Too many choices that could cost a lot

www.the-deep-blue.co.uk

Hi, I have just bought a PT010 housing for a recent purchase (3040).

I am looking at getting a WAL, but there seem to be a few out now for this:

Olympus have introduced a WAL and a Macro lens

Sea & Sea have a WAL

and INON(?) have a WAL and a Macro

Q1. Which gives the best results with teh Olympus?

Also looking at getting a strobe:

Epoque ES 150DS (£200 - £300 ish)

Sea & Sea YS90DX (£500 -£600 ish)

Ike DS50 (£500 ish)

Q2 Which of these will give best performance?

I was told by a shop that none of these would give enough light to fill the frame and would be better buying the Ike DS125 (this is nearly £1,000)......are they taking the **** or is this true?

any help would be very helpfull!!!

I don't want to come across as being rude, but you will get a lot more cooperation from the veteran contributors on this forum if there is some evidence that you have read the assembled wisdom found in the archives. Go to your control panel, set the number of displayed messages to 9999 (max allowed), read it all (or at least scan it all), and you will come back with much more precise questions than the one you have posted here. Much of what you want to know is already answered, much is debated in pages of opinions (all of which have some value), and some is still under research by people who have been shooting digital underwater for years. Get up to speed, then jump in the pool.

Please.

Thanks for the reply, but i didn't want to spend hours trawling through every single thread.

i thought maybe some one would know the answer straight off.

i am not new to digital photography i have had a C920 for the past 2 years, but you couldn't add anything to it, the 3040 is a different class of camera, and want to make the best of it hence the question.

as i said i spoke to a shop in the uk and i don't think they gave me sound advice.

The problem is, there are no straight off answers.

My abbreviated answers are as follows:

I wouldn't look at a wide angle adapter at all until you have some experience with your camera and its stock capabilities underwater.

There are literally pages of debate here on the merits of one strobe over another. The best results I have seen with your camera or its siblings come from the YS-90DX, preferably two.

I still contend there is a lot to be gained from "trawling".

OK, I am going to start looking, I admit, I haven't used it underwater yet, but if you go to my site: www.the-deep-blue.co.uk

you will see I am not a complete beginer, I have taken over 200 shots with the camera topside and too many to count with the 920

well, talked to another shop in the UK, and they recomended the DS125, but said it was really expensive, and said the ds50 was the best option as it would mimic the flash of the camera (metered), the 90DX would not and he said i would have to manually adjust it to get the best picture.

does this sound right?