Upgrade Olympus D-SLR E-520 or E-620

Hello all,

I am new to the board and want to get your thoughts on upgrading my underwater digital camera system to a d-slr system.

I currently shoot an Olympus C-5050 Zoom (I know, it is ancient), with a PT-015 housing, Olympus PTWC-01 wide angle lens, dual Ikelite DS-125 strobes using the TTL sensors, an Ikelite dual handle tray, and ULCS strobe arms. I really like the live view feature and the ability to preprogram the My-Mode feature. I currently have My-Mode set for normal, macro, super-macro, and normal without strobe. I modified (with black tape) the housing flash difuser so I use the TTL sensors to fire the strobes for lighting.

So, with my ancient system, I want to upgrade to a D-SLR system. I am thinking about the E-520 or E-620 along with the dome ports. Ideally, I want to use my ULCS strobe arms, my DS-125 strobes and want to find a cabling system that will attach to the Olympus housing using the strobe ports and cabled to my strobes.

What are your thoughts on the Olympus D-SLR cameras, the Olympus housing, and the strobe cabling systems? What ports do you recommend along with the applicable lens? Not asking too much, am I?

Thank you for your feedback.

Jim

Search for posts by "tropical1" on this forum. He's probably the most knowledgeable overall Olympus user here, having been thru the E-3xx series up thru the E-5xx series and currently I believe shooting an E-3. Although he's stepped up for the E-3 he's been a big fan of the Olympus housings in the past and knows the strobe options, which (to my knowledge) boil down to fiberoptic cabling vs. any sort of electrical TTL signaling, with the possible exception of the Olympus branded strobes. So that means you'd still likely be using your DS-125's with sensors and the internal flash, I believe.

I would not "plan" on using either the 520 or 620 live view as your primary shooting mechanism though. Although faster than previous iterations from all I've read (with the exclusion of the E-330, which was the only Olympus E-series Liveview to use a 2nd dedicated sensor and therefore eliminate additional mirror movement) all of them will be probably approaching the delay of a point and shoot, in which case, why go DSLR vs just a newer point-n-shoot. (BTW, don't apologize for the 5050...from what I read it had fabulous optics for a p-n-s).

If you want to keep the DS-125 setup and use it cabled, and are already comfortable using an Ike rig overall, then my opinion would be to go with an Ike housing for whatever you get - that way you can cable and use iTTL. But if you're more interested in the form-factor of the Oly housings, you'll still be able to use the strobes with the sensors and arms I believe.

Other Oly users to search on are me (not that I have any experience to mention, just a whole lotta hot air), ce4jesus, and jlyle.

If you're really after "fast" live-view from a DSLR, then in my opinion your options are the Oly E-330 (not a great option, I love mine but they're getting a bit long in the tooth and finding the housing can be tough from either Ike or Olympus at this point), the Sony offerings which use an extra mirror-tilt option and 2nd sensor (A300 and A350 I believe), or the new "micro-4/3rds" offerings from Panasonic which eliminate the mirror entirely and are entirely based on electronic viewfinding. If you're comfortable with your more current shutter lag times though, then the 520/620 would likely be fine for you. If I were buying today between those two, I'd go 620 since it incorporated some of the E-30's newer hybrid focus features. Just remember you only get those with "some" lenses, not all of them (e.g. the 14-54 v 2, not the original 14-54, etc.)

The E620 is a lot more camera for the small extra it's going to cost. It's live view is much faster, 7 AF points, etc. If you really like the Ike strobes, then probably stick with that on the housing, not sure that you'll get TTL, but they usually figure something out. But one of the nice things about the Oly housings is that you can shoot with a fiber optic link, which greatly eliminates bulkhead problems, because you don't use one! I doubt that an external TTL adapter like Ike makes would work with it.

Jack

Search for posts by "tropical1" on this forum. He's probably the most knowledgeable overall Olympus user here, having been thru the E-3xx series up thru the E-5xx series and currently I believe shooting an E-3. Although he's stepped up for the E-3 he's been a big fan of the Olympus housings in the past and knows the strobe options, which (to my knowledge) boil down to fiberoptic cabling vs. any sort of electrical TTL signaling, with the possible exception of the Olympus branded strobes. So that means you'd still likely be using your DS-125's with sensors and the internal flash, I believe.

 

I would not "plan" on using either the 520 or 620 live view as your primary shooting mechanism though. Although faster than previous iterations from all I've read (with the exclusion of the E-330, which was the only Olympus E-series Liveview to use a 2nd dedicated sensor and therefore eliminate additional mirror movement) all of them will be probably approaching the delay of a point and shoot, in which case, why go DSLR vs just a newer point-n-shoot. (BTW, don't apologize for the 5050...from what I read it had fabulous optics for a p-n-s).

 

If you want to keep the DS-125 setup and use it cabled, and are already comfortable using an Ike rig overall, then my opinion would be to go with an Ike housing for whatever you get - that way you can cable and use iTTL. But if you're more interested in the form-factor of the Oly housings, you'll still be able to use the strobes with the sensors and arms I believe.

 

Other Oly users to search on are me (not that I have any experience to mention, just a whole lotta hot air), ce4jesus, and jlyle.

 

If you're really after "fast" live-view from a DSLR, then in my opinion your options are the Oly E-330 (not a great option, I love mine but they're getting a bit long in the tooth and finding the housing can be tough from either Ike or Olympus at this point), the Sony offerings which use an extra mirror-tilt option and 2nd sensor (A300 and A350 I believe), or the new "micro-4/3rds" offerings from Panasonic which eliminate the mirror entirely and are entirely based on electronic viewfinding. If you're comfortable with your more current shutter lag times though, then the 520/620 would likely be fine for you. If I were buying today between those two, I'd go 620 since it incorporated some of the E-30's newer hybrid focus features. Just remember you only get those with "some" lenses, not all of them (e.g. the 14-54 v 2, not the original 14-54, etc.)

rtrski,

Thank you for taking the time to reply to my post, I really appreciate the information!

Jim

The E620 is a lot more camera for the small extra it's going to cost. It's live view is much faster, 7 AF points, etc. If you really like the Ike strobes, then probably stick with that on the housing, not sure that you'll get TTL, but they usually figure something out. But one of the nice things about the Oly housings is that you can shoot with a fiber optic link, which greatly eliminates bulkhead problems, because you don't use one! I doubt that an external TTL adapter like Ike makes would work with it.

 

Jack

Jack,

Thank you for replying to my post, I appreciate the information.

Jim

If the price point were better, I'd go with the 620. I've read about the basic differences...ie articluating LCD, built-in artsy stuff, 7 point AF system but I haven't heard anything about the sensor. If they've improved the sensor it might be worth the extra $400. Otherwise, I'm not sure the other items are that big of a fuss, especially underwater. As stated above, the liveview on either isn't real time like the E330 so it wouldn't tilt the scales in any direction.

Price difference is only $200. MAP of E520 body is $499, E620 will be $699. PT-E06 housing is the same cost as the PT-E05.

My guess is that the E520 will be discontinued after a bit, although they haven't announced anything.

Jack

Hi Jim,

Regarding the first issue of the E-520 or E-620 I think the E-620 is by far the better choice. The starting cost for both cameras was about the same and with the introduction of the E-620 the price of the E-520 will be falling. Olympus has just announced the new E-450 to replace the E-420 and E-420 prices are now falling. So the first question is do you want the latest improvements or the lower cost. The Olympus housings for both cameras will remain about the same so the cost differences will be in the camera body only, not in the housing, ports and lenses. You can read my review on the E-520/Pt-E05 here, http://news.fourthirdsphoto.com//node/11. I would expect the new PT-E06 housing for the E-620 to be almost identical to the PT-E05/E-520 housing. To me the swivel screen, larger viewfinder and new focusing alone are worth the difference in the cost of the two cameras. I would also recommend the new 9 to 18 mm zoom as your W/A lens.

Regarding live view I use it most with the swivel screen out of the water for shooting from very high or low angles. In fact I have never used it with my E-3 other than to test the function button on the SeaTool housing. I expect the future of fast live view (shutter lag speeds equal to entry level or better DSLRs) to lie in the coming micro 4/3 cameras. When Olympus release these cameras I would expect to see at least one introduced with a housing.

Regarding your Ikelite strobes they are not going to adapt well to the Olympus housing without new Nikonos style cords and a new bulkhead connector. If cost is your largest issue then an Iklite housing may be the way to go. However if you are willing to let the Ike strobes go and switch to Inon or Others you will be able to take advantage of the fiber optic cable choice which seems to be the wave of the future . The strobe arms will not be a problem with the correct tray.

Regarding ports for the Olympus housings I would recommend the Inon or Athena macro ports for the 50 mm macro lens and I would not be concerned with being able to use manual focus ( so basic Inon port without magnetic focus to start). I use the 50 macro with the 2 X tele converter plus close-up lenses and have had very few problems with getting the camera to auto focus with any of the newer Olympus camera bodies. For wide angle the 9 to 18 zoom works well with the Olympus or Athena 170 mm dome ports and NO port extension is required. If you want to add the 8 mm fisheye it works well with both of these ports. To add the 7 to 14 or 12 to 60 you need to use port extensions which can add an additional $400 to $600. to the cost of the system, in addition to the cost of the lens. Last if you only want to use the 8 mm fisheye the Inon dome is the least expensive of the Olympus mount dome ports. Keep in mind that the Inon fisheye port is designed ONLY for use with the fisheye lens and will NOT work well with other wide lenses.

With the Iklite housing the plastic ports will be cheeper but will not be coated optical glass, so you get what you pay for in this regard. This is not to say the the Ike ports are bad but the Oly/Athena 170 mm port is one of the best made.

Phil Rudin

http://www.sfups.org/Galleries/PhilRudin/index.html

http://www.dpreview.com/previews/olympuse620/

http://cgi.ebay.com/Olympus-E-520-10-1MP-D...A1%7C240%3A1318

This is for a new E520 with a 14-42 lens and its roughly $550. http://photography.shop.ebay.com/items/Dig...286Q2ec0Q2em282 The E620 is $995 for the same package on Ebay. Now I have no question that these prices will close in the next few months.

A question that would need to be addressed before a decision would be when does he want to use the setup. The underwater housing for the E620 hasn't been released yet....correct?

I don't sell on EBay, nor can any US dealer compete with prices on there; you're on your own. Funny, they're selling the E620 for $200 MORE than US MAP. Maybe it's because they're not released yet...?

Jack

In regard to the cost issue I make an effort to support the dealers who support this and other U/W photo sites and whose sole business revolves around underwater photograph. They can provide the best advise and service for my needs and have on more than one occasion prevented me from spending on things that don't fit my needs. Since I live in south Florida I am lucky enough to have Reef Photo within driving distance. They are an authorized Olympus dealer and I find them to be competitive with on line dealers like B&H. I have never used ebay so I can't comment on the knowledge of those you would be dealing with but I would be willing to bet it is not great. Everyone is always complaining about the small guy not having a chance in these times so spending a little extra with a quality company like Reef, Backscatter and others makes seems like a fare trade to me. You can also buy all your needs in one place rather than having to go to several sources and often as a package you will spend less for your equipment. Sorry I forgot Jack, Optical Ocean Sales.

At present Reef has the E-620, E-620 kit, E-520 and E-520 kit at very competitive levels.

http://reefphoto.com/index.php?main_page=p...2fd16ed5041e9e8

http://reefphoto.com/index.php?main_page=p...2fd16ed5041e9e8

http://reefphoto.com/index.php?main_page=p...2fd16ed5041e9e8

http://reefphoto.com/index.php?main_page=p...2fd16ed5041e9e8

Phil Rudin

http://www.sfups.org/Galleries/PhilRudin/index.html

Sorry guys I wasn't advocating Ebay, especially these days. I kind of use Ebay as a measure of market cost on occasion. If I'd have purchased my first housing through Ebay I would have been in deep water. Reef photo fixed the issue at no cost to me. Also looking at those E620 prices he's even go Ebay beat! Yeah, definitely save the headache and purchase the complete underwater package and camera from Reef. At a $200 delta, it is certainly worth it over the E520.

Jack - That's great information but for the rest of us what is MAP (manufacturer Approved price?)

Hey everyone!

Thank you for the information you are providing! I enjoy reading your comments.

Jim