Sneak Peak: AOI UH-EM1III

When buying an underwater housing there are many factors to consider, including weight, size and the money you want to spend.
Here you can see a comparison of 3 different brands:

AOI Olympus OM-D E-M1 II & III Underwater Housing UH-EM1III
https://www.backscatter.com/AOI-Olympus-OM-D-E-M1-II-III-Underwater-Housing-UH-EM1III

• AOI PEN Port System
• Built-In RC & Manual Flash Trigger
• Vacuum System Included
• Material: Polycarbonate
• Handles: Not included
• Depth Rated: 45m / 148ft
• Dimensions: 194mm (W) x 128mm (H) x 145mm (D)
• Weight in Air: 950 gr
• Price $999.00

Isotta Olympus OM-D E-M1 III Underwater Housing
https://www.backscatter.com/Isotta-E-M1II-Olympus-OM-D-E-M1-II-Underwater-Housing

• Built-In Tray
• Double O-ring Seals
• Vacuum System Ready
• Use the Camera's Flash or get Nikonos Bulkhead
• Vacuum System: Not included (+$339)
• Flash Trigger: Not included
• Material: Anodized aluminium
• Handles: Included
• Depth Rating: 100m/330ft
• Weight in Air: 1,000 gr
• Size: 180 W. x 110 D. x 190 H.
• Price $1,890.00

Nauticam Underwater Housing NA-EM1III
https://www.backscatter.com/Nauticam-Olympus-OM-D-E-M1-III-Underwater-Housing-NA-EM1III

• Includes Built In Handles & Ball Mounts
• Vacuum System Ready, not included (+$334)
• Flash Trigger: Not included (+$338)
• Compatible With Olympus Flash
• Depth Rating: 100m/330ft
• Material: Aluminium
• Handles: Included
• Dimensions: 305mm(W) x 175mm(H) x 116mm(D)
• Weight in Air: 2,000 gr
• Price $2,786.00

I reached out to AOI to ask about the ports, and they replied: 

"The AOI UH-EM1III housing is designed to work with PEN mount port.  It can also work with OMD ports by adding an adapter for OMD port to PEN Mount Housing.  The adapter will be launched in the near future."

 We shall see...

13 hours ago, Wapiti said:

I reached out to AOI to ask about the ports, and they replied: 

"The AOI UH-EM1III housing is designed to work with PEN mount port.  It can also work with OMD ports by adding an adapter for OMD port to PEN Mount Housing.  The adapter will be launched in the near future."

 We shall see...

I'm interested to see how they plan to enlarge the diameter of the PEN port.  Adding an adapter does not seem to be the way to enlarge the diameter.  I also know AOI has the "aoi-ad-lp-01" (its the PEN to OMD port adapter)available today but it is to be used with the OMD sized housings.

Id also be interested in seeing if the EM1iii trigger can be used as a replacement for the EPL10 trigger, it would be nice to have BOTH housings have the same charge cable (USB C) so I only have to pack 1 charge cable for my housings and my phone.  But I just realized that my strobe battery charger is also micro usb so Ill have to pack both cables anyways.

On 3/21/2022 at 4:37 PM, turandot said:

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.

This is a more compact design and its only $100 more, that's totally worth the price.

@Pomacentridae Is there any chance we could get side by side photos comparing the EM1iii to the EM5iii and EPL10 housings?

Dann-Oh, In regard to this question "I'd also be interested in seeing if the EM1iii trigger can be used as a replacement for the EPL10 trigger"

The trigger on the EPL-10 housing runs horizontal and pushes down while the one on the EM1 III housing is vertical and pulls back making it much easer to use. Not really seeing a way these could be interchanged. 

I also think that if you mount larger lenses like 7-14mm with gear from the front of the housing and then mount the port over the lens that the Pen size mount should work. ZEN Underwater already makes a Pen size port for the Panasonic 7-14mm with gear.

Dann-Oh, In regard to this question "I'd also be interested in seeing if the EM1iii trigger can be used as a replacement for the EPL10 trigger"
The trigger on the EPL-10 housing runs horizontal and pushes down while the one on the EM1 III housing is vertical and pulls back making it much easer to use. Not really seeing a way these could be interchanged. 
I also think that if you mount larger lenses like 7-14mm with gear from the front of the housing and then mount the port over the lens that the Pen size mount should work. ZEN Underwater already makes a Pen size port for the Panasonic 7-14mm with gear.
 
 

[mention=85181]Pomacentridae[/mention] Is there any chance we could get side by side photos comparing the EM1iii to the EM5iii and EPL10 housings?

Just as a side bar, the reason that the PT-EP line of housings have a larger port opening than the Pen housings is because they were originally designed to support the PT-E0 line of ports for Olympus DSLR cameras housings for cameras like the E-330 and E-520. These cameras used larger Zuiko lenses like the 7-15mm F/4 which is 119mm X 86mm compared to the M Zuiko 7-14mm f/2.8 which is 105.8 x 78.9mm. The PT-EP line has an accessory adapter to accept these threaded metal and optical glass ports. 

Images of the E-330 and E520 housings along with the dome, extension and adapter I used to review PT-EP14 for back issue #99 in uwpmag.com. The dome and extension are also the same as what I used for the 7-14 F/4 in the E330 and E520 before Olympus  mirrorless cameras arrived on the scene starting with Olympus EPL-1.

3 hours ago, Phil Rudin said:

Dann-Oh, In regard to this question "I'd also be interested in seeing if the EM1iii trigger can be used as a replacement for the EPL10 trigger"

The trigger on the EPL-10 housing runs horizontal and pushes down while the one on the EM1 III housing is vertical and pulls back making it much easer to use. Not really seeing a way these could be interchanged. 

I also think that if you mount larger lenses like 7-14mm with gear from the front of the housing and then mount the port over the lens that the Pen size mount should work. ZEN Underwater already makes a Pen size port for the Panasonic 7-14mm with gear.

2 hours ago, Pomacentridae said:

I think he means the LED trigger. The EPL10 housing led trigger is micro usb while the EM1III housing led trigger is usb-c.


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Yes that correct I was talking about the LED Trigger, I typed it out in my head but not no the keyboard.

Just wanted to add to this thread an announcement from AOI’s facebook page.




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I think we will soon see many configurations with AOI and EM1-III. With the launch of the OM1 there are many EM1-III on sale second-hand and with the price of the AOI housing it can be a great economic combination with great performance and contained weight for travel.

I have never used the RC mode before that the new AOI housing are comparable with.  Will I be able to use my sea&sea YS-D3 strobe in TTL mode with the new AOI underwater housing for the OM Systems OM-1?

45 minutes ago, aquaticexplorer said:

I have never used the RC mode before that the new AOI housing are comparable with.  Will I be able to use my sea&sea YS-D3 strobe in TTL mode with the new AOI underwater housing for the OM Systems OM-1?

I suspect not - The olympus RC system uses a system of timed pulses to communicate with the flash so the flash needs to RC compatible from my understanding of the system.   It emits around 10 pulses which the RC compatible flash reads so your YS-D3 would be mimicking all of them - assuming it can detect them.  See this description of the system:  https://strobehacker.tumblr.com/post/78490593051/the-rc-code-has-been-cracked-well-mostly

There is an RC compatible S&S ys-01 clone or at least there used to be one. That’s it. 

The attached photos taken in 2007 are the Olympus PT-E05 housing for the Olympus E-520 and the Olympus UFL-2 strobe. This camera and strobe combination worked in RC mode, it could be set to super FP flash in TTL or manual at any shutter speed and the AOV of the flash could be zoomed in and out for wide and narrow coverage. It was like an Olympus FL-36 land flash in a very buoyant case which used two AA batteries. At the time none of the other flashes I used with the camera would work in FP or RC modes.

Regarding the new AOI housing flash trigger for the EM-1 III and OM-1housings I think the only thing you can say with certainty regarding these features is that they will work with the newly introduced AOI UCS-Q1RC flash which has only been announced in the Japanese market at this time.

Has anyone gotten their hands on the AOI EM1-3 housing yet?

Just received my housing today from Backscatter- looks pretty good from my kitchen table.  I've been asked to shoot at a training dive for our local county sheriff dive team this weekend, so we'll see how it goes.  A couple notes:

• It's noticeably smaller and lighter than the Olympus housing for my M1mkI; it's one thing to look at dimensions online, it's another to hold it in your hand.
• The smaller form factor has an impact on ergonomics- gripping it will be a challenge, especially in cold water with thick gloves.  The AEL button is triggered with a trigger, and it's right where your right thumb would rest.  I can tell I'll have to disable the AEL button in camera, or I'll have to grip the tray handle (not my preference).  Other than that, the control layout is actually improved over my old housing.
• I'm greatly relieved that AOI is releasing an OMD port adapter so I can use my 170mm dome with the 12-40.  It should also work with my Panasonic 8-18.
• I picked up an open box Inon 5.2" dome for the Olympus 8mm from another vendor- I'll shoot with that this weekend.  It's shocking how much smaller the combo is than the bigger dome.  Again, dimensions online vs in the hand (although split shots are probably not worthwhile now).

Can't wait for this weekend!

On 8/3/2022 at 9:00 PM, Wapiti said:

Just received my housing today from Backscatter- looks pretty good from my kitchen table.  I've been asked to shoot at a training dive for our local county sheriff dive team this weekend, so we'll see how it goes.  A couple notes:

• It's noticeably smaller and lighter than the Olympus housing for my M1mkI; it's one thing to look at dimensions online, it's another to hold it in your hand.
• The smaller form factor has an impact on ergonomics- gripping it will be a challenge, especially in cold water with thick gloves.  The AEL button is triggered with a trigger, and it's right where your right thumb would rest.  I can tell I'll have to disable the AEL button in camera, or I'll have to grip the tray handle (not my preference).  Other than that, the control layout is actually improved over my old housing.
• I'm greatly relieved that AOI is releasing an OMD port adapter so I can use my 170mm dome with the 12-40.  It should also work with my Panasonic 8-18.
• I picked up an open box Inon 5.2" dome for the Olympus 8mm from another vendor- I'll shoot with that this weekend.  It's shocking how much smaller the combo is than the bigger dome.  Again, dimensions online vs in the hand (although split shots are probably not worthwhile now).

Can't wait for this weekend!

Awesome to hear.  I just got back home from a family vacation that allowed me to travel through Monterey and visit Backscatter.  I was able to get hands on with the AOI EM1-3 housing.  Holy cow is it nice.  I am trying really really hard to not pull the trigger on the housing.  I think the biggest thing holding me back is the understanding on how to use the 12-40F2.8 lens with the EM1-3 housing.

Will I need a larger port?

How will I be able to use the zoom?

12 hours ago, Dann-Oh said:

I am trying really really hard to not pull the trigger on the housing.

Do it!

While the 12-40 with the Olympus zoom gear just barely fits in the housing (with the lens mounted from the front), the zoom gear doesn't want to work, presumably because reasons.  The AOI PEN / OMD port adapter has a gear so my guess, based on the OM-1 press release with new port chart  is that the new AOI zoom gears mount backwards from the Olympus zoom gears, i.e. with the gears toward the front element, in order to engage with the gear in the adapter.  I ordered the Pen/OMD adapter and 12-40 zoom gear and sold my Oly zoom gear so I'm all in at this point.  You will likely need an OMD style port; I'll let you know how it works with my Inon 170mm dome if you're interested

My experience with the AOI housing this weekend was positive, but because I was in a river with lots of current I didn't really put it through it's paces.  Buttons were easy to use with dry gloves, and I was able to make adjustments as needed.  I felt that the front control wheel was a little harder to use because of it's placement, but that is probably more due to muscle memory from my Oly housing rather than a design flaw.  I didn't bring strobes because of the current, and that's the bigger question- it's not totally clear that I can get TTL - or really, any functionality- with the AOI trigger in non-AOI strobes lacking the Olympus RF function.  I assume so, but you know what they say when you assume.

Kind of not related to the topic exactly, but I came ashore after a bit and switched out the Olympus f1.8 8mm fisheye for the Panasonic f1.7 9mm.  I was using a dome designed for the Oly lens, and although the corners were pretty bad it at least confirms that the lens will work in this kind of dome.  It might be better at smaller apertures but I didn't get an opportunity to do comparison shots.  Not coincidentally, I'm still sore from swimming against the current so much. Here's a couple of shots- the diver with the fisheye, the trout with the PL 9mm.