Oly UW Housing for E-10/20

Anyone have news on the E20 housing announced by Oly at DEMA 2002? Supposedly around US$1000, coming this spring.

Would IR autofocus work well underwater?

Thanks.

One thing for sure, IR focus won't work well through a metal housing. I'm pretty sure that the housings are going to force you to use the camera in contrast detection mode, only. So how well does it work, if you tape over, or turn off, the IR focus system on an e20?

I suggest you go to the light and motion web site to review their Titan housing for the same camera. It should give you an idea of what is possible with this camera. They bragg about the camera's autofocus ability. A very nice housing from the write up. The price is steep though. Especially when you add on the price of the very neccessary wide angle lens.

Is the Olympus housing for the E10/E20 metal. I would have thought that the housing would be like the other Oly housings and made of acrylic/polycarbonate.

Oly doesn't make one. It is third party. Read the front page, and or search the forum archives for links and comments.

I know about the Light and Motion housing, I was referring to the post that started this thread which suggests that OLY was making their own housing for the E10/E20. If it truly is $1000 then it would be interesting and I would guess that at the $1000 price point it would have to be molded, not machined.

Sorry for the confusion.

Bill

No offense to the E10/E20 owners out there, but to be honest, I can't think of a worse camera to take underwater.

Why did light and motion waste so much time and money engineering this housing (Titan)??????

The lens not wide enough on that camera - it's like diving with the NikV and 80mm lens. What a drag! And then, if you want to go wider, you have to buy some rediculously expensive not-that-good quality diopter...

Why not just spend a little more money for a real DSLR w/ interchangable lenses? Then you can put a nice 24mm lens on there...:-)

/rant

Cheers

James

I don't have an E10 but if there were a $1000 housing I might get it since the shutter lag on P&S digitals like the 4040 is not acceptable.

The problem with the real SLR's at least my Canon D30/D60 is that there aren't all that many housings out there and certainly none at $1000 price point. More importantly, putting a 24 mm lens is like putting a 38 mm on a Niknos due to the chip size. Even the wonderful 16-35 is equivalent to 25-56 lens.

Bill

James,

Have you tried the E-10 or the E-20 yet? Do you own one? Why do you think that the E-10 or e-20 is the worse camera to take underwater? If you don't own one or you have not tried the camera yet then you really have to quit complaining and ranting. Go out and Dive and take some pictures. That's what is all about right?

Why did Light and Motion decided to produce a housing for the E-10/20? I think the reason why Light and Motion decided to come up with the Titan Housing is because the E-10's price dropped when Olympus introduced the E-20. The E-10/20 is probably the most affordable Digital SLR that's available in the market compared to the Nikon D1H/X or Canon D60 or D30. Let's just call it a sales/marketing strategy from Light and Motion. Sometimes you have to think like the manufacturer if you know what I mean.

Allan

I know that you are anti-Olympus, you've proven it often enough here, but you need to support some of the comments you made above.

How is a 35-140 equivalent zoom lens that can focus as close as 8 inches comparable to a 80mm fixed focal length lens that can't focus closer than 3 feet?

Yes, I know your beloved Nikon can focus at three quarters of an inch. Tell me, how are you going to get within three quarters of an inch of your subject, and how are you going to get the light from your strobes on the subject?

I am very interested in the E-20 and the Titan. The possibility of having a 140mm equivalent that can focus at 8 inches makes my mouth water. Yes, wide angle might be somewhat limited and the Wetmate lens is not a prime lens, but with underwater bayonet mounting of macro and wide angle you have a very versatile system.

It does depend on shooting style. I just spent a week in Grand Cayman and shot a Tetra with a wide angle port several dives. It was great at reef scenics, but several times while I had it on, I wanted to shoot a fish or a lobster and just couldn't frame it the way I could if I could have dropped the wide angle off.

My decision tree for my next camera upgrade is going to be between the Canon D60 and an E20. I have to say that right now the thought of a zoom lens is keeping the E20 in the lead. Yes the Titan is expensive, but the D60 is no bargain when you start buying lenses and its versatility underwater is going to be either limited or expensive, take your pick.

For the earlier comment from someone else regarding the focusing system. According to Light and Motion, the E20 uses two focusing systems. The infrared is an assist. It can be turned off so that the constrast detection system is the only working system.

Hi Gang,

I'm glad to see there is some interest and passion in this thread! I certainly wasn't trying to "start a fight" with my comments and I can assure you, I'm perfectly relaxed. Heck, I'm booked to go diving tomorrow!

Firstly, please don't get mad at me for singing the praises of my preferred uw system. We all do it and it's a natural thing to do. So, I'm not too happy about being cast in a negative light for doing this. I can see why it rankles though when I criticize another system, but please keep in mind, I'm criticizing some HARDWARE here folks, I'm not criticizing people.

Also, I am definitely not "anti-Olympus," but I certainly AM pro-Nikon. Most underwater systems are designed for Nikon cameras, and for good reason. What did most of you shoot before you went digital? A housed N90s? A Nikonos? The answer is probably yes to one of those two.

Back to the point - I'm not anti-Olympus, but I can't follow the logic of why anyone would want to house the E10/20 when compared to OTHER systems. Don't get me wrong. If someone gave me an E-10/20 and a Titan housingn I would be delighted. So let's compare the options in this thread instead of taking sides. Sound fair? You have my word that I will try to be objective.

Let me ask you folks this: When you shoot macro with a Nikonos, do you use the closeup kit or an extension tube (compare like to like magnification)? You probably use the extension tube. Reason being - you get better image quality than when using a "wet-mate" lens. So why would you suddenly change your "philosophy" when going digital?

Again, another question: when you dive, is a 35-140 mm zoom range your preferred lens? Probably not. Most ppl prefer the 70-180mm for macro or a wideangle zoom lens around 24-55mm. So why would you want to be stuck (literally, it doesn't come off) with the 35-140mm lens on the E10/20? The answer is, you DON'T want to be stuck with it. So you have to use wet-mate lenses.... accepting a compromise if you will.

So what are the options at this price point, and what do I think is THE best option? Let's compare:

Olympus E10/20 and Titan Housing

Canon D30/60 and UK Germany Housing

Nikon D100/Fuji S2 and Sea and Sea Housing (They already make a housing for the N80 body)

The latter two systems are probably a tad bit more expensive but I think they are worth it. If y'all want me to do cost estimates for the above 3 systems (with lenses) I will do so when I get home from work later.

I would probably pick the 3rd (if I could afford it) because it uses the Nikon strobe protocol whereas the Canon has to use "black magic" to sync the strobes.

Cheers

James Wiseman

The lenses you are suggesting have to be adjusted by a factor of 1.6 for the Nikon, Canon and Fuji SLR's. Which in the end means that you cannot shoot two formats at the same time. You can shoot wide (but not really wide when the 24-55 becomes 38 to 88) or macro but not both.

In my Nikonos days I used both tubes and close-up. I can honestly say that I got just as many really great shots with the close-up kit as I did with the tubes. Theoretically, you're right, you don't want water between your lens elements. But, there are lots of examples of systems that use add on lenses successfully.

Your cost analysis will be very interesting. I think a "tad" is going to be an understatement. Also, Option 3 is a pipedream. The camera hasn't hit the market yet and the housing is something you think Sea & Sea might do.

Thanks for not answering all of my questions. I am guessing that you've never tried the E-10 or E-20 but what really intrigue me the most is your comment on the E-10/20 camera and Titan Housing.

you claim....

you have to buy some rediculously expensive not-that-good quality diopter...

q. have you tried the wide angle lens? Better yet have you seen it? If not, then you really need to be carefull about your criticism. IF YOU'RE NOT SURE ABOUT IT. SOMETIMES, IT'S BETTER TO JUST KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT INSTEAD OF COMING UP WITH FALSE STATEMENTS. I myself have not tried the lens nor the housing but I've seen it. what do I think about the Titan Housing? I think it's a well built housing and it comes with some cool features that I have not seen before like the ROC strobe controller.

you claim.....

Why did light and motion waste so much time and money engineering this housing (Titan)??????

q. Again, how on earth did you come up with your conclusion that Light and Motion wasted so much time and money engineering the Titan Housing. Let's just call it a sales/marketing strategy from Light and Motion. Sometimes you have to think like the manufacturer if you know what I mean.

LET'S KEEP IT REAL AND SIMPLE FOLKS!!!!!

[Edited on 4-4-2002 by underwaterdigital]

Hi Allan,

Please don't tell me to "just shut up" about anything. That is totally unacceptable and is not encouraged by the online community. I would ask you politely to reconsider that statement and how it makes me feel. I said I would be objective and I am trying to do that. I'm sorry if you don't think I'm correct, but please challenge what I am saying without attacking me personally.

Yes, I have tried the camera (E10/20). Yes, I have held the Inon lenses, in fact, I talked to Ken Knezick about them at our last meeting.

Here's a picture of the Light and Motion wet-mate WA lens:

Let's make sure to factor that into this cost estimate as well. I've heard it's NOT cheap.

Cheers

James

[Edited on 4-4-2002 by jamesw]

Sorry guys.. forgot to login.. that last post was by yours truly. Feel free to send some flame headed my way... wOOoHoOOo!

I guess that the original question has gotten lost. If I wanted to spend a lot of money (OK a lot more money since I already have housings for 2 canon film cameras) I would buy the UK housing for my D30. By the way, with the UK system and the 550ex flash there shouldn't be any magic involved. But I don't want to spend a lot of money and if the Titan housing is like the Tetra I wouldn't be interested.

What got me interested in this thread is the idea of an Olympus built, plastic, cheap housing like the PT series for the E10. If that was possible then it might be an interesting alternative to a 4040 in a PT housing.

Bill

Titan housing 2699$

wetmate macro and wide angle lenses 1500$

Nikonos bulkhead 125$

As you can see a very expensive housing. The point that I believe James was trying to make is that the native lens for the camera is not nearly wide enough for UW usage and the add on wide angle lens is an essential and very expensive accessory. Still it looks like a nice housing and that varible strobe power control would be great.:mad:

Okey Doke,

Prices from Tristate Camera, an MO and storefront that I have purchased from:

Olympus E20: $1,900

Canon D-30/60 body: $2,300

Canon AF 28-135 zoom: $429

UK Germany Canon Housing: ECheng can you fill this in______?

Nikon D100/Fuji S2 Pro: $2,500

Nikon AF 17-35: $1,100

This is with name brand lenses. Tamron is less of course.

Cheers

James

[Edited on 4-5-2002 by jamesw]

James, if you are going to suggest a Nikon SLR lens the only one worth mentioning (with the 1.5x focal length multplier on the D100) is the 17 to 35 Zoom. A great lens. Probably the best wide angle lens you can take UW. And it was designed for digital use. I think this lens will cost you at least 1100$:cool::cool:

If you *already* have a D30, house that! And the housing will let you upgrade to the D60. If you have used a D30, I suspect you would hate an E10/20.

I think, at this point, it is pretty clear that the e10/20 are not the ideal camera to house.

The autofocus, (when the IR ranging system is disabled by housing/water), reverts to the same type, (contrast detection), that all the P&S digis use.

Therefore, any DSLR will blow it away, AF wise.

The CCD in the E10/20 is the same small size, as in the much cheaper P&S digis. Small sensor means less area to collect light, means lower signal to noise. As compared to a DSLR.

The partially silvered prism is a neat idea, but it cuts out light for the viewfinder, light for the sensor, and light for the AF. Some reviewers report it is hard to use in low light.

One of the biggest problems with the e10/20 is the speed of writing images to flash is very, very slow. Much slower than the cp5k or g2, even.

Since you can get a 6 megapixel slr, for around $2k, what would be the point in the e20?