Aquatica AE-M1

Dan Bolt · Issue 85, Jul/Aug 2015 · pp. 28–31

Products mentioned: Olympus OM-D E-M1, Aquatica AE-M1 housing, Olympus E-PL5, Olympus PT-EP10, Aquatica SW8 dome, Panasonic 8mm fisheye lens, Panasonic 7-14mm lens, Olympus 12-40mm lens, Panasonic 45mm macro lens, Olympus 12-50mm lens, Olympus 60mm macro lens

I can’t really call this a review because the Olympus OMD E-M1 camera and the Aquatica AE- M1 housing have both been out for some time now. Indeed rumours abound of a mkII E-M1 so I’m sure a new model is not far away. But one can spend a lifetime waiting for the next best thing to come along so with my friends at Cameras Underwater and Aquatica moving mountains to get the housing to me in time for a week diving in Gozo I felt compelled to share my experiences. I’ve been wedded to the Olympus m4/3rds line of cameras for some years now and the switch to this rig was from the E-PL5 with Olympus polycarbonate PT-EP10. I’m not going to talk much about the camera (except where it is relevant to the housing) but suffice to say I’m very much enjoying using it, even though it’s hardly a ‘micro’ sized camera anymore. The Aquatica AE-M1 is a machined aluminium housing depth rated to 300-feet (100m)…