Oly housings

Hi, I am a wannabe underwater digital. Right now my head is full of questions but no answers. I already have an Oly C-5000 and am thinking about the PT019. Can anyone tell me if there are any wide angle accessories to fit this housing - dome, etc? I am also thinking about an Inon strobe. Any recommendations on any of this? Or perhaps, the C-5000 is not worth the effort? Anyone with any wide angle oohs and aahs using this camera? For me, wide angle is the acid test. HELP!!!

Haven't got any pics for you, but it looks like the UWL-100 works with the PT-019

Hi again - Thanks for your responses. I am now leaning towards the PT-019 with a Inon strobe. However, I am not out of the woods as yet. I have searched the Inon website and cannot seem to find an optical cable/cap for the PT-019. Is there one? What next? Ikelite? All this equipment is most confusing for a newbie. Am I correct in assuming that the optical cable is Inon's response to Ikelite's EV manual controller? If so, are they equally good or is one better? Here we go again-Help!! Any thoughts/suggestions greatly appreciated.

If it were me, I sure would lean more towards the Ikelite solution.

His housings and peripherals are FAR superior to the Olympus product.

As the the optical cable from Inon, I think it is just that, and optical cable to "connect" the camera to the strobe for sync.

Ike's controller actually lets you adjust the power output of the strobe.

i would highly recommend the Ikelite housing over the Olympus. you get a lot more bang for the buck, and the TTL cant be beat. not to mention the customer service is great if the need ever comes up. save yourself the hassle and go ahead and get the Ike housing now instead of buying it later on down the road when you get sick of the Oly housing!

My opinion is to go with the Oly housing and not with the Ike as others wrote here.

I'm totally agree with what was writing, Ikelite have a great product and even greater customer service that I can testify personally on it.

But as much as I love my D70 Ikelite housing, I think that for the mentioned camera, the Oly housing is more then enough, its much smaller - more comfortable u/w and less drag, its much cheaper - with the price different you can add more equipment: strobe, wide or macro lens...

I found Yuzo at www.uwdigitalcamera.com a big help with my Oly c5000z (which works extremely well). He recommended a suitable optic fibre Inon cable (I think from memory it was the W8 cable. Yuzo certainly will know as he has everything on file. You also need to Inon clear photo film set (the infra-red film that blocks visible light from the camera's internal strobe). This sticks over the camera's internal strobe and the best fit is the set for the Oly 5060.

It is a great camera set -up. I have it with the Inon d180 strobe and it works really well - had an article published recently in :Sportdiving" magazine. I’ve also ordered from Yuzo the Epoque wide angle lens and can report extremely good results with what is a very affordable lens indeed - heaps cheaper than the Inon wide angle lens and the test results indicate it is as good.

I also ordered from Yuzo (contact details follow) the Fisheye Tray and Arm (with two extra arm segments). This gives a really top quality flexible strobe support. Overall it is a very compact, very professional rig and excellent value. Yuzo also has a magnifier that slips over the screen rubber shade to magnify the screen for easier viewing.

So have a good look at the website and you will find what you need - here in Australia, I have had excellent service and reliable prompt delivery from Yuzo.

Good luck and happy shooting.

Alan Wiggs