Osprey

I did ... longsightedness is +1.5 dioptre, renove 0.25 to allow for water, and purchased +1.25 The problem is I use a 'Big eyes' style mask, if I put the corective lenses in the middle they would be in the way for normal use. ... with them fitted in lower quadrant they are not easy to use with a camera. I can read my gauges & computer no problem without the lenses,,, but the 8080 screen is not possible. Almost every picture I took is blurred ... obvioulsy allowing auto focus to latch onto wrong item. The video clips though were superb.

Mint condition .. under warranty Olympus C-8080WZ Mint condition .. under warranty Ikelite Housing 6130.80 Mint condition .. CR Pro Filter for housing The above system only used on a couple of dives during trip to Red Sea last month. Also have carry case for 8080 and several 1GB CF cards if required, plus spare O rings & siicone. Would prefer a UK purchaser, but would ship anywhere at cost. Would also consider selling housing & filter separate if necessary.

The latest Olympus E330 does provide an LCD view screen ... so you don't need to use the viewfinder.

Alternative Camera Advice I have an Olympus C-8080 and this is a superb camera. I recently purchased an Ikelite housing for it, and went to Red Sea for a weeks diving. I found that while this is a great setup for many it is no good for me … I had Laser Corrective surgery on my eyes a year ago, and while this has made my diving a whole lot better visually (20/20 distance vision) it has left me long sighted … While out of water I can use the C-8080 perfectly, underwater the screen is too small for me to be able to use, unless at almost arms length, and then it’s difficult to read anyway. I tried ‘stick in’ corrective lenses in my mask, but they did not help. I think the way forward for me is to change the setup and get a camera that has a larger LCD screen. The Olympus has a 1.8†screen and while this is good for those with normal vision, is a problem for old sods ! Would appreciate any advice on a suitable camera, the items in the wish list would be: A large bright screen … 2.5†or bigger CF cards ideally (as I have several 1GB WA cards) Low shutter lag (0.2sec or better) 7-8 Megapixel TTL flash would be nice (but not crucial) Good low light focussing ability I am open to any make except SONY (memory sticks too expensive), and it does not have to be a ‘prosumer’ … would consider a good compact. I looked at the Sea & Sea … pity the DX8000 only has a small screen.

can you explain the JPEG duplicate ? what is the purpsoe of this, is it a separte picture .. or just a stright duplicate of teh RAW file, if the latter then othetr than filling up the card what is the reason ? On the the WB .. you say use manual, is that only without filter or both ? Assume I will only be using filter down to 10m or so.

As explained in post ... I do not have a strobe so option is not there. Do have a powerful LED light which could be used for focus assist, but that seems awkward to achieve .. yet another thing to hold. I have !Gb cards so could shoot in RAW ... does the post processing with RAW really make that difference, thought photoshop was now so good that high quality jpeg would be just as easy to tweak.?

Hello after advice read here I went and bought an Ikelite Housing to go with my Olympus C-8080 Will be going to Red Sea shortly, would appreciate any tips on what settings to use on my camera .... I know I can adjust them all with the Ikelite .. but initially want to keep fiddle factor as low as possible, until I get used to having a XXL sized polycarbonate box with me on dives ! I am diving without using a Strobe (as I don’t have one yet) plus have bought a CR-Pro filter especially for this. Mode .. should I go for P-A-S or one of the scenes ? ISO .. leave it set to for example 100 ? or set to Auto PIC .. should I use RAW or Jpeg.... I have a couple of 1Gb card so that would give me around 80 or so shots per card. White balance – Auto or manual ? (also what about with filter fitted ?) Exposure comp .. read a piece on a diving usenet group, where one photographer always uses -1.0ev 'My Mode' – anybody come up with a good set of settings for configuring up ain ‘My Mode’ All advice appreciated.

Following advice here I will capture images in RAW ... but I see a problem, I have Photoshop 5 LE ... and this does not support RAW, and Photoshop web site does not offer any support for 5LE. Is there a Plug in for 5 ? where can I get it ..... or what version do I need, does ver 7 support RAW ? or must I use Adobe CS2 ? Has Photoshop CS2 has replaced Photshop 8 ? or are they differenet products.

I don't suppose you have contact detais of anybody who bought one ? be good to be able to contact them and find out if there are no clearance problems. Or anybody out there fit a filter and have no problems ?

I have already bought the C-8080 after loads of very positive reviews on multiple Dive sites, so the Nikon is not really an option. I did get it at a very good price as well - so the camera really has to stay. The reviews on line have been superb for it. The question is whether to get the Ikelite housing ... was just about to buy until the isue of lack of support for a filter arose. Hoping that others have come across the need to find a filter and have an answer for this. I understand Ikelite sponsor this site, maybe someone on their team will know how I can achieve a filter solution. ..Ikelite ... you out there ?

After lots of advice everywhere I bought myself a new Olympus C-8080 camera, and it looks like I am going to buy an Ikelite housing for it. I don't want the hassle of flash/strobe arms & brackets etc. (at least initially)... so want to use the camera with ambient light. All the primers & guides advise that it is a MUST to use a ‘Magic’ or ‘Pro CY’ filter if you are not using flash. Ikelite advise they do not produce a filter or fitting for the C-8080 housing, anybody out there use a filter with Ikelite C-8080 housing ? how did you do it/where did you get it .. etc. please let me know.

OK - I'm not getting very far here .... contacted Ikelite, they do not make any filter or attachment for a filter for the C-8080 housing as the lens is too big. Anybody know how to get around this ?

Ahh ... that was going to be my question, I had many years with film SLR, and it's normal there to simply screw on a filter onto thread on front of lens barrel Anybody know if I could do this with the Ikelite housing ? or do I need to screw filter onto the housing glass itself?

Hope this is in correct category - Question on filters .... read several articales on the use of the the 'Magic' filter of 'Pro cy', and how they can make such a huge difference to non-flash photography. However when I went to look at buying a Mgic filter the comment was that they do not suit non-SLR digital cameras. I will be using an Olympus C-8080 .... does anybody have advice on what filter to use ? I do not intend buying flah/strobe units initially so use of a flter for ambinet light dives would seem a good idea. Also do these fit on the lens and therefore inside the housing ? sorry if this last question seem really stupid.

So are you saying that I can use the C-8080 internal flash with the Ikelite housing ?

OK ... I'm convinced ... Ikelite it is. On issue - they are too expensive in the UK, I travel to US on business reasonably frequently, where can I get the best deal mail order ? I could get it deliverred to our US office and pick it up when I arive. Any suggestions for a good deal form a reliable source.

Having just bought my C-8080, now and to get an underwater housing. There are 2 choices : Olympus PT-023 around £199 Good for 40m, which is probably OK for my use. Cameras Underwater although having them on the web site do not sell them anymore, they advise there are problems with the clips … although is this a ploy to get you to buy Ikelite ? To add add a tray & grip it's going to cost another £140+ Does not interface to TTL flash metering. Has diffuser for internal flash Ikelite #6130.80 around £400 Good for 60m Comes supplied with tray & Grip … so perhaps price difference is not that bad No diffuser for internal flash included Full TTL flash synch is possible Would value comments form those who have used either … particularly regarding the issue of clip failure on Olympus PT-023