Selling micro 4/3 system to go to TG5/6 1/2.3" sensor. What am I missing?

As the title suggests, I've been shooting macro/some wide angle with the 16mp M43 system for ~120 dives. This is on a cheap $300 Meikon housing+dome system. I recently got a body upgrade and frankly can't afford a new housing of any type. Similarly, where I dive (Monterey, California) the waters are best suited for macro with the odd wide angle opportunity here and there. The problem is that I don't live 5 minutes from the water anymore so I can't just hop in when it's good. Having to pick a lens before getting in the water is tough when I'm early enough that vis reports aren't in yet.

So I'm looking at the TG system. My dive partner has the TG5 and when we compare our macro images, mine are only a small amount better at 100-200% crop. He can also shoot macro and go wide angle at the flip of a switch. I'm basically trading on par sensor quality for convenience.

I don't print or have any plans to print. The main drawbacks beyond small sensor issues that I see are much less exposure control. I have a Light and Motion 3800 video and Sea & Sea YS-D2J that I use in tandem so I usually stay at ISO 100; 800+ for my M43 body is pretty bad anyways.

Am I missing anything? There are better M43/Olympus forums but I figure asking divers is more sensible. I also plan to carry my Nikonos III with me too.

I also would love to move to a more compact system from a 16mpx olympus em5 i used for 8 years. But i used the tg series starting with the tg3 and my biggest grief is the lack of manual control.

I hear the tg6 has got better controls over shutter by going to Aperture mode and setting some limits in Shutter speed and Iso. Frankly i tried using strobos with little accomplishment. With a strong torch I fared better. In any case going wide is almost unusable and I find quality even on macro is not enough.

I would love an iteration that has manual control but it never comes. Certainly the Tg6 on the right hands cand do wonders no other outfit can thanks to its small size and super macro option.

I do not think you would be happy with it.

Andrea

Sent from my LG-H870 using Tapatalk

you can get some nice macro pics and passable wide pics with the TG6, as Andrea said there is no manual control, though you can do manual flash.  There are only two apertures for the TG-6 f2/2.8 at the wide end and 4.9/6.3 at the tele end.  f8/18 is achieved with an ND filter.  This can be a bit limiting trying to keep shutter speed in a reasonable range. 

I assume you are also planning on getting a housing - I would regard the TG series as disposable without a housing, the seals behind the buttons eventually fail.  The manual in the fine print recommends replacing the seals annually.

You don't say what the issues you have with your current setup are - there may be other solutions available to give more flexibility such as wet lenses on your current setup.

Thanks for the replies, guys.

23 hours ago, nudibranco said:

I also would love to move to a more compact system from a 16mpx olympus em5 i used for 8 years. But i used the tg series starting with the tg3 and my biggest grief is the lack of manual control.

I hear the tg6 has got better controls over shutter by going to Aperture mode and setting some limits in Shutter speed and Iso. Frankly i tried using strobos with little accomplishment. With a strong torch I fared better. In any case going wide is almost unusable and I find quality even on macro is not enough.

I would love an iteration that has manual control but it never comes. Certainly the Tg6 on the right hands cand do wonders no other outfit can thanks to its small size and super macro option.

I do not think you would be happy with it.

Andrea

Sent from my LG-H870 using Tapatalk
 

Yes I'm trying to move from my EM5ii. The bulk is manageable and slapping a TG on a tray with dual lights won't be all that much smaller anyways. I'm really happy with my new EM1ii on land but I can't stomach the cost of dragging it into the ocean when a TG system is ~$700.

Man, lack of manual control was what I was afraid of. Thanks for reinforcing that. I guess next dive I'll ask my partner if I can fiddle with his tg5 a bit. It's too bad they don't have shutter priority; I tend to use that more than aperture priority.

19 hours ago, ChrisRoss said:

you can get some nice macro pics and passable wide pics with the TG6, as Andrea said there is no manual control, though you can do manual flash.  There are only two apertures for the TG-6 f2/2.8 at the wide end and 4.9/6.3 at the tele end.  f8/18 is achieved with an ND filter.  This can be a bit limiting trying to keep shutter speed in a reasonable range. 

I assume you are also planning on getting a housing - I would regard the TG series as disposable without a housing, the seals behind the buttons eventually fail.  The manual in the fine print recommends replacing the seals annually.

You don't say what the issues you have with your current setup are - there may be other solutions available to give more flexibility such as wet lenses on your current setup.

So if I'm understanding correctly, the tg aperture is always wide open? I think this should be fine as my m43 setup is usually around 1/125" at ISO 200 and f/2.8 on the 12-40mm or 60mm; yes I generally shoot wide open.

Yes I plan on getting the oly TG housing. The TGs are rated for depth but I really only consider that as flood protection.

My issues with my EM5ii setup are being committed to a focal length before I get in the water as I would have to change ports and don't have zoom rings. I don't think there are wet diopters for Meikon housings.

Other issues are that I now shoot with an EM1ii on land and can't afford $2k+ to get the Oly/AOI or Nauticam setups for it, especially since I don't dive weekly like I used to. Used is cheaper but not by a whole lot. These setups would give me zoom ring capability which would be really nice, though. I'm really happy with my new EM1ii on land but I can't stomach the cost of dragging it into the ocean when a TG system is ~$700.

I'm not surprised you consider image quality similar if you are shooting the 12-40 at f2.8 - the corners must be pretty horrible .  I shoot an EM-1 II UW and I've also used a TG-4 - my daughter has one - I shoot the 12-40mm at f8.  The TG pictures are OK but very quickly fall apart if not exposed correctly or in poor lighting.

In your position I'd keep an eye out for something second hand - you said they're not that much cheaper, they should sell for about half new price.  An Ikelite housing and dome for the 12-40 would be about $1750 new.

I understand if money is tight and if you don't want to wait for secondhand then I would suggest instead looking into a  Olympus12-50mm lens - it should fit in the same port as the 12-40mm and has an option to power zoom, you can assign buttons to zoom and no need for a zoom ring - you won't get the macro mode as that requires a special port only Nauticam sells.  It will give you a significantly wider view than the TG cameras being 24mm behind a dome rather than 25mm behind a flat port (about 32mm equivalent) but will only get about 0.3x magnification at the long end so will fill the frame with a subject 60mm long across the long axis.    Don't know exactly what you shoot but seems like a decent compromise to get better image quality and flexibility.

According to this webpage, the Meikon EM5ii has 67mm threads on the front, so any flip holder and diopter should work. I shoot a Seafrogs housing with a flip holder and +7 diopter without issue, and they're the same company. 

That, combined with a used 12-50 would provide a low cost option. 

Just keep your Em5ii as a second camera dedicated to UW if you can’t afford housing the Em1mkii. I shoot an Em5 (original) underwater and a GX8 on land for the same reasons although I’d love to upgrade the housing to get access to focus peaking.