Text and Photos by Phil Rudin

LAS VEGAS-

8 mm fisheye with Athena 220 mm dome port

As a dedicated diver and long time underwater photography enthusiast I spend more time than I should keeping up with the latest in digital technology. It is clear that digital photography has created a hole new wave of underwater shooters and a need for equipment aimed at all skill levels from the professional systems level to the DSLR entry level. Top-of-the-line camera and housing systems can now exceed the price of a new car and change within month rather than years as the Nikonos film cameras and housed film cameras did. In July 2007 I posted a review on Wetpixel.com reviewing the High Quality, Low Cost Olympus E-410 camera and Olympus PT-E03 housing. Olympus has now completely updated the housing for the new E-520 camera with little change in the overall cost for the system and significant improvements to the new E-520 camera & PT-E05 housing.

THE CAMERA

E-520 camera with 14 to 42 mm zoom lens

In March, 2007 Olympus released the E-410 & E-510 camera models and announced the PT-E03 housing for the E-410. At that time both cameras were available with the new 14 to 42 mm "kit" lens. Since its release the kit lens has received high marks for an entry level lens by reviewers world wide. The new E-520 is now selling as a kit with the same 14 to 42 zoom lens for under $600.00 (street) in the U.S. The cameras features include three mode image stabilization, which makes any lens a stabilized lens, Three mode auto focus with phase detection, AF imager, auto-focus face detection and manual focus, Shadow detection technology, a faster 3.5 fps burst rate with a faster processing engine, wireless RC flash mode, larger 2.7 inch hyper-crystal II LCD, 20 scene select modes, improved live view and much much more. I have been using the in camera image stabilization with the E-510, E-520 and E-3 for over a year now and find that it adds a 1.5 to 3 stop advantage over non-stabilization in both tele and wide angle lenses.

THE NEW 9 TO 18 MM ULTRA-WIDE-ANGLE ZOOM

Olympus has also just released the new Zuiko Digital 9 to 18 mm ultra-wide-angle zoom lens which will make the entry into underwater wide angle photography more attractive and affordable for all Olympus users. The 9 to 18 mm F/4-5.6 zoom is a rectilinear zoom with a 100 to 62 degrees angle of view, (equivalent to an 18 to 36 degree AOV on a 35 mm sensor). The lens is light weight, much more compact than the Zuiko 7 to 14 mm zoom and at under $600.00 (street) is a little over a third the cost of the superb 7 to 14 mm zoom. This lens uses the Olympus PPO-E04 dome port without the need for a port extension or lens diopter. A new gear was also introduced for the lens at DEMA. Made from a rubber compound the gear slides over the lens, (without marking or damaging the lens) with little effort much like the gears for the 7 to 14 zoom, 50 mm macro and 8 mm fisheye. The gear has a flared end which prevents light from entering the lens while using the pop-up flash with fiber optic cables and external strobes.

THE HOUSING

Camera installed in housing

Olympus announced their fourth DSLR underwater housing (PT-E05) with the release of the E-520 camera. The PT-E05 housing is now widely available at a street price of around $1000.00 US. The housing is rated to a depth of 131 feet (40 meters), the max depth for recreational sport divers. Like the PT-E03 model the housing is made from high-grade polycarbonate and is hinged on the right hand side. This housing has an all new rotary buckle locking system on the left side which closes and locks the housing with a firm clockwise turn. A locking release devise then needs to be depressed to unlock the rotary buckle. This is a vast improvement over the last housing. The housing retains the dual main o-rings which have also been updated. The O-ring in the door is now flat on three sides and retains its exact shape when removed for cleaning and greasing. The o-ring well has been made deeper and the o-ring taller so that it will retain its shape when replaced in the well. The shape of the door has been updated so that it has less bends and turns with more gently sloping curves which also help to keep the o-ring from rolling or losing its shape. The second o-ring in the main housing half appears to have an o-ring well that narrows slightly towards the bottom. The second o-ring is then wedged into the the well as the housing door is pushed down onto it. This makes for a much more secure feel to the locking system. On a resent trip to Cozumel for Dive Chronicles “Digital Jam” I put the housing system into the hands of over fifteen different divers in five days of diving with no issues with the locking or port systems.

Main door O-ring and detail

Wrist strap

The front half of the housing is now made of black polycarbonate and is equipped with two built-in fiber optic ports for the snap-in Sea & Sea type fiber cords. A rubber insert is also provided with the housing for those using the fiber cable directly into the housing optical port. Other improvements to the housing include a new tray for locking the camera into place inside the housing, a new and improved wrist strap which closes with velcro and is easer to adjust, a wider and more ergonomic shutter release, larger well marked plastic push button tops for the controls and much more.

Camera tray

The housing retains the same high quality pickup finder and the same Olympus proprietary bulkhead connector used in all the Olympus DSLR housings. This bulkhead connector now becomes much more useful with the introduction of the new UFL-2 electronic flash. The housing also retains the same threaded metal port mounting ring as the previous DSLR housings. This extremely secure threaded mounting system is also available on the Nexus and SeaTool housings for the Olympus E-3 pro camera making all of the existing ports for the three housing systems interchangeable. At present over twenty different port configurations are available. The housing also retains the five mounting points at the bottom for an assortment of trays, arms, tripods and other accessories.

Housing Body cap

THE NEW UFL-2 ELECTRONIC FLASH

Olympus UFL-2 strobe controls

Along with the PT-E05 housing Olympus has also introduced a new underwater strobe the UFL-2 which has a depth rating of 197 feet, (60 meters). This flash can be fired via fiber optic cords in TTL using the internal camera flash and fiber optic ports built into the housing. It can also be fired in manual mode and with the proprietary wired cables used for the Olympus land flash housings. The beam angle of the flash can be zoomed in and out like an Olympus land flashe. The maximum guide number is 32 at the narrow beam angle, think macro. As the beam spreads for wider lenses the guide number is reduced much like the land strobe. If the strobe is hard wired to the housing it will zoom automatically as your lens is zoomed in and out. With the fiber optic cables the strobe is zoomed manually on the rear command panel of the strobe. Set to the RC mode and used with fiber optic cords twin strobe lighting ratios can be set and used in TTL. The key #1 strobe can be set to TTL and the #2 strobe can be set to TTL minus a stop or two of light. The number of different lighting ratios which can be set is endless, as with a land flash allowing for endless studio type lighting effects. The strobe is powered by two AA sized batteries which will produce about 250 flashes per charge at full power. These strobes are on the fat side and as a result I found that a single strobe offset the housing, camera, lens, arm and dome port and became about three ounces positive in fresh water with the 14 to 42 zoom lens. In salt water the unit was like a feather to carry and control. The strobe is compatible with the Sea & Sea type mounting accessories and should work well with existing arm systems. The UFL-2 is around $600.00 US street price.

FINAL NOTES

Olympus 7 to 14 mm zoom lens at 8 mm

The E-520 defaults to shutter speed for the command dial when shooting in manual. If you enter the menu and go to "dial" you can set the commend dial for aperture when shooting in manual. This allows one finger control of the aperture settings and sets the shutter speed control to function in place of the aperture control. This means that when you want to change shutter speed you will need to depress the function button on the top of the housing then rotate the command wheel. The button no longer needs to be held down while turning the command wheel as with the E-410 housing making it a one handed switch which can be done while wearing heavy gloves. Since aperture is moved far more frequently than shutter speed in most underwater settings it makes sense for it to be first on the command dial. The shutter speed can also be reset at any time. While the E-520 camera has one of the smaller viewfinders in its class the excellent pickup finder and the 4/3 camera format allow you to easily see into all four corners of the frame at the same time. I prefer to put my shooting information on the LCD screed for a larger view rather than trying to see it in the viewfinder. Regarding the cameras liveview, I am not a big fan of this feature and will leave the comments to others except to say that this feature seems to improved with each new camera released. I expect to see Olympus debut its Micro 4/3's offering at PMA in early March which should spark the debate once again over the usefulness of liveview and in camera video.

(NOTE: Olympus has officially annouced that no Micro 4/3 cameras will be at PMA-Tspore)

Olympus E-520 with 50 mm macro lens

If you have been looking for a system that you can grow into or you are looking to move beyond point-n-shoot systems, the E-520/PT-E05 combo may be your answer. The ports are high quality optical glass and provide for years of expansion as your experience grows. I now shoot everything from a long macro lens to a fisheye with the Olympus system and I am still very impressed with the high quality of imagery produced. The PT-E05 housing with the 14 to 42 zoom port, E-520 camera and 14 to 42 mm zoom lens "kit" are still around $2000.00 US. When it comes to system cost verses image quality you may not find a better overall value than the E-520/PT-E05 in todays market.

Olympus E-520 with 50 mm macro lens

I would like to thank Olympus America for the use of the housing and camera during our Digital Jam event in Mexico and to Reef Photo Video for its assistance with additional equipment needs and technical support.