Olympus E-620 and PT-E06 Housing

[tspore]

The new E-620/PT-E06 camera/housing combo is Olympus fifth high quality/low cost solution for the aspiring underwater photographer. It is clear that digital photography has created an explosion of new underwater shooters and a need for DSLR equipment aimed at all skill levels from entry level to professional. Top-of-the-line camera and housing systems can frequently exceed the price of an exotic dive vacation for two and updated cameras are being released before the new camera smell wears of the current models.
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[reallymadrob]

Hi Tony, Phil,

Nice to see the E-620 getting underwater in warmer parts of the world I've had a chance to play in cold water and enjoyed it there. In the review you appear to say that you're restricted by x-sync to 1/160th when you're using the UFL-2 in TTL. That's sort of true but in RC mode you can select FP mode and use any shutter speed you like - it's just a boxed FL-36 after all.

I reviewed the camera case and strobe for a UK site...
http://www.warehouseexpress.com/home/?/RSpray/bio.html
...and felt the same way as you. It's an upgrade over the older models and I liked them already

Rob
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Vivid Oceans and Secret Seas - marine photos
Seasearch East - conservation underwater
Visit - www.1townhouses.co.uk

[PHIL RUDIN]

Hi Rob,

You are correct that the UFL-2 U/W strobe can be used in FP mode when set to RC even working with fiber cords. I did not test this feature but I did try several lighting ratios using this feature and two strobes in manual for wide angle. It works great and allows preset lighting ratios which can be quickly changed on the fly from the cameras LCD menu. The onboard strobe max. sync is 1/180th sec. when using non-dedicated strobes like the Inon Z-240 & S-2000's.

I did not request the hard wire cords from Olympus for testing because I believe most photographers prefer and are using fiber optic cords. Sorry that I didn't make that clear. When hard wired to the housing all of the functions of the FL-36 work in auto, like auto zoom of the flash which changes the angle of coverage of the strobe as the lens is changes from wide to narrow or zoomed. This needs to be done manually when using fiber cords.

Phil Rudin

[Michael Meissner]

Originally Posted by PHIL RUDIN

Hi Rob,

You are correct that the UFL-2 U/W strobe can be used in FP mode but I don't think it works using fiber optic cords which sync with the onboard "popup" flash. The onboard strobe max. sync is 1/180th sec. according to Olympus US.

Phil Rudin

The Olympus remote RC flash system can work at higher speeds than the normal 1/180 (or 1/250 for the pro cameras) using FP-TTL mode. In fact, the standard method for eliminating the light output from the pop-up commander in macros or in photographing shiny objects is to use remote FP-TTL mode and set the shutter speed to 1/320 or faster. So assuming the UFL-2's do support FP-TTL mode, you should be able to use higher speeds.

However, higher speeds do come at a cost, because the FP-TTL flash operates by flashing the flash multiple times so that there is a flash pulse to cover the sensor area as the two shutter curtains move over the shutter. Flashing multiple times means your max distance is reduced and things that are really moving fast will not stop the action because there will be multiple flashes made.

I assume that the pop-up flash control pulses would easily go over any fiber optic cable. I remember grousing about how the Olympus RC flash method should have used bluetooth or similar radio technology instead of light pulses (which means the flashes have to see the commander flash), but in an underwater environment using fiber optic cables, the current system may perform better.

[PHIL RUDIN]

The post was edited almost as soon as it went up, thanks for catching the error.

I also feel that while the UFL-2 has some nice features it still lags behind the Inon S-2000 and Z-240 strobes vs. cost and features.

Phil Rudin

[Gary Ramey]

Phil ... as usual nice write up. Yes I agree a replacement viewfinder on the housing would be a nice feature. I like the snapper shrimp in a bottleneck....about the only way to get a full body shot of the little guys!