OM-D EM-1

[davirond 2]

Any opinion on the new 12-40 is coming to the market along with the OM-D E-M1 ? Its specs are set at a high level but so is its price. Do you think it would worth the extra money compared to the 12-50 (assuming manufacturers also provide corresponding ports) ?

[Phil Rudin 441]

I picked up my OMD E-M1 with the new 12-40 F/2.8 while I was at DEMA last week and it is every bit a PRO lens. Focus is excellent and the range is great for my needs. This lens will focus to about seven inches (18cm) across the range.

This is the standard test I do with all new lenses for close focus, zoom to 40mm, manual focus to closes focus point and then move the camera in and out for sharp focus. I use a standard 35mm film mount to get an idea of how close the lens will focus and in this case it is about 1:1.35 on 35mm or about 1: 2.7 on 43/M43 sensor. The lens extended to 40mm WITHOUT a filter on the lens will just fit into my Nauticam NA-EM5 housing using the ZEN 170mm optical glass dome and the 20mm port extension, about 2 or 3 MM from hitting the glass. I THINK THE 30MM EXTENSION WILL BE THE SAFER CHOICE for this dome port. The lens will NOT fit the flat ports for 12-50 or 60 macro and because of the LONG extension of the lens between 12 and 40mm I think a dome will be the better choice over a flat port to avoid vignetting. I think a wider flat port would be the only solution for use with a flat port where a closeup lens could be used. I plan to use the lens with the dome and I will continue to use the excellent 60mm macro for the very close work. A gear for the 12-40 zoom lens is in development by Nauticam.

 

Fully extended to 40mm the 12-40 zoom is about 30mm longer than the 12-50 zoom so in no way will it fit any of the "stock" ports for the 12-50 zoom.

First image is full frame at 40mm and focused as close as will give a sharp image, no crop and the second is the bill as it looks taped to a window.

Phil Rudin

Edited November 12, 2013 by Phil Rudin

[bear35 11]

Hi Phil,

 

Any idea on when the nauticam housing is going to be ready for the em1? I guess they will make a port for the 12-40. Anyone know of any underwater reviews for the em1 yet?

I am interested but am weary of the increase in size and weight of the em1 over the em5. The whole reason for me to use the 4/3 is the size and weight reduction.

[Phil Rudin 441]

The housing should be in retail stores before the end of the year.

 

The size difference between the E-M5 and E-M1 is a non issue to me. Since the grips are integrated into the housing the width is about the same as an NA-EM5 with tray and grips. This also allows for a vertical rather than horizontal shutter release which works extremely (big plus to me) well while using the right hand grip. The pictured housing has the vacuum system installed. This housing will ship with the vacuum system electronics already installed. The valve is additional cost and allows for several choices. The photo has the base valve, a valve that allows you to install a sync port for wired strobes, HDMI out, can also be added. A new read rear window for 45 & 180 degree accessory viewfinders is also coming. Price point should be between the NA-EM5 and Nauticam DSLR housings for APS-C cameras.

 

The rear view of the housing shows the vacuum system at the ready, green light. If vacuum begins to be lost the light will flash amber and then go to red when the vacuum is lost. The red light and audible alarm will not go off until water is actually detected in the housing. This system is NOT a replacement for the routine maintenance for your housing. It does however give another layer of security and I believe will be quite common in all housings in the next few years.

 

First image Nauticam NA-EM1 housing left and Nauticam NA-EM5 housing right. This is the a prototype housing at DEMA and some small Tweaks my be made before shipping.

 

Phil Rudin

Edited November 13, 2013 by Phil Rudin

[bear35 11]

Thanks for the info and pics. I think I am going to have to wait and look at them but there is hardly a difference in the size by the looks of it, cost could be the factor.

[simonknee 4]

Thanks for the pics Phil,

 

Are the handles/tray integral to the housing or can you fit your own?

 

Simon

[Phil Rudin 441]

The grips are designed to sit flush with the bottom of the housing and they can be removed, this allows the housing to sit very stable on its bottom. The housing also has three tripod mounting points on the bottom so a tray could be attached. You also have the extra plates at the top of the new grips for added support. You can see in the photos how stable the system sits on the counter top. The handles can be moved in and out for bare hands or heavy drysuit gloves. Also note how nicely spread out the controls are on the right rear of the housing even though additional functions have been added to this housing v. the E-M5 housing.

 

The only buttons which can not be accessed are the two on the front of the camera near the lens which control depth of field preview and custom white balance. These can be reassigned to other function buttons if needed.

 

Phil Rudin

Edited November 16, 2013 by Phil Rudin

[NWDiver 42]

Nauticam makes a nice tray and handle system but yes you can use a variety of other tray and handle systems to meet your tastes.

[Phil Rudin 441]

The point is that you don't need a tray the grips mount directly to the bottom of the housing, no tray required.

[NWDiver 42]

Don't mean to be combative but the idea is to have options, maybe someone has a tray system they like or a style of handle they prefer. I agree that Nauticam has a nice system but you can customize it with other trays/handles to fit your needs. I personally like options.

Edited November 16, 2013 by NWDiver

[Deep6 7]

Don't mean to be combative but the idea is to have options, maybe someone has a tray system they like or a style of handle they prefer. I agree that Nauticam has a nice system but you can customize it with other trays/handles to fit your needs. I personally like options.

I like the hand strap on the right side of my Nauti OM D5 rig. I use the handles as strobe mounts.

Bob

[Alex_Tattersall 90]

The shutter release mechanism has been redesigned so that it is a trigger (DSLR style) rather than a press-down button, it feels more intuitive and I applaud this change but I think it makes the use of a hand-strap impractical.

Edited November 17, 2013 by Alex_Tattersall

[Phil Rudin 441]

I agree with Alex, while I use a wrist strap all the time with my NA-EM5 housing it is as a result of the press down shutter design. The new shutter release design on the NA-EM1 housing is much more intuitive using the right hand grip. While the housing is designed to mount many types of trays and tripods the new integrated grip design is quite nice.

 

Phil Rudin

[Alex_Mustard 0]

For me, one of the things I particularly like about the EM-5 housing is that it doesn't need handles. I understand why the shape of the EM-1 camera probably means it needs this design, but I think it is a pity that there is now a necessity for handles, which do limit strobe positioning in some situations.

 

Alex

[Phil Rudin 441]

I use my EM-5 housing without the tray often both for wide angle with a triple clamp mounted on top of the housing and with a ring-flash for macro. This housing also has mounting points for the wrist strap and both handles remove easily with an alan wrench. I don't really see much difference other than the tray taking a little less time to remove and reinstall.

 

Phil

[Ryan 48]

In the proto design, the stainless steel handle brackets tie in to the top of the housing with m5 screws. Strobe mounting balls could certainly go there, providing one on each side, and more options than some of the smaller housings have. A crafty user could also come up with a nice wrist strap mount tying in to that top m5 hole, and one of the bottom handle mounts.

 

My take on this is that more advanced users tend to (statistically speaking) want handles on both sides, and this supports that more cleanly than an optional tray system. They could certainly be removed for special configurations.

The inverted trigger style release has worked well in in the past on some housings where handles were optional, namely the old Olympus PT-E series. Given the similar form factor that may hold true here.

[simonknee 4]

Just found this

and have to say it looks very promising. There may be some proper optics for the viewfinder and better knobbage. I know many of you love your nauticam, with good reason, but I hope Olympus have made a respectable challenger this time.

 

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

 

 

[Alex_Tattersall 90]

Knobbage - great word. What is the price on the Olympus housing?

[Phil Rudin 441]

Looks like basic housing will start at $1260.00 in the US. The basic port is $400.00.

[simonknee 4]

Knobbage - great word. What is the price on the Olympus housing?

 

In the UK Olympus online store it is £1049. That US price Phil has converts to £775 (no sales tax in much of the US I understand).

I'll need a PER-E01(£130) and a PAD-EP08 (£130) to get the full usage out of my earlier Olympus ports and domes - little tubes of metal cost sooo much. Economics (especially if I buy stateside) will take me down this route over the Nauticam as it would easily cost me £3000+ to switch housing system and all the ports.

 

Just noticed something in the product sheet pdf about the Oly housing:

 

"The eye-magnifier gives you 100% visibility of the extra large E-M1 electronic view finder while wearing a diving mask. And as it is detachable, it can easily be unscrewed if desired."

Excellent and "...unscrewed if desired..." that means somebody can make after market attachments...

Simon

[simonknee 4]

Backscatter have a price on the basic Nauticam NA-EM1 housing of $1850. This is pretty keen at only $400 more than the NA-EM5. I guess the UK price might be £1300. So I reckon I could revise my estimate of switching to £2000 compared with £1000 to stay in Olympus land.

 

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

 

 

[Phil Rudin 441]

Three things you get with the Nauticam NA-EM1 that you don't get with the Olympus housing or the Nauticam NA-EM5 housing.

 

#1-Vertical shutter release which may not seem like a big deal until you hold the housing and move the shutter release.

 

#2-The housing comes with the electronics for the vacuum system (on/off switch, sensors and warning lights) built in. This is about a $220.00 retro-fit with annual service for the EM5 housing. NOT INCLUDED is the valve and pump for the system. More than one type of valve is available so it can be added at anytime.

 

#3-Two removable hand grips. These grips fit to the bottom of the housing and can be removed if you want to use a wrist strap which will be an option. The Nauticam Flex-tray and second grip would run around $190.00 for the EM5 housing or Olympus housing.

 

The housing also has more controls for the camera.

 

If the Backscatter $1850.00 price is correct it would be a bargain to me. With the Nauticam housing for the Panasonic GH3 at around $2250.00 I would have expected a price over $2000.00 for NA-EM1 housing.

 

For those of you that are going to consider the Olympus housing for EM1, some of the ports you may want from the older Olympus DSLR housings for 43 lenses are for sale in the used equipment section with the PT-E06 housing.

 

Phil Rudin

Edited November 24, 2013 by Phil Rudin

[Alex_Tattersall 90]

Simon, let me see if we can get a port adapter made up for existing Oly ports onto a Nauticam EPL1 housing.

[simonknee 4]

Simon, let me see if we can get a port adapter made up for existing Oly ports onto a Nauticam EPL1 housing.

 

Yes that would open up the options - I was wondering about a port adapter earlier in this thread. Phil had some helpful comments on page 1 about fitting the 43 lenses through the smaller aperture of the Nauticam. However he thought the 50mm and 8mm would fit, which are the priority lenses. Any kind of control gear for zoom lenses (or for manual focus during video ...) would be a struggle, though that may be a struggle on the Oly one too.

 

I assume you mention the EPL1 since that is the standard Nauticam size? It would be great not to have to ditch the lovely PPO-E04 and dinky PPO-E03 http://www.olympus.co.uk/site/en/c/cameras_accessories/digital_slr_cameras_accessories/dslr_underwater/ppo_e03/index.html

 

Simon

[Phil Rudin 441]

News flash, Nauticam has just E-mailed me to say that they will now be developing a port adapter for the old Olympus ports for Olympus 43 lenses like the 7-14 & 11-22 zooms and the Olympus 8mm fisheye. This means that all of the Olympus style threaded ports from Athena, Inon, Olympus and others will be adaptable to the Nauticam Mini housings.

 

This is especially good news for those moving to the Olympus EM-1 and Nauticam NA-EM1 housing. The EM-1 has the best auto focus support for the 43 line of lenses. Keep in mind that these ports and adapter will not work with the M43 lenses.

 

Phil Rudin