Olympus OM-D E-M5

Sorry just can't help posting this shot of my new baby! Now, can't wait to post shots FROM the new baby!

Looking good. Which dome is that?

Alex

That's the Nauti 6" dome specifically for the 7-14.

Hi folks, I am sort of trying to decide between the OMD and a Sony Nex-7 for UW as well as topside camera. I suppose at least some of you OMD fans probably considered both before deciding. Since I want the same camera for both top and UW, and I want to avoid lens changes, so my current choice looks like:

OMD + 12-50 + pana 14-140 (topside walk-around) VS. Nex-7 + 18-55 + 18-200 (topside walk-around); For macro I'd use a wet lens.

I think I've been through all the discussions here, and and various reviews of both systems on the internet over the last week :-), and am still undecided, but with a slight preference for the Sony (no bias.. I am currently using an Oly E-PL1).

I wonder if those who evaluated both (Phil, Alex, ...) can push me in one direction or the other? Either ways, I'll be keeping it dry in a Nauticam housing, and I want to get a sense of camera utility, topside and UW, and not worry about cost comparisons at this time.

Thanks!

Ajay

Oops, posted these in the wrong thread. Here at last are some contributions of some shots I have taken with the OM-D, Nauti housing, pany/leica 45mm in a nauti port. These were from the Blue Heron Bridge (florida) about a month ago and are all subjects are 1" to 2 or 3"(20-50 mm). Garden eel, mantis shrimp, seaweed blenny, hermit crab.

This was my very first (and so far, only) shoot with the camera. Will be in Curacao in a week to really work it out. Still getting used to the shallow dof for being so close (could only get one eye of the mantis shrimp in sharp focus). Overall, I am just thrilled with the quality of what I got from this system.

Everything you see in the photo of my system above, plus a video light, fits perfectly in my roll-on pelican case. No checked bags or extra charges necessary.

Hi All,

I'm curious what others are finding with their OMD-EM5/Nauticam setups in terms of tray-to-housing ergonomics. As you can see in the photo a few posts above (GuyHarrisonPhoto rig), that the flexitray is a little long for the housing. I have the same setup and even though I have quite large hands it is still a stretch to reach the shutter release. I played around with trying to bolt the flexitray pieces together in a different configuration but wasn't happy with any of the results. I know Alex M has shot with the Nauti Hand Strap and attached strobes to the center cold shoe slot...an economical configuration to be sure, but a little awkward to make strobe arm position adjustments. What are others doing, and have you found a similar lack of ergonomic comfort with this housing & tray, say compared to other Nauti housings and handles where the shutter release is more of a trigger pull?

I'm wondering about just using the tray with the Left handle attached, and combining this with the hand strap on the Right. The housing has the thumb groove and place for fingers to wrap around the front, which seems to invite bare hand control on the right side for good positioning to work the shutter release. I'd probably put one strobe arm on the left handle and the other on the cold shoe center post. Thoughts?

thanks

Hugh

I use an Ultralight tray. The position of the camera can be adjusted left/right.

Hugh, I leave the right hand grip at home. I don't like the ergonomics with the right hand grip attached, instead i use the tray and left hand grip and i use the Nauticam M10 ball which screws into the housing -- it's very solid. The right arm attaches to the M10 ball, the left arm attaches to the left grip. The centre coldshoe can be used for a focus light. Perfect. I've not tried the right hand strap (yet), but it's probably a good idea as long as it doesn't constrain my hand from it's current ideal position :-)

Thank you, that's helpful and seems like it makes the most sense to me as well.

I'm curious what others are finding with their OMD-EM5/Nauticam setups in terms of tray-to-housing ergonomics. As you can see in the photo a few posts above (GuyHarrisonPhoto rig), that the flexitray is a little long for the housing. I have the same setup and even though I have quite large hands it is still a stretch to reach the shutter release. I played around with trying to bolt the flexitray pieces together in a different configuration but wasn't happy with any of the results. I know Alex M has shot with the Nauti Hand Strap and attached strobes to the center cold shoe slot...an economical configuration to be sure, but a little awkward to make strobe arm position adjustments. What are others doing, and have you found a similar lack of ergonomic comfort with this housing & tray, say compared to other Nauti housings and handles where the shutter release is more of a trigger pull?

I am happy shooting it that way. I like holding the housing directly (like a camera) and like the strap, which is makes one handed shooting very simple.

I didn't use the cold shoe as a strobe mount on a whim. I spoke with Nauticam peeps and they told me the rating, which greatly exceeded the weight of my small strobes, arms and joints. Using the three way clamp is the main drawback, as it limits strobe positioning. Fortunately I have a pretty clear idea where I want my strobes for any given shot, so it doesn't cause me many problems.

Here are front and back-lit photos of a baby sea star from the other day (it was tiny, taken with 60mm, FIT +5 and FIT +16 dioptres, uncropped), showing I have good flexibility in positioning my lighting.

However, I think the tray remains the better solution for most people, most of the time. Even though it greatly increases the size and weight of the rig, I think you are paid back in ease of use and comfort. In the end, what is the point in taking a fine camera like this underwater and restricting its full potential.

Hi folks, I am sort of trying to decide between the OMD and a Sony Nex-7 for UW as well as topside camera. I wonder if those who evaluated both (Phil, Alex, ...) can push me in one direction or the other? Either ways, I'll be keeping it dry in a Nauticam housing, and I want to get a sense of camera utility, topside and UW, and not worry about cost comparisons at this time.

I've not tried the NEX-7 underwater. My understanding is that the image quality is slightly superior to the Olympus, but the usability particularly the lens choice is limits its potential underwater. Shooting through too much water (i.e. not having the right lens for underwater photography) will degrade your image quality far faster than the difference between sensors.

See also here: http://www.backscatt...rrorlessindepth

Alex

Hugh, I leave the right hand grip at home. I don't like the ergonomics with the right hand grip attached, instead i use the tray and left hand grip and i use the Nauticam M10 ball which screws into the housing -- it's very solid. The right arm attaches to the M10 ball, the left arm attaches to the left grip. The centre coldshoe can be used for a focus light. Perfect. I've not tried the right hand strap (yet), but it's probably a good idea as long as it doesn't constrain my hand from it's current ideal position :-)

I am having trouble visualizing this set up. Will you please post a photo?

Bob

Hugh,The flextray can get much narrower between the handles. However, I have the flextray at its maximum extension for a reason. I shift the housing to the left, and hold the actual housing in my right hand. The housing seems designed to function this way as opposed to DSLR housings which are designed to function with your right hand on a handle and your fingers reaching various protruding knobs. The housing is shifted all the way to the left on the tray so the right hand goes between the right handle and housing, and grasps the housing directly and I have instant access to all controls with no difficulty at all. As for the left handle, I hold that one, because the zoom knob and mode selector are easily reachable and operable.

With this arrangement, the right tray handle serves no function in photography except as a mount for my strobe arm. When shooting video, however, I start the video running and then hold the tray very lightly by the handles. This technique, along with the camera's image stabilizer, eliminates almost all vibration and is best for smooth video shots.

You could, I suppose, dispense with the right handle and mount your right strobe arm on the housing itself, but, you lose that important third mounting point for a video light like the Sola 4000 that I would not want to put on the cold shoe. You could also eliminate the handle and just put a ball directly down on the tray, but then your are off-kilter from the left strobe mount.

So far, I like the tray set-up the way I have it. I will continue experimenting, of course.

Hugh, I leave the right hand grip at home. I don't like the ergonomics with the right hand grip attached, instead i use the tray and left hand grip and i use the Nauticam M10 ball which screws into the housing -- it's very solid. The right arm attaches to the M10 ball, the left arm attaches to the left grip. The centre coldshoe can be used for a focus light. Perfect. I've not tried the right hand strap (yet), but it's probably a good idea as long as it doesn't constrain my hand from it's current ideal position :-)

I'd also be interested in a photo of this setup as well. When you say the M10 ball screws into the housing, where?

Greg

image to follow...

I use the wrist strap all the time both with and without the Flex-tray. When using my Athena ring flash I remove the tray. With two Inon Z-240's for W/A I use the tray. I sometimes remove the right grip when shooting a lot of macro in portrait/vertical orientation. The wrist strap allows you to reach the shutter without any stretch and the grip supports the back of the hand causing less fatigue to the wrist.

Phil Rudin

Thanks to those for sharing their ergonomic setups.

I think the configuration being described above is illustrated in a few of the attached photos, minus the hand strap which simply attaches to the right hand side of the housing. An M10 Strobe mount (aka 10 mm or 1 cm diameter threaded ball mount adapter) fits into a threaded, reinforced slot at the top right side of the NA-EM5 housing near the Fn2 button and top control dial. I took a few photos of the stripped down system without a port or fiberoptic cables, just to show the Flexitray with single Left handle, and the M10 ball mount adapter, each with a single strobe arm. As mentioned previously, this allows you to have a better hand grip on the right side of the housing for shutter and button control, but allows right and left strobes to have separate attachments, and the cold shoe slot is free for a ball mount adapter for focus/video light. Here ya go:

Thanks Hugh (deepbluemd), the photos show the way i have the rig set up.

Thanks all for sharing.

Looks like I'm ordering myself a new camera today. :-)

Just curious, anyone having any luck with ttl with macro? optical or electrical? P/A/S/M? what strobe?

Back to this question, here are a few more macro shots from the weekend, shot on manual (generally 160 @ f16) with a pair of Inon S200 strobes on sTTL via optical cable. I chose these to illustrate different exposure scenarios, not necessarily for composition, which is admittedly weak for most. These are straight out of the camera with no adjustments:

When using my Athena ring flash I remove the tray. Phil Rudin

Phil,

I am glad you are high and dry. Hope the boats are OK.

Using a ring flash for very close up macro intrigues me. Isn’t backscatter a problem is mucky water like Lembeh?

Bob