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Olympus PT-EP01 E-PL1 Underwater Housing for PEN E-PL1 Digital Camera
SKU: IOMPTEP01
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Questions & Answers
Shopper : I already own and am in love with my olympus pen. My question is should I house this camera or get the sea life 1400 that i've been looking at? I am most worried about shutter speed. I know several with the 1400 that complain about it and I know I wouldn't have to worry about that with my pen. Complete newbie to photography but I have a trip to see the manatees and some diving in the keys coming up. Not quite ready to lay any extra money out for strobes yet, just want some practice with the camera first and a few memories. Would this be my best option and would I need anything else besides the housing to get started? Thanks, any advice is much appreciated :)ROSS S : There is a group of us in the Pacific Northwest who are using the Olympus PEN cameras and housing for underwater photography and there is a lot of good information online at the Northwest Dive Club web site under the Underwater Imaging and Photography Tab, EPL-1 Users thread.
As you will see, this is a very friendly group and people would be happy to help answer your questions about camera settings for your manatee trip.
Best regards,
RossGregory J : Your pen will give you much better images than the sea life camera, and the pen system has the ability to grow with you if you get hooked on uw photography. The main disadvantage is that you won't have any flash- not even the camera's built-in flash- when it's in the housing, as it is totally blocked. You hook up an external flash to it using a fiber-optics cable and it 'reads' the camera's flash, but none of the camera's flash reaches the subject.
But shooting manatees, you shouldn't need flash- lots of light in shallow water. So shoot with available light and get a small compatible flash and cord when you want to start taking pictures farther underwater. Enjoy!MICHAEL R : You need to order the zoom ring for the 14-42 mm kit lens to enable access to the zoom on the lens barrel ( PPZR-EP01) if you have the original 14-42mm M. Zuiko lens. You will also need a rubber spacer to take up the slack between the lens barrel (a Livestrong rubber wrist band or the like will do just fine with about 3/8 of an inch removed as a shim). If you have a later model lens 14-42mm model II PPZR-EP02 is required. Any other zoom lens (i.e. 12-50mm) may require another type of zoom ring.RONALD C : All you need is your housing. Keep your pen. Its a much better camera. Also I'm guessing you have the 14-42 mm lens which is wider than your going to get with buying a new camera. Underwater you can never get to close to your subject to avoid backscatter. Keep in mind the hosing requires a ring gear if you want to use your zoom. I found I just stay at 14mm for the reason mentioned above so I personally don't need it.
Most important set your wb in the water. I put white tape on one of my fins and use that to set it. I never use the underwater settings on any camera. Manual wb works much better.
Hope this helps Cheers,
MarkusMICHAEL L : The Olympus PEN is a mirror less DSLR and the Sealife is a compact. The sensor is bigger on the PEN, the autofocus faster and it has inter changeable lenses. Most people I know that have housed PEN systems are very happy with them.MARC C : The Olympus Pen is a good bit more of a "real" camera than the 1400 because you can set the aperture and the shutter speeds. Also it has real lenses that can be changed. Having owned both of them I will say that if you really want to get into photography the Olympus is the way to go. HOWEVER if you just want to take some decent photos without getting too deeply into learning too much in photo techniques the 1400 will take some pretty decent photos.SPENCER E : I took this camera and housing to the caribbean this winter and shot some great photos. The water was crystal clear which made the lighting great. The color has to be adjusted, since I also was shooting without strobes, but had no issues with shutter speed. Also we were only snorkeling, so we only went down 15 feet or less. I would definitely get the focus ring and make sure you get the right one.
I have no experience with the sea life camera but would recommend this camera and housing to anyone.
I shoot a canon 7d normally but have fallen in love with this camera for walking around shots.MARK S : If you have the updated firmware on PL-1 you know how fast it focuses. You already know your PL1. The housing is a fraction of the original price. For those reasons I would go with the EP01. You will also need the rubber ring for adjusting your distance and I highly highly recommend an extra O-ring for backup.
Strobes are not necessary. I just do custom white balance. However, IF you are below 50 feet the custom white balance is tougher to do without additional light. I recommend considering a video light (with LED so popular many of us have replaced strobes with LED lights as they work well for temp, balancing and also lighting up for both video and inside wrecks and under reef ledges.
Hope that helps.GRAHAM G : I had a Sealife DC800 before my E-PL1 underwater combo, and the pen is a huge step up. Focusing speed is great, not as good as the newer models, but much faster than my old Sealife. Being able to shoot RAW at higher ISOs with a fast shutter makes this a great underwater setup.SUSAN S : Dear shopper:
I received this housing a few years ago as a gift and am extremely pleased. My husband and I live in Hawaii and go diving every weekend (or try to). I didn't buy the strobe for about a year and was happy with the way the underwater pictures turned out. They turn out very blue but besides that the quality of the pictures are great. You might be able to mess with the white balance to correct the color. I have never had trouble with the shutter speed not being fast enough, as long as you are happy with your pen on land you will be happy with it under water.
You will need to also purchase the zoom ring. If you do not buy it you will not be able to use your camera's zoom function. I didn't know this the first time I used it and although I was still pleased with my pictures I wasn't able to capture any close ups. It was very frustrating.
When you do buy your strobe, my suggestion is to buy the UFL-2. I have it and am very pleased. For a one strobe set up I have gotten really good results.
I don't have very many underwater posts on my blog yet but if you want to see how my underwater pics turned out without my strobe you are more than welcome to check it out. It's called Adventures in Diving and Dining. I have one post right now and am working on another one....maybe I'll have it up today!
Also, make sure you clean the o-rings before you use the housing, EVERYTIME! I was extremely lucky because there was a hair on the o-ring and only a little water leaked in and my camera was not damaged.
Hope this helps!HIN L : I have not used mine underwater yet (water is too cold) but I have to tell you that housing is HUGE! when compared to Canon's.
I have a Canon Sx230Hs + canon housing, and now I have this E-Pl1 + housing. So from my experience, I would like to have better wide angle. These two cameras come with 28 mm equivalent. Underwater, the angle is closer to 35 mm. I bought a Fantasea dome for my Sx230Hs, which only returns it back to a 28 mm equivalent.
What I really want is at least 24 mm. If I had to do it over again, I would have spent the money wisely and gotten the gear I wanted. The Oly 9-18 (equivalent 18-36) is $. If you want to be able to use this underwater, you have to buy the Zen Dome port for this housing which cost $.
Underwater hobby is expensive. Pick the right equipment. I suggest being able to shoot wide angle underwater and macro.
EDWARD P : Does this PT-EP01 housing require an off-camera flash for optimum results?JOSEPH R : An off-camera flash is almost a necessity. Light at 30+ feet under the water will be OK for your eyes, but not nearly enough for the camera to capture a decent image - remember you won't have a tripod for those long exposure times!! Also the flash will bring out lots of colors that you don't see when diving.
FYI - with this housing, you will need to get the zoom ring adapter and the light cable to trigger the off-camera flash. Also there is a lens shroud I would strongly recommend too.ANTHONY J : Yes this housing does require a flash. I would suggest the sea and sea ys-02. It does not do TTL and is the reason it is cheaper than a ys-01. This means you have to manually adjust settings. Most divers shoot aperature priority which works fine with manual strobe settings. I have both 01 and 02 and use manual settings.
This is an excellent, low cost, tough housing that will do everything you need. The money you save can be used for a strobe (or two).MARK S : The answer is definitely "NO". There are 3 different ways to work with light underwater. One is to use a flash; In which case there are 2 connectors for external flash fiber optic cables on the front. Two- instead of flash you can simply do "manual white balance." This needs to be done every 5 to 10 feet of depth. The third way is to use a video light. The new (and much less expensive LED lights are excellent for pics as well. I have used double strobes. Now I use either video light or manual white balance. There are multiple examples of using the PT-EP01 with the PEN E-PL1 without strobes using just manual white balance on from my recent trips to Bonaire, Aruba, and Barbados at drmark920 dot com forward slash gallery dot html.
I purchased the housing and camera from Adorama and am very pleased.
There is one thing you need to be aware of; when ordering the zoom gear ring for adjusting the 14-42mm lens you need to purchase the one for the 9-18mm because Olympus changed the size of the 14-42mm lens to be the diameter of the 9-18mm so the one being sold for the 14-42 is too big.
The OMPPZREP02 is the correct one for both lens.
Best wishes.RONALD C : Yes, actually the only purpose of the on camera flash once the camera is in the housing is to fire off your external flash through a fiber optic cord. Without external flash there is no point in even turning the flash on. Actually it will cast a half circle of light across your photo as the light travels around your lenses and out the housing port. Also if you use external flash you will need a flash ring to put on your lenses to keep the internal flash from casting the mentioned half circle of light on your subject. Kaya A : Yes it does if you are diving to depths greater than 20-30 ft and like to capture true colors of your subject. The built in flash is not affective at any depth and is only used to trigger the external flash(s). BENJAMIN S : Yes, obsolutely. Anytime underwater you get s lit of back scatter if your flash is inline with the axis of the lens.ROBERT M : Without a doubt, yes. You will always need a strobe unless you are shooting natural light in clear shallow water. Backscatter will be present if you use only the camera flash and the camera flash is not powerful enough to demonstrate colors underwater. You need a strobe to get good colors.RYAN C : I'd say yes, but you can still get very nice photos without an external flash if there's good light on your dive. The hole on this housing where the flash from the camera comes out is very small.JOHN M : Depends on the lighting. If you are in shallow water with lots of ambient light, you are fine without a flash. However, if you are diving at depths and light is really limited -- or it is cloudy -- then an off-camera (external) flash would definitely be needed. For example, I snorkel and shoot most of my photos in shallow streams, so I generally don't need a light. However, most ocean dive photos turn out much better (and sometimes require) with lights.
Reviews about this item
Review Summary
2013-09-30T21:00:00
Rated 5 out of 5
An excellent purchase
I purchased the PT-EP01 a little more than a week before I traveled down to Key West the last week of September 2013. I already had an E-PL1 (the camera for which the case is made) and I wanted something to take with myself and my wife into the water when we snorkeled. I was afraid the housing wouldn't arrive in time because when I ordered it it was out of stock and on order. But it finally arrived in Adorama's warehouse, and was shipped in three days to my home, arriving the Saturday right before we left. Kudos to Adorama for their prompt shipping and service. The case is extremely easy to use, with all the E-PL1's controls coming out of the case with very large waterproof buttons, easy to toggle either in or out of the water. The case is extremely waterproof. It never leaked one drop of water the whole time I used it, even when I was opening the case to pull out the camera and download the photos from the E-PL1's card. One key feature is the case floats if you "drop" it while in the water. This happened several times, and it simply popped back up to the surface. Since it came right up next to us it was a simple matter to grab the case and camera, put the loop that comes with the case back on our wrist, and keep using the camera. The only issue is that the display is dim in the bright Florida sun and just under the surface. But we quickly learned to aim over the top, and at 17mm on the 14-42mm MKII zoom, we got plenty of good photos with the combination. I would buy this case again, especially at the low sale price Adarama sold it to me.
Bill
2013-03-27T21:00:00
Rated 5 out of 5
Loving It
I love my Pen so I was super excited to get this and try it out. I was debating between this housing or a new Sea Life. So glad I choose this. So far it's only been snorkeling with me but it takes amazing pictures. Easy to use. Has all the functions that the Pen does without the housing. Must spring for the zoom ring if you want to be able to zoom at all. Now all I need is a strobe for it. Can't wait to try it while diving :)
JENNIFER C.
2013-02-11T19:00:00
Rated 5 out of 5
Perfect!!!!
This was an AMAZING package deal!! Overall, great product and great price!!! I love it!!
TY T.
2013-02-05T19:00:00
Rated 5 out of 5
Good housing
Bought this as a kit and what a steal of a deal. Only downside is that it doesn't include the zoom ring for the kit lens, which I think should have been included or at least pointed out that it's an extra.
NICK O.
2012-12-13T19:00:00
Rated 5 out of 5
Easy to handle UW housing
Several reviews on diving photography sites gave this housing high marks for ease of use. It also can accomodate two different lenses (M. Zuiko 14-42mm zoom and 60mm macro prime lenses)without vignetting the image circle. The twin ports for the fiber optic strobe cables allow easy use of twin strobes for minimizing the backscatter effects of particulates present in the water column. The housing, camera and two strobes with arms attached tends to have a slight postive bouyancy which is not hard to compensate for with small counter weights. The size and weight of my total setup is far easier to handle than a DSLR with the same type of equipment. My total system (Olympus camera E-PL1, Olympus housing EP01, two strobes with a tray and arms, cables and accessories) is also easy to pack for airline travel in one moderate sized camera bag. The images I have captured are equal in quality to some photos I have made using my antique Nikonos V film cameras. I have logged about 21 dives with this housing system to date with some 390 images so far.
MICHAEL R.
2011-01-12T19:00:00
Rated 5 out of 5
Great value and versatile
We are avid divers enjoy underwater photography. This housing works better than the expensive models. It is versatile for both pictures and video. It's a real upgrade vs the previous underwater housing we had as it's easy to use and viewfinder is easy to read.
Tom
2010-12-19T19:00:00
Rated 4 out of 5
Olympus PT-EP01
i have been using this casing once a month for the last 6 months-about 50 dives. avrage depth of 18M so says my dive comp. no problems so far with flooding. the casing has plenty of space for dessicants pouches which i like. the clear plastic back is good for spotting flooding. a manual focus ring would be nice. and a dome port would be even better. u need a focusing light for this casing, not a handicap on the casing features but the camera. overall, it is still the best value for money for me at the moment.
decimal86
2010-05-03T21:00:00
Rated 4 out of 5
Accessories - Zoom Rings
Only just received this item from Adorama. It looks very good so far, but I have not used it diving yet.NOTE: (and the reason for this post) you need to order the zoom gear for the PL1 kit 14-42mm (and the 9mm) lens as a separate 'optional extra' item, which is not clear on website.
Seaquoit
About Olympus PT-EP01
FEATURED REVIEWS
Easy to handle UW housing
By MICHAEL R.
Several reviews on diving photography sites gave this housing high marks for ease of use. It also can accomodate two different lenses (M. Zuiko 14-42mm zoom and 60mm macro prime lenses)without vignetting the image circle. The twin ports for the fiber optic strobe cables allow easy use of twin strobes for minimizing the backscatter effects of particulates present in the water column. The housing, camera and two strobes with arms attached tends to have a slight postive bouyancy which is not h...
View full Review
An excellent purchase
By Bill
I purchased the PT-EP01 a little more than a week before I traveled down to Key West the last week of September 2013. I already had an E-PL1 (the camera for which the case is made) and I wanted something to take with myself and my wife into the water when we snorkeled. I was afraid the housing wouldn't arrive in time because when I ordered it it was out of stock and on order. But it finally arrived in Adorama's warehouse, and was shipped in three days to my home, arriving the Saturday right ...
View full Review
The PT-EP01 underwater case has been especially customized for one camera of the PEN family, the E-PL1. It is the world's first waterproof housing for a Micro Four Thirds camera. The extreme light weight PT-EP01 (only approximately 1100g, just half as much as the PT-E06) is waterproof up to a water pressure equivalent to a depth of 40 meters. As a genuine advantage to the underwater photographer, you can make use of the Live View function on the one hand, but it is also possible to attach the electronic Viewfinder to the E-PL1 and use it underwater. Additionally the PT-EP01 has a small, but very important feature at the backside cover.
The back is semitransparent and has a further monitoring window just below the LCD window, which allows you to detect any water leakage before having serious material damage. The PT-EP01 has a fix lens port and supports the use of the M.Zuiko Digital ED 14-42mm 1:3.5-5.6 and the M.Zuiko Digital ED 9-18mm 1:4.0-5.6. Besides the possible flash connection the PT-EP01 offers the use of a macro lens adapter (PMLA-EP01) to attach the macro lens (PTMC-01) for special macro photography. The high quality underwater photography is additionally strengthened through the underwater macro and underwater wide shooting modes of the E-PL1.
