Sneak Peak: AOI UH-EM1III

I know a couple of people here that would be happy with this news. [mention]Dann-Oh [/mention] [mention]turandot [/mention]

Caught a glimpse of the AOI UH-EM1III housing for Olympus. The housing looks to be compact like their EPL10 housing and also has built in LED flash trigger (unlike their EM5III Housing). Was able to confirm that it uses the PEN port standard. So those that currently have their EPL10 can easily upgrade, I know I will.

Tentative release this May 2022.

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Very interesting news for OMD EM1-III users, and good idea the built-in flash trigger, looks compact in size. I don't like the design of the housings for the OMD EM5-III, because of the height of the camera flash. PEN ports are also a good idea, their size is smaller than OMD ports.

In addition, the Nauticam housing has a high price (2.438,00 EUR / 2,786.00 USD). Obviously there are differences between materials. Housing Body : Polycarbonate vs Aluminium. Another important thing is the weight for travel: Nauticam 2000g vs AOI (EM5-III) 1340g

Congrats! Good work from the AOI team. It can be a bestseller.

This was rumored a while back, and it's nice to finally see it as I held off on housing my M1mkIII on the idea of saving over Nauticam prices. Still, kind of shocked that they would go with the PEN port system and not the OMD ports as it means the larger Pro lenses (and the PL 8-18) are mostly a no-go.  As someone with existing OMD ports, the M5mkIII or M1mkII would make more sense as there's not much the M1mkIII has over those two underwater.  

This was rumored a while back, and it's nice to finally see it as I held off on housing my M1mkIII on the idea of saving over Nauticam prices. Still, kind of shocked that they would go with the PEN port system and not the OMD ports as it means the larger Pro lenses (and the PL 8-18) are mostly a no-go.  As someone with existing OMD ports, the M5mkIII or M1mkII would make more sense as there's not much the M1mkIII has over those two underwater.  

Thanks for asking them- the 12-40 is my default lens underwater so I'm glad you brought it up.

UH-EM1III have lens and port release button 
so camera body in housing can mount the lens and port

I reviewed the AOI housing for Olympus EPL-10 in issue #110 at uwpmag.com and found it to be an excellent entry level choice. AOI built the housings for Olympus for years and they have excellent support for the most used lenses. 

I hope AOI will consider a housing for the new OM-systems OM-1 because the EM-1 III was a bit of a disappointment for me and not worth the upgrade from the MKII. The OM-1 on the other hand seems to be well worth the upgrade just to the the muck better EVF and LCD plus better focus and tracking. 

The only lenses that the Pen ports don't cover is the 8" dome range and they may offer one at some point. I think folks using this system would be much more likely to use the 14-42 with a wide wet lens like the AOI UWL-09 than to house the 7-14 or 8-25mm anyway. 

Just some additional photos of the AOI UH-EM1III housing.

Based on the images, there doesn’t seem to be a port for the EVF, but maybe you can see thru the clear window at the back. The PEN port doesn’t look like a standard PEN port. Vacuum valve and system is included standard.







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@Wapiti and @Phil Rudin

Good news! I just got a reply from AOI and my theory is correct. By default the housing uses a PEN port but there is a special adapter that will allow the use of OMD ports on it, basically it'll support your PRO lenses: 12-40mm pro, 12-100mm IS pro, 7-14mm pro and 8mm pro.

Just some additional photos of the AOI UH-EM1III housing.

Based on the images, there doesn’t seem to be a port for the EVF, but maybe you can see thru the clear window at the back. The PEN port doesn’t look like a standard PEN port. Vacuum valve and system is included standard.







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@caolino no official information as of yet. But judging from some parts on the camera with known dimensions (vacuum valve, screen, ports, etc.), it looks like it is just a little bigger than the EPL10 housing. Definitely smaller than the EM5III housing they have.

18 hours ago, Pomacentridae said:

@Wapiti and @Phil Rudin

Good news! I just got a reply from AOI and my theory is correct. By default the housing uses a PEN port but there is a special adapter that will allow the use of OMD ports on it, basically it'll support your PRO lenses: 12-40mm pro, 12-100mm IS pro, 7-14mm pro and 8mm pro.

Thanks so much for the update!  Pretty excited about this.  Crossing my fingers that it comes in a camo pattern like their m5mkIII housing

On 3/15/2022 at 8:39 AM, Pomacentridae said:

@caolino Definitely smaller than the EM5III housing they have.

This is a success, I don't like any of the current OMD EM5 Mark III underwater cases, because the size (height) of the flash. Nauticam, Isotta, AOI.. all the models have the same design about the FL‑LM3 Flash inside the camera. For the design of the underwater housing I think it's better to incorporate a trigger inside of the housing.

Less interior space and more compact design for travel and less battery consumption of the camera.

@Pomacentridae OH MAN, thanks for this info. This is VERY exciting news.  I am interested in a few things.

1) How will the housing use this special adapter to accommodate BOTH the PEN and OMD port sizes? Will the housing come with the "aoi-ad-lp-01" installed (its the PEN to OMD port adapter)?

2) Do we have an estimated price point and or release date? the EPL10 is about $650, EM5-3 is about $900 (without flash trigger), I'm guessing the EM1-3 will be in the $1,000 to $1,200 range. If so, Id be willing to sell off my EPL10 for the EM1-3 housing I would still be able to use the PEN ports so that would be awesome.

3) having the integrated flash trigger will be awesome since the EM1-3 battery is so much better than the EPL10 battery

4) I really hope we can get something fun for the external of the camera housing, I really like my EPL10 tentacle design, Im less of a fan of the EM5-3 camo (but its better than just plain black).

5) I also just got the 9-18 but haven't ordered the port for it yet, I'm wondering if I should hold off and revaluate my lens decisions/choices.

On 3/23/2022 at 10:00 PM, Dann-Oh said:

@Pomacentridae OH MAN, thanks for this info. This is VERY exciting news.  I am interested in a few things.

1) How will the housing use this special adapter to accommodate BOTH the PEN and OMD port sizes? Will the housing come with the "aoi-ad-lp-01" installed (its the PEN to OMD port adapter)?

2) Do we have an estimated price point and or release date? the EPL10 is about $650, EM5-3 is about $900 (without flash trigger), I'm guessing the EM1-3 will be in the $1,000 to $1,200 range. If so, Id be willing to sell off my EPL10 for the EM1-3 housing I would still be able to use the PEN ports so that would be awesome.

3) having the integrated flash trigger will be awesome since the EM1-3 battery is so much better than the EPL10 battery

4) I really hope we can get something fun for the external of the camera housing, I really like my EPL10 tentacle design, Im less of a fan of the EM5-3 camo (but its better than just plain black).

5) I also just got the 9-18 but haven't ordered the port for it yet, I'm wondering if I should hold off and revaluate my lens decisions/choices.

1) I honestly don't know, but it is clear from the images the port seems to be a modified PEN port.

2) No Price announced yet. But they will be announcing soon. Launch date would be May 2022.

3) Agree! I can't confirm, my Chinese is bad. But if I translate correctly is says that is a "High-speed" flash trigger system and USB-C Charging. Hoping that means high-speed sync.

4) I hope so too. But all the images I have seen are all black.

5) I understand from my conversations that all these lenses would be supported: https://www.aoi-uw.com/media/wysiwyg/AOI_Ports_Chart_for_OLYMPUS_Housings.pdf

29 minutes ago, Pomacentridae said:

Hoping that means high-speed sync.

Highly unlikely. I would assume that it refers to burst ability rather than HSS.

Hi All,

Updated press release here:

https://www.aoi-uw.com/news/aoi_uh-em1III_housing/

Highlights for me is the LED trigger, supports a) Manual Flash Trigger (with and without Pre-flashes Modes) and b) Olympus RC Flash (TTL Auto, Manual, FP TTL, FP Manual)


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According to the press release the price will be USD999

If you want to look at some high quality images of this housing backscatter.com now has the housing listed. Also perhaps overlooked is that this housing supports both the EM-1 III and EM-1 II with a modification. The housing does list for the $999.00 US and they are taking orders/ pre-orders, does not specify. 

It will be interesting to see if AOI also release a housing for the new OM Systems OM-1, I would like to see a pen port for the 30mm macro. 

The 14-42mm EZ port allows you to add a bayonet mount and use lenses like the AOI UCL-09 and UWL-90 or Nauticam CMC-1/2 and WWL-1.

I'd buy it today except that there's no clarity on adapting OMD ports to this housing, at least not yet.  I can't imagine they would shoot themselves in the foot by limiting the housing to just PEN ports.  Other than that issue, there's lots to like here, especially the form factor:  shorter, shallower, and 2 pounds lighter than my Olympus M1 housing.

For Phil- AOI's website indicates that their FLP-04 port is for the 30mm and PEN housings:

https://www.aoi-uw.com/products/lens-ports/aoi-flp-04.html

...however, that model is not listed that way at Backscatter.