CliffWarner

Never done a live aboard, and for the next few trips will be going to Belieze, Figi and other locations where I want to do other photography as well as underwater. If I was on a live aboard, I would not be so concerned about other uses for the camera on the trip. However, I do not plan on doing that in the next few trips.

Good point, but the cost of replacement in case of a flood was not the issue with the EM-5, it was the risk of loosing the only camera body on a trip. I am mainly a landscape/nature photographer and am an occasional underwater photographer. If I am going on a trip to some exotic location that includes diving, then I want two cameras one for land and one underwater. I do not want some issue with the dive camera eliminating all photography on the trip. I gave the idea of housing my EM-5 a lot of thought. The main issue is that it is an expensive option considering camera body, housing, and port costs. I dive once or twice a year, so I find it difficult to justify the costs to house the EM-5 versus saving that cash for a new lens (the Panasonic 150mm f2.8 to be released this year). that I will use more often above water. That is why I am going the route of the XZ-2. Some day if I move to a warmer location and find myself diving more frequently, then I might justify buying a better rig. But for now, it seems a good place to start and learn lighting and all the other things one needs to master.

Ordered the XZ-2 already. I wanted several features on the XZ-2 so I was not interested in the XZ-1.

I am also looking for a dedicated underwater camera. Total cost (camera & housing) is a significant consideration, but probably equally important is familiarity with the camera controls and menus. Experience with my wife's G10 on previous dive trips has taught me a bit about that. I do a lot of photography and use a Olympus EM-5 and bunch of lenses for my above water shooting. I did not go with a housing for the EM-5 because it is my main camera, which I do not want to risk being without if a housing floods, and the cost of a housing & port for the EM-5 were more expensive than I could justify for the two dive trips a year we do. So, I bought a RX100 to be my new dive camera, but I am not so happy with it. As I do not use it often, I find it rather difficult to figure out the controls every time I pick it up. That does not bode well for under water situations. There are more negatives as well, the lens is slow at telephoto and the macro capability is not so great, and I like macro. One must have diopters for macro on the RX100, which increases cost. I am looking at the XZ-2, even though the sensor size and resolution are inferior, as it's menu system is very similar to the EM-5. For the infrequent times I use it, I am thinking that the familiarity with controls will be more valuable under water than outright resolution. Macro capability seems pretty good from various reviews, but the super macro capability is hampered by having no flash function at all. The olympus housing is really nice and very well thought out. having the front surface black to isolate the internal flash on a polycarbonate housing is something that other manufacturer's should be doing. I also like the control capability of the UFL-2 flash with the XZ-2, so that is a plus. So, I am ordering a XZ-2 and will see how that works for me in comparison with the RX100.