Olympus digital fisheye

It was no secret that it was coming, but Olympus have confirmed the fisheye lens for their E-series cameras.

See this report on DPReview

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0506/05063001...pus_fisheye.asp

Its 180 degree coverage makes it ideal for underwater wide angle photography. Next year, that is. It isn't due out until January 2006.

Olympus even mention its suitability for underwater use in the press release!

Picture linked from DPreview:

Alex

It looks like Olympus want's to take over the Nikonos niche, having every camera store being able to supply turn key solutions to its customer. interesting and smart move from their part. Now if only they can supply a sturdy, reliable AND standard (aka Nikonos) bulkhead connector, that would open serious possibillities.

Bye, Bye orange, hello red.

Interesting point, Jean.

I think that this move also puts some pressure on Canon to produce a cropped sensor fisheye.

Alex

Yeah, the 10.5mm is a sweet lens and a must have U/W, it's really missing in the Canon line up.

Interesting point, Jean.

 

I think that this move also puts some pressure on Canon to produce a cropped sensor fisheye.

 

Alex

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If the Nikon 10.5 didn't done that, why a lens from a smaller (at list in the DSLR market) manufacture will do it?

I think the difference is that before Nikon were the exception with a digital fisheye. Now it is more like Canon are the exception without one. Not sure it will make a different. But I hope it does.

Alex

I think the difference is that before Nikon were the exception with a digital fisheye. Now it is more like Canon are the exception without one. Not sure it will make a different. But I hope it does.

 

Alex

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Now I'm envious. How well do you think a Sigma 8mm FE with a 1.4x teleconverter would work?

Herb, first I checked the 8mm on the Sigma 1.4X no physical fit possible, same for Canon and Nikon 1.4x, the <front> element of the converter stick's out and collide with the rear filter holder of the fisheye, but nonetheless, the store being out of Tamron's version of the 1,4X for now, I will bring my own Tamron 1,4x and try it on my D100, I highly suspect the whole affair to have the optical quality of a Coca Cola bottle mixed with shards of a 7Up bottle for coating , but it'll be fun to see the result, Herb you realise that you have a twisted mind for coming up with suggestion like that will keep you posted... Just don't expect me to do waste a good dive testing that God forsaken aberation underwater

Hi!

Why bother about the Olympus bulkhead? There's a housing available for the E-300. It's milled out of a block of aluminium alloy, it's sturdy, it features all ports you'd dreamed off (mathced to the optical needs of the lenses) adn much more important: it's not far more expensive than the Olympus housing but it's available now. A 45° angle finder is under deveopment too (and all accessories will fit the E-1 housing that's on the way).

The new FE lens will be a great thing to use UW and the 7-14mm zoom lens (114° to 75° angle of view) should also perform great.

Have a look at the UK-Germany website.

I had the first prototype for a couple of days but couldn't dive it because of the bad weather conditions that time. It's well manufactured and small. All dials and buttons are accessible. No need to wait for the Oly lunch box :-)

Helge ;-)=)

Helge, My point is that Olympus camera dealers are all over the planet, but specialized in exotic underwater housing dealer (Aquatica, Ikelite, Sealux, Seacam, Subal...) are very few and scattered. Olympus has the opportunity to access the mass, same that Nikon did with the Nikonos V, and it paid for Nikon, same goes with Canon and their compact line of housing, they are available at the corner store, but not the more elaborate model, hence market saturation, If you built it they will come does'nt cut the mustard (not the doctor, the condiment) in the field of marketing. availabillity is the issue here. I work in a camera store (huge staff of 160) and sell an incredible amount of Olympus and Canon housing because they are easily available, priced right and carry a known name that inspire confidence.

Hi!

Olympus has the opportunity to access the mass, same that Nikon did with the Nikonos V, and it paid for Nikon ...

I tried to convince Olympus to go for a proper housing instead of building a larger scaled plastic box. It has all the disadvantages of the small housings and also those of the larger DSLR housings!

My thought was to design and prototype a proper housing and sell it through Olympus. Although the European headquarter was open to this idea, the Japanese didn't listen. The result is a plastic box that is as expensive as a solid metal housing milled out of a block. Luckily they got the hang of domeport design. It would have been a pitty to see these high quality lense behind a flat port.

I'm afraid that the management doesn't know the difference between a mass product (like the small housings) and a highly reliable tool for a pro or simply a diver who got used to some standards. The way the built housings up to now won't work for this kind of product anymore. The small housings were "fire and forget" but for a DSLR you need support and sort of continuity, add-ons like strobes and the like. Would you buy a housing where you're limited to a GN 36 (metric!) strobe and no chance to get some customized extras?

Will there be ports for other 4/3 lenses (esp. those not made by Olympus)?

Helge ;-)=)

Interesting point of view, good luck with the Japanese manufacturer, It took Nikon forever to put a tripod collar on their 80-200 F2.8, even when half the planet was screaming murder , I used to work for one of those big guys, not a very receptive bunch when it come to sharing their name (products) with another company. again I stress availibillity here, you will be able to order an Olympus anywhere on the globe because of the wide spread dealership, therefore i'm pretty sure they'll do good on their money only for that reason.

A mini survey I did recently (absolute lack of scientific database ) showed that most non photographic diver when asked to name an undewater photo equipment came up with Nikonos, Ikelite (kudos to you Ike, you've been around long enough to deserve that one ) then Canon & Olympus, then if you beat them up to a pulp they came up with name like Calypso and Ricoh , the facts are, divers who get involved to the next level of underwater photography are the one seeking us out, otherwise our housings (whatever the make) are just heavy burdensome boxes made of something bulky that they've seen on a boat deck with some likely fustrated diver behind it trying to explain why the gidzillions pesos he /she put into it wont deliver the picture due to quirk of nature beyond his/her control. Remember that most peoples we meet on dive trip are theyre for their vacation, and looking at us with the overweight luggage , time consuming whatever that big thing is lying on the floor is , mood depleting technology well they most likely are going to say, to much for me, give me simple, small and known products. Most likely, this E300 housing wont be a best seller for them but it will put a lot of credibillity in their line of products, at least in the eyes of many.

Anyway got to get to work, good chatting with you Helge

Just to let you know. You guys may be enjoying chatting, but the rest of us are enjoying listening in!

Alex

and a vertical

Arghh!, you asked for it Herb, the attached shots are taken from a Nikon D70s, 8mm Fisheye aaaaaaaand a 1.4X tamron teleconverter, I repeat kids, professionnal stunt man at work here, dont try this at home . Actually surprise at the result, I was expecting the worst but they seem decent and appear to cover the same as a 15 fisheye. nonetheless it's a weird combination and somehow i'm not surprised at the softness of the result So what now, a fisheye converter on a 70-300mm for macro work <_<

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Thanks for doing these test Jean. Now I won't have to rush out and buy an 8mm FE I'm surprised that it has the same coverage as the 15mm. I would have expect it to be closer to the 10.5mm.

Hi!

... again I stress availibillity here, you will be able to order an Olympus anywhere on the globe because of the wide spread dealership, ...

They get known to the masses by the compact housings. DSLR housing is still a niche. Compare the number of sold cameras and you'll know why. There's a complete set of different rules that apply to the DSLR branch. A world wide net of dealers is a great thing. Selling a good product through this net is another.

Even the small housings aren't sell and forget. There's an add-on market that cares for. The sales figures for DSLR housings are too small to "feed" an accessory market.

Wherever I read, people are complaining about the high price for the E-300 housing. They can't believe that it costs a multiple of a compact housing. Arguing a higher price for a solid pro housing is much more easy. They even had to correct the price (it went up) recently. I think that it got a bit more expensive to produce than they thought.

Helge ;-)=)

It would be nice to post picture of your housing once youre done, I always enjoy the mechanic side of U/W photography. are you planning to use their mounting for the port? beat's having to design your own line of ports .

Regards

P.S. The Japanese companies are like a brick wall, forget trying to convince them, you'll just bruise your ego .

Hi!

It would be nice to post picture of your housing once youre done, I always enjoy the mechanic side of U/W photography.

Are you planning to use their mounting for the port? beat's having to design your own line of ports.

P.S. The Japanese companies are like a brick wall, forget trying to convince them, you'll just bruise your ego.

Helge ;-)=)

It's always good to see some new choices for underwater photography, especially when it comes to serious wide angle.

The forthcoming Oly PT-E01 case for the E300 dSLR looks interesting. With the latest PPO-E04 dome port to house the new 8mm fisheye as well as the 7-14 zoom lens this is starting to look like the start of a half decent system to me. It will be interesting to see how good a job Olympus have made with the new galss dome for this fisheye.

I do wonder though about the price of this new 8mm lens. Considering how expensive their 7-14 lens is compared to Nikon and Canon equivalent lenses I guess that the 8 mm fisheye is also going to be pricey.