KGDiver

Yup. This is pretty much the reason I've written it off in favor of the EPL10.

Are you using the Backscatter AOI housing?

The more I read/surf the web the more it looks like I'll be selling my LX10 in favor of the E-PL10.

Gotcha. Yeah, I know my lights are underpowered for WA, mainly because coming from the TG5, WA was more of an afterthought. For wrecks, it is my intent to use whatever ambient light is available. Most of WA work would be fish portraits (angels, groupers, lionfish, morays) and some larger subjects, sharks, whale sharks, mantas/eagle rays), not looking to do sunballs, split shots, or reefscapes (well, maybe if I see something really neat). One of the hiccups for me with WA is the bulkiness of lenses, this is why I'm looking at the Wwl-c/WWL-1B as the primary candidate(s). So far, I've really enjoyed macro work and if TG5 had full manual mode, we probably wouldn't be having this conversation. I guess what II'm really trying to get at is what platform to build around the Lx10 or the E-pl1 coupled with the WWL-C/WWL-1B for the "long haul" without having hands-on experience underwater with either. Lx10 has been around for years, to the point where Nauticam discontinued their housing for it...keeping an eye on one second hand; plus compatibility of housings (ikelite/nauticam) with WA lenses and their performance is hit or miss. The AOI housing for the EPL seems well laid out and is compact, however, lack of TTL gives me pause, especially with how small (PIA) the knobs are on the S2000s. The lense availability for the EPL seems to be in a better place than for the Lx10, at least to my uneducated mind after some cursory Google-fu.

Looking for some guidance from the knowledgeable folks here. Long story short, I currently have an Lx10 and was going to build a travel rig around it. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get my housing in time for the trip this week so I was able to get the accessories returned at no cost and will be using my Gopro 8 with flip filters and video lights. Now that I don't have a clock to work against, I'm looking for the best option going forward. Im fairly new and inexperienced user so I'm looking for something that's fairly simple, thus why I ended up with an Lx10 after diving with a TG5 for 2 years. I really like the small package size of compacts and want to avoid the "satellite" setups like I've seen some use with the mirrorless and dslrs. The in depended AF button and fairly easy custom WB were a nice plus of the Lx10. I just came across the EPL10 which seems to tick the small size, price and ease of use to that of the Lx10 but with alleged better image quality. Additionally, when it comes to the Lx10, at least when it comes to WA, lens/housing combinations were a bit rough (vignetting). So my question is... Lx10 or the EPL10 to build a setup around going forward (hoping to use the same setup for next few years) ? I haven't done a ton of video and did mostly macro photos with my TG5, but nowI also want to get into some WA shots of wrecks and some fish portraits on upcoming trips (truk lagoon being one of them). Overall, I expect to do more photos rather than video. In summary, I'm looking for the best option when it comes to small setup size, ease of use and image quality (relative to one another). I currently have 2x Bigblue 2600 video lights (not looking to light up a wreck) and 2x Inon S2000 strobes and will be buying lenses WA/macro for whatever setup I end up with. Thanks in advance!

Will do.

I talked to the lads at Backscatter and they recommended UWL-95 for the Lx10 rather than thr H100; reason being H100 being made for 28mm equivalent vs 24mm equivalent that is the 95. Ordered thr UWL-95 with a Dome IIIG. Will see how things look.

Thats good to hear. Yeah, for this trip that's going to be the plan as my budget is somewhat limited a lot of the heavy lifting will have to be done in lightroom and Premiere. Fortunately when it comes to whales and whale sharks, that will be a snorkel situation as we can't dive with them (unless we just happen to come across one on a dive) so in camera WB should be fine for that depth. At the end of the day, I'm not trying to make money by licensing video/photos. It's just for my wife and I and some occasional family and friends, who let's be honest, don't care all that much because it's all "fish" and "coral" to them; at least as far as pictures go. Video tends to generate more interest. I appreciate everyone's help thus far. Quick question about bayonet mounts. If I were to have two lenses, can they share 1 mount? Like put the bayonet on the housing and just switch out lenses? Or does each lense need its own mount? I've never seen the mount so I have no idea how they work. I may call backscatter and cancel my order for the H100 and get the Wwl-c instead.

Great information here. I wonder what the difference would be between the Ikelite vs Nauticam housing with both the H100 vs WWL-C. H100 you used, was it a type 1 or type 2? How are the pics/video with just ambient lighting and custom WB? S2000 is strictly for macro purposes.

Thank you for the reply! You've made some good points. For me it's an issue of "I don't know what I don't know". I definitely didnt realize I would need an adapter between the WWL and the housing (it didn't show it on Backscatter on the "package" page of the Ikelite housing, but I see it when going to the link for the lens itself); so I would need two bayonett mounts, which further eats into the budget. From what I've read about the UWL-H100, it still vignettes unless zoomed to around 34mm, but I'm not sure if that was for Type 1 or Type 2 (type 1gets closer to the lens), so I would need to dome (added weight and cost) but would still be roughly half the price of the WWL. I might just have to bite the bullet and be my own guinea pig. Speaking of what I don't know, when adding the dome to the UWL-H100, the dome goes on dry and just the lense itself gets burped (hiusing/lens making point).

Getting ready for a Sea of Cortez trip next month and recently moved from TG5 (used on 3 trips, about 50 dives) to an LX10. There's supposed to be potential for some big subjects in Sea of Cortez (whales, whale sharks, sea lions etc) which I'd love to get some video/pics. So I'm shopping for my first wide angle lens. Unfortunately (?) my decision to purchase LX10 was based solely on Backscatter review which has for years touted it as the top dog of compacts for UW. What I feel they failed to mention is its shortcomings when it comes to WA lenses and having to zoom in 32+ to avoid vignetting. Though an argument can be made that when filming in 4k (like I will be) it crops to equivalent of 36mm so I suppose point is moot there, but when it comes to stills...that's a bit of a different story. So.....all that being said, this is where I landed. Inon UWL-H100 Type 1. Without the dome I'm looking at advertised 100 degree FOV, which after zoom, is going to be significantly less. Adding the Dome Type II, would get me close, if not a little over, the 100 degree FOV; but that would nearly double the cost of the investment. Another option, and one I haven't had the chance to thoroughly vent, is the Nauticam WWL-C. Those that have experience with the LX10, especially in an Ikelite housing, is the situation the same as with UWL-H100 and if it's better, it is worth the $400 premium vs Inon+ Dome. My planned setup is Lx10, Ikelite housing, one of the above WA lenses, SubSee +10 macro, Backscatter MW4300 x1, Inon S2000 x1. What are your guys' thoughts? Any suggestions....are there better options (without getting rid of the LX10)? Cheers PS. If anything I wrote seems a bit ignorant, well, it probably is haha. I'm fairly new to photography (including UW) so feel free to correct me. :)

SOLD

Bump. Price drop $400 Shipped.

Price drop to bring it more inline with current offerings.

Upgraded to an LX10, need the money for a new housing, so for sale are a TG-5 and Dive Housing PT-058. Used them for 2 seasons (about 30 dives). Both are in working, honestly near-mint condition. The camera has been in the housing since day one, both body and lens are mint. Housing never flooded and o-rings have been greased. Does not come with original box (unless I manage to find it). Asking $475 $450 (PayPal only) for both shipped via USPS to CONUS US.

Paypal info?

Thanks for the info. I haven't really shot WA with my TG-5 as I do not have the lens. I did shoot a couple of shots of coral formations and some wrecks with just the bare camera and I ran into problems of not being able to fit the subject into the shot while also being close enough do get any decent detail....I guess that's where the WA lens comes into play? Haha. That's why I've been just shooting little critters and found that I really enjoy searching for them.

$300 includes shipping (US to 23060)? PM, sent.

Interested. Is this still available?

Awesome shots! What are you using for lighting? I just started dipping my toes into UW photography (photography in general). I went from a GoPro 3+ to the TG-5, Oly housing, and a BigBlue AL2600 lumen video light. My next step is looking into strobe(s). So far I've been mostly shooting macro, some nudies and a ton of blennies for which the video light has done OKish; but now I really want those black backgrounds...so at least one strobe to start. Also, we have a Sea of Cortez trip on the books for 2021 and I would really like to have a WA setup by then...which means two strobes; I've been looking at S-2000s to complement the size of a compact camera, but I'm a bit worried it wont be enough (2xS2000s) for WA.

Those are some beautiful shots! Absolutely love nudies. I've only recently gotten into photography (underwater and otherwise) and slowly building up my gear and knowledge base. Currently have a a TG5 in the Olympus housing and a BigBlue AL2600XWP video light, but I've been really wanting a strobe (or two haha) and the S-2000 is in my top two.

Thanks!