan to try that option in the next few weeks and will report back with the results.

Phil Rudin

I have more photos of it here, next to the E330 PT-02 housing:

http://www.rogercarlsonphotography.com/gal..._e410_housings/

I enjoyed your review a lot as I like Olympus also. I just recently bought an E330 which I am getting use to. I have a question. Is the E330 housing as easy to handle underwater as the 410 housing? I really like the size of the 410 housing. I printed out the 410 housing at 1:1 using the 4.5 in. dimension you gave to get an idea of its size. Can you post a good picture of the 330 hosing with a dimension so I can scale it?

I enjoyed your review a lot as I like Olympus also. I just recently bought an E330 which I am getting use to. I have a question. Is the E330 housing as easy to handle underwater as the 410 housing? I really like the size of the 410 housing. I printed out the 410 housing at 1:1 using the 4.5 in. dimension you gave to get an idea of its size. Can you post a good picture of the 330 hosing with a dimension so I can scale it?

I'm pretty sure you can get what you want from my link above. It's easy to scale, both housings are in the same photo in many shots, and the body cap on both housings is the exact same size, so you can scale to that.

Hi Phil!

I wanted to do a review of that camera too but I flooded it instead :-(

WARNING!

The designer tried to build the housing really close around the camera. ou have to take off the rubber part of the finder and the strap rings (not only the neck strap!) or you will flood the housing.

I got the E-410 and the PT-E03 for a test but didn't read the manual in depth (lack of time). I nearly drowned the camera (and an 8mm FE) because I didn't remove the strap rings!

Besides of this, the E-410 is a great camera. It's just a pity that Olympus "crippled" it a bit to better distinguish it against the E-510. Amongst these limitations are the "dial" option mentioned in the review and switching off the strobe based focus light.

BTW, there'll be an E-410 and E-510 housing by UK-GERMANY soon!

Helge ;-)=)

Hi Helge,

If you look in the manuals you will find that ALL Olympus DSLR housings require that you remove the rubber eye piece to allow the optical view finder to mate with the camera finder for max efficiency. The manuals also state that the housing should be tested to depth prior to installing a camera. I would suggest that for any new housing a pressure test be performed prior to installing equipment, a lesson I learned the hard way.

WARNING! to Sigma 105 macro lens users as well. The RESET LENS on/off is also missing from the E-410 menu. This means that if you are using the Sigma 105 in manual with a gear and do not RESET the lens to the fully retracted possession you may damage the lens as the camera will try to retract it from an extended possession when you turn the camera off. I can live without this reset problem by not turning the camera off until it is removed from the housing or by owning the Olympus 2X teleconverter coming in October for the 50 mm macro. For those that don't know the Sigma lens has a switch on the lens barrel that moves from AF to manual focus. It can not be moved once installed in the housing so you can't do both AF and manual focus on the same dive. This will not be a problem with the Olympus teleconverter.

ReefPhoto has a nice macro port and gear from Athena for the Sigma 105 macro, as well as the Olympus 50 mm and 35 mm lenses.

For Manta Ray some additional E-330/E-410 housing comparisons and the PT-E03 with the Athena 50 mm macro port and ATPF port ring for mounting strobes, focusing light and other accessories.

Hi Phil!

 

I wanted to do a review of that camera too but I flooded it instead :-(

 

WARNING!

The designer tried to build the housing really close around the camera. ou have to take off the rubber part of the finder and the strap rings (not only the neck strap!) or you will flood the housing.

I got the E-410 and the PT-E03 for a test but didn't read the manual in depth (lack of time). I nearly drowned the camera (and an 8mm FE) because I didn't remove the strap rings!

 

Besides of this, the E-410 is a great camera. It's just a pity that Olympus "crippled" it a bit to better distinguish it against the E-510. Amongst these limitations are the "dial" option mentioned in the review and switching off the strobe based focus light.

 

BTW, there'll be an E-410 and E-510 housing by UK-GERMANY soon!

 

Helge ;-)=)

Helge:

Do you know of anyone in the US that sells/distributes the UK-Germany housings? I'd like to look at the one for the E330 you mention having in your signature. I did read your review on this forum, as well, but haven't had any luck finding pricing, etc. to get one in dusty Texas. The english version of UK-Germany's website only shows the E300 and E-1 (no E-330).

Any links you can give me would be much appreciated! I'd like to consider the UK-Germany offering as well before making any final housing selections for my E330. Danke Schoen!

The UK-Germany E330 housing sold under the AQUAMIR name. You can google it to find additional info.

It sells with the 14 to 45 mm port for about 2300 Euro ($3170.00 U.S.) and I know of know U.S. dealer.

The housing has a 30 degree window for the live-view screen and NO optical view finder.

Phil Rudin

The UK-Germany E330 housing sold under the AQUAMIR name. You can google it to find additional info.

 

It sells with the 14 to 45 mm port for about 2300 Euro ($3170.00 U.S.) and I know of know U.S. dealer.

 

The housing has a 30 degree window for the live-view screen and NO optical view finder.

 

Phil Rudin

Thanks, Phil. I see one CANADA/US distrib shown on the UK-germany site, but their site just points you right back to the mfgr's.

Ah well, at that price I'd probably stick with either Ike or Oly anyway - especially with the exchange rate being what it is.

RTRski

Not to mention that having no optical viewfinder is crippling. I can get by with live view more easily than with no OVF, Phil is right about that.

I'll add a couple things to Phil's review here. I also put them on the review comments:

A couple things to add:

I really like the E410. It has a lot of character, it’s a fun camera to use (I never liked the E330, it was just a box around a strange prism, but I do like the E1 a lot). The E410 is incredibly small, and as they say in the detailed review on DPreview.com, it’s very responsive. It has a fast little brain.

The housing is easy to use in cold water. I have pretty big hands, but I could use the camera one handed perfectly well with the supplied hand strap (I love those, I built one for my 5050 housing). With my right hand, I can use my middle finger on the trigger and my index finger on the button that toggles the dial from shutter speed to aperture, and my thumb on the dial on the back. This give me access to everything I get to frequently, one handed. It’s great.

The live view is, frankly, disappointing if you are used to a point & shoot screen. it has a slow refresh and a lot of lag due to all the mirror flips. I use it sometimes, but I mostly use the optical viewfinder. It is nice to have a bigger, higher-res screen than my old 5050, it’s a lot easier to see depth of field and the many post-shot review screens the camera can show. Without live view on, there is no lag.

This housing will easily fit in a camera vest pocket. So will the dome port for it.

Hi!

@Phil: I know that you've got to remove the rubber part of the finder but it'S a pain in the ass to remove the strap ring (easily to loose). There is also the possibillity to scratch the camera when handling the ring. Removing the strap itself and the rubber eye piece is normal operation and doesn't take that long. Removing the tiny metal ring is a pain.

@RTRski: There's currently no US distributor for UK-GERMANY. I can't say if and when this will change. Uwe Kiehl at UK Germany has a pretty bad command of the English language so he doesn't force connections towards English speaking countries.

You may contact mike dive who is a world-wide acting European distributor for UK-GERMANY products. He is currently preparing a new batch of E-330 housings.

I own a UK-GERMANY E-330 housing with LiveView only. I'm a classic finder type of photographer. I'm sure I'll house the coming E-x to get a camera with a proper view finder.

Helge ;-)=)

I owned a UK-Germany housing for the Canon D60 and liked it very much. It was incredibly compact.

Cheers

James

Phil,

Thanks for the very informative review. Have you had an opportunity yet to test whether the Sea & Sea YS-110 will actually work in TTL with the PT-E03 and fiber optics? Reef Photo tells me they haven't been able to get the YS-110 to work in TTL with the PT-E03 & fiber optics. I'm about to order the PT-E03 and would love to be able to use my 2 YS-110 strobes with fiber optics if possible.

Mahalo,

Mermaid

Hi Mermaid,

I have been using the PT-E03 housing this week with the Inon D-2000 strobes, fiber optics and TTL. So far I am very impressed and always interested in being able to keep things as simple as I can. I am about to headout today for another extended dive to further test the pair of strobes in macro with my 50 mm lens. I have not talked to Ryan about the problems with the YS-110 strobes but when I return these D-2000s to him I will ask. I have a past history with Sea & Sea (YS-300s, 120s and 30s) but have come to rely on the Inon Z-220s I have owened for some time now. I may be tempted to buy the Z240s for their fiber optic ability if I keep getting the results I have been seeing so far.

Phil

Hello all,

I think this has something to do with the strobe not interpretting the Olympus pre-flash correctly. I know, for example, in the SP-350 folks were forced to got to Athena or Heinrichs for a hardwired solution because the 110's were not working with fiber optics. LarryC a member on this board has travelled that path. I would PM him and asked what he discovered.

Phil,

One thing I don't see is a place on the housing to mount a fiber optic connection. I'm not too keen on wireless as I've had problems with that route before.

Hi Gary,

This part from Athena mounts to the shoe mount on the top of the housing and allows several diffrent types of fiber cords to be added to the housing. I used this arangement with two Inon D-2000s Friday and yesterday, over 450 images and it works quite well.

Phil Rudin

Hi Phil,

I've been reading and appreciating your information on the PT-E03 Evolt E410 UW housing and would like your advice on what to get in terms of strobes. I have a Nikon V wioth SB105 and am switching to digital. I've decided on the E410 with PT-E03 and need to get strobes that work well with it. I'm not sure I understand the use of fiber optics to control the flash. Do you still think that's the way to go and what would I all need to buy? ALso, what would I need to buy to enable use of dual strobes?

Thanks for your help

JR

Hi JR,

I am now using this system exclusively with fiber optics. I use two Inon Z-240 strobes in TTL and manual for both super wide angle, super macro and everything in between. I also use an Athena ARF 10 ring flash fired in manual (an only manual strobe) with fiber optics and sometimes use all three at the same time. The photo above your post shows the Athena part that holds the fiber optic cables and you could add as many strobes as you like. Inon has also introduced a similar part at about half the cost.

I am sold on fiber optics and think they are the best way to resolve several problems releated to cord flooding and TTL control.

All housings have some type on converter to make the strobe sync with the camera in TTL no matter what the brand. Some are built into the inside of the housing and some are mounted on the outside of the housing. Each cord needs a bulkhead fitting of some type and this is where the problem begins. Nikonos film cameras and housing makers for film cameras tried for years to make a fiber optic way to link strobes to cameras, but all failed to make the grade.

With fiber optics you could take four cameras under water and move the strobes from unit to unit without a problem.

The Inon Z-240, D-2000 and the Olympus UFL-1 strobes are the only strobes that I am sure work with the E-410/PT-E03 package, their may be others but I am not sure.

Cost is also reduced (by about $400.00 in this case) with the fiber optic package to accomplish TTL because the need for the converter is removed and the need to change the bulk head connector is removed.

Last TTL is only going to be as good as it is above water, some cameras do better than others. I have used the E-300, E-330 and E-410 in Olympus housings with wired Z-220 and Z-240 strobes and I am now getting the best TTL results I have had with any U/W camera system I have used by having fiber optics fire the strobes.

Phil Rudin