Numbat

Was doing some research and came across this thread. I want to confirm that Sea and Sea's customer service is still shocking. I'd never be buying any of their stuff again. I bought a YS-02 strobe a couple of months ago from a US authorised dealer, which was faulty. I tried to contact their customer service several times but they never even replied back. Then I made a fuss on their Facebook page and got a half baked response to send it back to a supplied address which I did. That was a month ago. Never heard anything back. Emails remain unanswered and don't know whether they received it, or when I should expect it back. I'm considering it $500 lost. Lesson learnt, never buy Sea & Sea products again.

So.... Got the housing, port and 45mm Leica. OM-D will be here in a couple of days. I can't find a decent tray that I like. The Fantasea I had doesn't fit. The Nauticam flexitray is over engineered, too many bolts and pieces, and feels too flexible, not rigid. I bought an iDas tray which doesn't fit either. Right way up won't fit because of the lip, and upside down I can't fit the extensions. I want one that can adjust the tray extensions downwards with a spacers like the UCLS one, but both sides, not right hand side only. I like it to be symmetrical. I won't be needing ball joints as I'll be using a pair of loc-line arms with the tray.

How did you find focusing? Unlike the Olympus 60mm it doesn't have a focus limiter to macro only and am worried it will hunt a bit in close ups.

Cheers Karl. Looking great. Can't wait to get mine. I ordered the OM-D Panasonic 45mm and two new strobes (Sea & Sea YS-01) with the TTL and focus lights. This Saturday after the dive I'll get the Nauticam housing and port. Also new tray and arms. Big credit card dent for sure...... It should be a huge improvement over the G12, and the crappy stiff Fantasea arms.

That is quite interesting Alex. It also confirms what Guy found. I can't understand how the Olympus got the specs wrong. May I ask what was the distance between front glass to subject with 12-50mm zoomed at 50mm with the diopter on. Though I have an Inon 6x so my get different distance)

That's not exactly right, below is cut and paste from the Olympus site for lens specs: Maximum Image Magnification: 0.36x 35mm Equivalent Max. Image Magnification: 0.72x Minimum Field Size: 36x48mm (at Macro mode) For the stuff I like shooting, I'll be needing some diopters on a regular basis.

Thanks all, your advice has been much appreciated. I'm now convinced to go for the Nauticam housing. And after some thinking, I might go for the 12-50mm instead of the 60mm, which gives me around x0.7 magnification, and that's not too bad on a micro four thirds sensor. Shame that my Inon 67mm close up lenses won't fit the Nauticam port for the 12-50mm, and have to get 77mm ones. Was wondering what kind of macro capabilities will the 12-50mm give you in a standard port, without engaging macro mode.

Thanks for your suggestion Alex. I was considering the 45mm first due to the low vis, however I changed my mind as the minimum focusing distance is 4cm between the two (15cm vs 19cm), and the Olympus has a focus limiter for macro shooting (the 45mm only limits for non-macro distances, which is not practical for closeup work). The 60mm is also better weather sealed, might come in handy in a minor leak. Does that make sense? Is being 4cm closer a deal breaker?

Hi all, I need some advice please ( I did a search but couldn't find any answers) I'm keen on an OMD with the 60mm macro. I mainly shoot in shallow water with low visibility. I'm finding it hard to decide between the Olympus PT-EP08 and Nauticam housing. The Oly is significantly cheaper with the relevant port. Is there any good reason to spend more and go with Nauticam housing? (Edit: I may also consider the 12-50mm or 8-18mm lens in the future. I believe that the Olympus standard port will accommodate both the 60mm macro and 12-50mm, while the Nauticam needs a port for each lens, making it even more expensive?)

I'm looking into on OMD and 60mm macro but not yet decided whether I should go for a nauticam or olympus housing.