jungling between AOI UH EPL10 vs EM1III

Hi,

for the ones considering the impact of a potential upgrade, I'd like to share the information I collected.

1)    UH-EM1III + Flat port : 1022g

2)    UH-OM1 + Flat port : 1151g

3)    UH-EPL10 + Flat port : 734g

My main thinking is that I cannot afford to be proficient with different cameras/lens for land and underwater (ie Sony A7III for land, iphone, somyrx100, and EPL10 for underwater). I'm not practising enough to be good in all this system so I'd like to invest in only one camera system without compromising in compactness.

Hi Caolino,

I would go for EM1-III (or better OM-1). I do not think that the 300g - 400g make a real difference in practice (all the rest of the rig, as flashes, lenses, ports etc.. will be equal ). With EM1-III (or OM-1) you gain a better 20 Mpix sensor and, most important, PDAF AF, what is a real improvement for macro. The EM1s also offer better customization (e.g. preadjustable C1-C3 settings), what is nice to have...

Just my personal approach: I would consider going for a second hand Nauticam housing with camera (EM5-II will. e.g. be as good as EPL-10 and EM1-II offers in practice the same as EM-1III). The advantage is not only that the housing is very reliable and ergonomic, but also that you can build a system around and later just change the housing itself for an upgrade (only possible to a limited extend with the plastic housings as the port standards are multiple and changing). My wife started with Oly EPL-10 plastic housing (I think it was produced by AOI for EPL-5/6 camera); the problem was that the ports for my Nauticam EM1-II housing were not compatible and even the different plastic housings had different standards. I completely lost the overview which port/adapter goes with which housing type, but I am very happy that at present my wife and me have Nauticam housings for EM5-II and EM1-II and can share all our equipment....

Wolfgang

Hi Caolino,

I just went through this process myself. I started with the EPL10 and now just upgraded to the UH-EM1iii

The extra size and weight is negligible and I wish I went with the UH-EM1iii to begin with as the extra features it has is really handy that i consider worth it. For example I have 3 custom modes (C1-C3) on the dial which I have my preloaded underwater settings (C1 and C2 for shooting two types of macro, and C3 for wide angle). It's very easy to switch between them where as the EPL10 does not have this ability.

I also like having the front and rear dials on the housing to easily adjust shutter speed and aperture on the fly. (The EPL10 requires you to use the directional pad to do this which is annoying)

Then you have the improved 20mp sensor vs 16mp on the EPL10, as well as the much improved phase detect autofocus.

You can also buy the PEN to OMD adapter for the UH-EM1iii and UH-OM1 which will allow you to use PRO lenses with the 8" dome if you want to go down that path as well.

I think the EPL10 is a great compact little setup but it just depends how serious you are with the underwater photography and if the above benefits are worth it to you. If you want to keep it more casual or costs down then the EPL10 is the answer otherwise I find the benefits of the EM1iii to be worth it for only a small amount of extra bulk

I use the EM1iii and AOI housing underwater, but I also own the OM-1.  Between the two bodies, I prefer the OM-1 for topside (mostly because of subject detect autofocus).  Underwater, I doubt there is much difference.  While I've never used the E-PL10, I would consider it a huge step down for the reasons MJ_ mentions above.

I have the EPL10 for underwater photography and the EM1-3 for topside (I also have the EM5-3  for topside but I don't like it).  I cant justify the cost of replacement for the EM1-3 should I flood the housing. The EPL10 is a pretty nice entry point into photography I really enjoy using it. Honestly, I'm thinking about putting my EM5-3, EPL10 and kit lens, EPL10 housing, and 2x backscatter MF- strobes up for sale. I just don't use the kit often enough anymore to justify keeping an underwater camera rig.

I think Architeuthis makes a very good point suggesting to buy a secondhand EM-1II in a Nauticam housing. There's no reason to be  very afraid of flooding your housing with modern vacuum systems, so I don't think its a reason to buy a simpler camera. In owned several versions of EPL before and moved to a EM-5III (nice size!) and never regretted it. Improved AF, front and rear dials and extra information in the electronic viewfinder made uw-photographing much more enjoyable. The only drawback of the EM-5III is is the reduced battery capacity, the same holds for the EPL-10. 

I am also debating between the OM1 and EPL9/10 options. Actually I already purchased the EPL (200 eur second hand) but the housing cost is so similar to the OM1 that I am considering now changing to the OM1. The OM1 seems another league for wildlife/bird photography, and a good cost-size-quality tradeoff when compared to FFs.

I would like to get some input about AOI housing usability and ergonomics. Is there access to all camera buttons? What am I sacrificing when compared to Nauticam?

I assume the polycarbonate housing is much more travel friendly, which is a must for me.

I can also very much recommend used Nauticam Housings. I've just moved from an original EM5 to the Panasonic GX8 and have paid less for my system than a new plastic housing would have cost. The upgrade itself cost me maybe 200-300€ although I did get quite a good deal and was patient until one came up. Generally, used housings are often as good as new, because many people don't really dive as much.

It looks like you get access to most buttons in the AOI, you miss out on the two buttons between the grip and the lens mount that are programmed for one touch WB and stop down preview.  Nauticam provides access to one of these.  Neither provides use of the multi direction joystick above and to left of mutlidirection controller which is used to move AF points.  The Nauticam I believe allows you to press the joystick which returns AF point to default position.  Some of the buttons look a little difficult to access though the AOI does provide paddles for rear button AF/shutter trigger.

The big difference is that the AOI has no viewfinder eyepiece and that means you rely 100% on rear LCD - a non starter for me.  No chance to use accessory viewfinders and my eyesight has trouble with the LCD.  I know I can use prescription masks but I don't want to and the viewfinder is dioptric corrected to distance vision.

On size if the diagram at top is accurate the overall width of the OM-1 housing is more or less the same at 190 wide without handles.  The Nauticam is a bit taller to provide space for the little accessory flash.  The handles on the Nauticam are removable for packing if needed.  I have the EM-1 MkII which is more of less the same size as the OM-1 and can pack the housing, strobes, lenses and ports into a carry on legal size backpack quite easily.

Chris- my AOI E-M1mkIII housing has access to the viewfinder if you don't want to use the LCD.  It works ok as is, but AOI will also sell you a viewfinder magnifier.  Probably not Nauticam quality, but it's certainly not Nauticam pricey, either.

4 hours ago, Wapiti said:

Chris- my AOI E-M1mkIII housing has access to the viewfinder if you don't want to use the LCD.  It works ok as is, but AOI will also sell you a viewfinder magnifier.  Probably not Nauticam quality, but it's certainly not Nauticam pricey, either.

It's not clear what it is from photos - looks just like a transparent flat window, which I assume is probably not as good as even the standard eyepiece supplied for Nauticam and other aluminium housings.