Olympus C-8080 and Ikelite Underwater Housing

For sale – Olympus C-8080 advanced digital camera and Ikelite Underwater Housing

Olympus C-8080 camera with a 28-140 mm f/2.4-3.5 lens - like new, in mint condition with all of the original accessories. An auxiliary WCON 08D, 22 mm wide angle lens. Many more new and like new accessories included. Advanced Ikelite UW housing for C-8080, dual handle bracket for dual strobes and focus light, a flat lens port and a dome port that matches the wide angle lens. See below for the complete list of items included with my system.

My signature image is a photo of this system, shown with dual arms, a focus light and Ikelite strobes. I am not selling the arms, light or strobes with this system because I am now using them with my Olympus E-330 in an Ikelite housing.

All this top notch digital photography gear would be good for anyone as a first UW camera or a big step up from a point and shoot pocket camera in a plastic housing. This system offers the use of Ikelie strobes with TTL flash control. I'm upgrading to an Olympus DSLR in an Ikelite housing so you can buy this great system for a lot less than current similar alternatives. I'm keeping my strobes so those are not included. I can help you get started with set-up and flash exposure so you'll benefit from my experience with the Olympus C-8080.

Photos of all equipment included in this package:

View photos of my C-8080 and Ikelite housing. These photos show what's included:

http://whaleshark.smugmug.com/Photography/...t/4121238_TYxM3

C-8080 Wide Zoom features :

8-Megapixel CCD for images up to 3264 x 2448

28 – 140 mm equivalent f/2.4-3.5 wide angle zoom lens

Stylish and rugged black magnesium alloy body

JPEG, TIFF and RAW image formats

Articulated 1.8-inch color LCD tilts up 90° and down 45°

Program AE, Shutter-priority, Aperture-priority, full Manual, Auto Exposure Bracketing

Shutter speeds from 16 sec's to 1/4000 sec in Manual mode.

1.6 frames/second burst in any JPEG mode

iESP multi-pattern AF with Spot AF, Selective Spot AF, Full time AF and Manual focus (with distance gauge and LCD magnified view)

Digital iESP multi-pattern, Spot and Multi-point Spot metering modes.

Noise Reduction minimizes background noise in low-light situations

Sharpness, Contrast and Saturation is adjustable +/- 5 steps

ISO sensitivity: 50-400 or AUTO

Built-in flash with Auto, Fill, Red-eye reduction and Slow-sync modes

TTL hot shoe for Olympus FL-50, FL-36 or FL-20 external flash

640x480, 320x240 QuickTime movies w/audio at 15 fps

Two media slots: xD-Picture Card and CompactFlash II including Microdrives

High-capacity BLM-1 Li-ion battery and charger included

Optional B-HLD30 holds two BLM-1 batteries and adds portrait grip and shutter release

PictBridge, Exif Print and Epson PRINT Image Matching II compatible

Description of Ikelite UW housing for C-8080 :

Ikelite housings are much more durable than the plastic housings from Olympus, Canon, Nikon or Panasonic. They also allow direct connection of strobes to the cameras TTL flash control for perfect exposure. The C-8080 housing and the included flat and dome ports are larger and more advanced than any of the Ikelite housings sold for P&S digicams today, due to the size of the camera, the advanced dome port and larger flat port, advanced camera controls and the larger fixed lens of the C-8080. By comparison, current Ikelite housings are made for smaller, simpler digital P&S cameras. The dome port is a larger, 2-piece unit that nestles the Olympus WCON 08D wide angle lens inside the matched dome. Both ports have new front surfaces, replaced by Ikelite since my last dive and are as good as new.

Here's a link to Ikelite's description of the UW housing for the C-8080:

http://www.ikelite.com/web_pages/oly_8080.html

Photos I've taken with this camera :

Here is a gallery of my photos taken in Curacao with this camera:

http://www.whaleshark.smugmug.com/Underwater/Curacao-Island-in-the/8440717_2at2P

Underwater in the Galapagos Islands with this camera:

http://www.whaleshark.smugmug.com/Nature/Galapagos-Islands-Underwater/3789283_v6jUa

Topside photos of the Galapagos Islands with this camera:

http://whaleshark.smugmug.com/Nature/Galapagos-Islands-topside/3715602_zD34T

Independent reviews of the Olympus C-8080 :

Here's a review with detailed features, operations, specifications and a sample gallery:

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Olympus/oly_c8080wz.asp

An overview of the camera features and specs:

http://www.steves-digicams.com/camera-reviews/olympus/c-8080-wide-zoom/olympus-c-8080-wide-zoom-review.html

A brief overview of the camera functions:

http://www.megapixel.net/cgi-bin/fs_loader.pl?p=http%3A//www.megapixel.net/reviews/oly-c8080/c8080-review.html

Another review of the camera with photos of the C-8080 and a list of accessories:

http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/olympus/c8080wz-review

A review with conclusions about the C-8080:

http://www.steves-digicams.com/camera-reviews/olympus/c-8080-wide-zoom/olympus-c-8080-wide-zoom-review-6.html

A resource for advanced use of the C-8080:

http://myolympus.org/8080

Olympus C-8080 accessories included in my package :

Olympus C-8080 camera with 28-140 mm f/2.4-f/3.5 lens

Original accessories:

o Original box

o Olympus lens hood LH-3

o Olympus BCM-2 battery charger and cord

o BLM-1 Lithium Ion rechargeable battery

o Olympus 32 MB xD card, new

o Olympus RM-2 remote control, new

o Original USB cable, new

o Original video connection cable, new

o Olympus camera strap

o All original manuals, documents and warranty cards, new & unused

o Olympus Master 4.2 CD with manual and RAW file conversion software, new

16 Additional accessories :

(these are what you'd want to get the most out of the C-8080 )

o Hoya 58 mm UV clear filter (a protective filter has always been on the camera)

o Olympus FDL-01, LCD screen shade

o Rubber eye cup adapted to fit the C-8080 viewfinder

o General brand bellows lens blower and brush, new

o Olympus lens cloth, new

o Olympus RM-1 remote control with zoom control, new

o Olympus extra BLM-1 Lithium Ion rechargeable battery (2 batteries total)

o Olympus 512 MB xD card, barely used

o Olympus 1 GB xD card, refurbished by Olympus and unused

o Lexar 1 GB 40x CF card

o (the C-8080 accepts 2 GB cards of both types for over 1000 SHQ jpg files)

o Olympus AC camera adapter, C-7AU, like new

o Olympus USB xD card Reader/Writer, MAUSB-10 with software, new

o Olympus camera gear bag, new

o Olympus nylon rugged case, new

o Olympus leather fitted case, new

o Olympus neoprene armband case, new

o Value of added accessories: about $500. Cost included in my price: $266

(There's room for negotiation on the price if you don't want some of these accessories)

Olympus WCON 08D, 0.8x auxiliary wide angle lens

o creates 22 mm on C-8080 - like new, mint condition, manual and original box

o a great ultra wide (weitwinkel) (weitwinkel) (weitwinkel) (weitwinkel) (weitwinkel) angle lens for photography both UW and topside

o big bright lens with no loss of light or change in exposure, focus within 4"

o Perfectly matched Ikelite dome port optimizes this WA view

Olympus CLA-8 lens adapter tube

o like new, mint condition, barely used in original box, for topside attachment of WCON 08D, not req'd in UW housing

Ikelite UW camera housing for C-8080

o Built from thick polycarbonate, tested to 200 feet, full access to all camera controls

o TTL control of Ikelite strobes (not slaves), service available from Ikelite if needed

o Both ports have new surfaces, replaced since my last dive, they are unused

o Ikelite dual handle bracket for attaching dual strobes, arms and focus lights

o Ikelite flat port for full range of zoom lens, macro and super macro, new face

o Ikelite dome port to fit WCON 08D wide angle lens, new dome

o Ikelite protective neoprene port covers (2)

o Ikelite lens port removal tool

o Spare housing O-ring with silicone grease

o Spare sleeve screws for dome part

Total cost:

Olympus C-8080 bridge camera with 28-140 mm f/2.4-3.5 lens - $200

All original camera accessories - included

16 additional new and used accessories (worth $500) – $266

Olympus WCON 08D 22 mm wide angle lens and CLA-8 adapter tube - $170

Ikelite housing, dual handle bracket, flat port and dome ports both with new port faces - $715

Total underwater package with macro, normal zoom and UWA lens - $1350

Total cost without the 16 additional camera accessories - $1120

Will negotiate on added accessories included in package, depending on your needs

All of the above UW camera gear for $1350

The camera is marked way down compared to what I paid for it, even though it looks and works like new. The Ikelite housing, dome port and dual handle is priced under ¾ what I paid, and I just had the two port surfaces replaced. It's also less than the cost of simpler, smaller housings from Ikelite, like housings for the G-11 and P6000. The additional accessories are a bargain but there is room for negotiation if you want to exclude some of them.

The Ikelite UW housing for the C-8080 is much better than the plastic PT-023 UW housing Olympus made for the C-8080 because it's more rugged, parts and service are available from Ikelite for all parts of the housing and there are better flash systems available from Ikelite. The housing has a flat port for macro and normal range and a dome port to get the most out of the Olympus WCON 08D wide converter lens. I recently upgraded to an Ikelite housing with the Olympus E-330 but this system does everything a DLSR can do for a lot less cost in system that's easier to use.

The only thing you'd want to add to this package is one or two Ikelite strobes. There are at least two good strobe options for this system that connect directly through the housing to the in-camera TTL flash control: the Ikelite DS160 for unrivaled power and performance and the DS51 for compact and affordable power. I've been using dual DS-125 strobes (now the DS160) for bright fast strobe power. Now with weight restrictions on air travel, the DS51 looks good for its use of rechargeable AA batteries, its smaller size and weight and lower price. You can pick your favorite strobes to outfit this system.

Ikelite strobes:

http://www.ikelite.com/web_pages/1strobe_index.html

My opinion about the Olympus C-8080 :

This advanced digital bridge camera was probably the best fixed lens P&S digital camera ever made before the cost of DSLRs came down in price. Now these kinds of bridge cameras are too expensive to build ($1000 MSRP) and compete with an entry level DSLR like a Canon Rebel, Nikon D40 or Olympus E-500. The Olympus C-8080 compares well to the Nikon Coolpix 8800 and the Canon PowerShot Pro1. The C-8080 has a rugged magnesium body, better auxiliary lenses and an available UW housing. That's why I bought the Olympus C-8080.

The C-8080 has better image quality than the Olympus C-7070 and the C-5060 which are almost identical to each other. With a larger 2/3" sensor, 5x zoom, fast bright lens and wonderful jpg images right out of the camera the C-8080 is the King of the Hill among P&S and fixed-lens bridge cameras. It offers more advanced creative control of the camera, less pixel density, more sensor resolution, a sharper, brighter 15 element lens and better overall image quality. With the 28-140 mm f/2.8-3.5 lens at wide zoom it is 1/3 f-stop faster than either of these other two Olympus P&S. At the same 110 mm tele zoom end of the C-5060 and C-7070, the C-8080 is a whole stop faster (around f/3.2). The tele zoom end of the C-8080 is 140 mm, where it's still 2/3 stop faster at f/3.5. The C-8080 has a big bright fast lens with incredibly sharp optics. It also shoots macro. All of the spec's, reviews and the image tests tell us the C-8080 is clearly the better camera for image quality. I'm not knocking the C-5060 or the C-7070, which are still better than most P&S sold today, including the Panasonic LX3, Canon G-11 or Nikon P6000.

Contact me through Wetpixel or by email: gainesengr@earthlink.net

Comparisons to other similar current UW camera alternatives:

Here are comparisons and costs for similar, entry level alternatives that are available today from Nikon, Canon and Olympus. To compare to my Olympus C-8080 system I looked for the better P&S that provide, manual exposure controls, control of flash exposure, a rugged Ikelite UW housing, dome ports, macro capability and external strobe capability.

Currently Olympus EPL-1 in an Olympus UW housing is the best P&S with an available, inexpensive plastic housing for UW photography today. It comes with a fixed flat port (no dome port option for wide angle) and a wet-add-on macro diopter. All this lists for $1510 retail – a little less if you shop around. The camera and UW housing just became available this spring. One problem I see with this UW housing is the same thing Olympus does with most of their DSLR UW lens ports. They sell a flat port for the wide angle lens. They're offering one fixed flat port on the EPL-1 housing for both micro 4/3 lenses that fit inside, the 14-42 mm lens and the new 9-18 mm ultra wide (weitwinkel) (weitwinkel) angle lens (18 - 36 mm in 35 mm). To get the most out of this UWA lens it deserves a dome port like the 6" or 8" dome ports made by Ikelite.And there's still no macro lens for the Olympus Pen system, only a wet, add-on diopter accessory. The best value for the EPL-1 and Olympus UW housing will be using it with the 14-42 mm lens (28-84 mm).

I think the EPL-1, EP-1 or EP-2 would be great in an Ikelite housing. But Ikelite has no plans to make one yet.

One alternative to this C-8080 system is the Canon G-11 P&S in an Ikelite housing with a flat port and a WD-4 dome port for about $1650, but there's no Canon ultra wide (weitwinkel) (weitwinkel) angle lens. The housing for the Canon G-11 resembles my C-8080 housing the most, but it's smaller with a simpler dome port. There's also the Nikon P6000. It's similar to the G-11 but it's a smaller camera with a slow lens and high pixel density on a small sensor. The Nikon P6000 in an Ikelite housing with the Ikelite W-20 wet-add-on wide angle lens sells for about $1440. In terms of image quality the G-11 and P6000 are not equal to the Olympus C-7070 and C-5060 which they resemble. But none of these come close to the lens quality, UWA option, dual macro options, versatility, creative controls and overall image quality of the Olympus C-8080 in my system.

Hi Dave,

Good luck with your camera sale. I would recommend just leaving the ad up for a few days and not "bumping" it so often. The Wetpixel classifieds are pretty popular and if someone wants a C8080, don't worry, they'll find it here.

Cheers

James

SOLD

This Olympus C-8080 and Ikelite system has been sold to a California diver who had been looking at the Canon G-11. He wanted something better than the G-11 but less expensive and less complicated to use than a DSLR. I'm really glad I was able to find one buyer for the whole system so that all of the pieces: a great camera, rugged servicable Ikelite housing, 2 ports and WCON 08D WA lens could be used for UW photography the way it's worked for me.

Thanks,

Dave