INON X2 - GF-1 Housing for Panasonic GF-1

Orders Now Being Taken

The Panasonic GF-1 Micro Four Thirds 12 megapixel camera looks set for considerable success among serious underwater photographers. It's already been described by "Dive Magazine" editor and professional photojournalist Simon Rogerson as "much easier to handle than a full sized SLR housing" and "a pleasure to use". The Panasonic GF-1 camera system and INON X2- GF-1 underwater housing offers a logical upgrade path for underwater photographers wanting higher image quality, faster response time, creative manual controls and interchangeable lenses not offered by compact and prosumer digital cameras. The Panasonic GF-1 also presents an attractive alternative to a conventional D- SLR providing unrestricted live view, TTL flash automation with INON strobes, RAW shooting and producing magazine front cover quality images, all in a significantly smaller and lighter package than an APS - C or full frame SLR underwater camera.

The Panasonic GF-1 camera uses an 18 x 13.5mm sensor and a live view screen instead of a mirror. This helps make the Panasonic camera much smaller than a larger chip reflex body which must accommodate the pentaprism and mirror box, which add height and depth, plus must use larger lenses. The twin benefits of a reduction in size and weight, combined with improvements to digital image quality mean that Micro Four Thirds is a genuine contender for advanced underwater photography applications when bulkier and heavier underwater cameras would be a significant problem.

Getting into more detailed specifications, it's clear the Panasonic GF-1 provides the features we've come to depend on from modern underwater SLR systems. These include multi point auto focusing, RAW plus JPEG simultaneous image capture, 3 frames per second shooting in RAW and flash sync to 1/160th. And, of course, it also shoots high definition movies at the 720P standard and allows stills or movies to be shot in the 16:9 widescreen format.

Panasonic offer a range of lenses that meet the very specific needs of underwater photographers. These include an 8mm full frame fisheye lens suited to low viz conditions, shooting big pelagics like great whales, shipwrecks and scenic's and a 7 -14 ultra wide -angle zoom lens which will suit general underwater subjects as well as medium sized animals including sharks and mantas. A 45mm telephoto macro lens brings in the nudis and the small, shy fish.

The INON X2-GF-1 Housing

Ocean Optics was sent an INON prototype INON X2- GF-1 underwater housing to evaluate in March. So this is a preliminary report - production housings are just becoming available. Supplies are expected to be limited at first and forward ordering is recommended. INON are very experienced housing designers (they started out making professional housings for Canon SLR owners) and the signature attention to detail which is a hallmark of INON equipment is immediately apparent in the X2- GF-1. The body is aluminium, the ideal material for housings that are expected to be used hard over many years. It's rated to 75 metres. The housing body weighs in at just 1.4KG - half that of most housings for conventional SLR cameras. Though the Panasonic GF-1 is not an expensive camera by any means, and some budget housings are being produced for it, INON have built their underwater housing to meet the exacting standards of serious users demanding durability, reliability and superb optics.

Live View

The live view screen works exceptionally well. Information is clearly displayed and oversized making reading vital settings, like exposure readouts, very easy. It's easy to confirm focus and see detail not only in your main subject but also in the background as well. The use of the live view screen removes the compromise of using either the viewfinder reducer built into many D- SLR housings which makes the image small to view or adding a sometimes bulky and costly enlarging viewfinder to a D- SLR housing.

Controls

Controls on the INON X2 - GF-1 include levers, dials, switches and push buttons. Controls are uncluttered, positive to operate and easy to use with gloves. The Panasonic GF-1 has an excellent control layout and INON have capitlised on this. Because the GF-1 handles so intuitively in its INON X2-GF-1 underwater camera housing, it's extremely quick to change settings and shooting is fast and decisive. For underwater photographers whose trips are few and far between, operating the camera inside the INON underwater housing is so similar to using it on land that shooting effectively with it will be instinctive from the first dive of a trip.

Autofocus/Manual Focus

Unlike some D- SLR systems, which make it impossible to switch between auto and manual focus underwater, it's just one press of a button to do this with the GF-1. The LCD monitor is very crisp and as you go to manual focus this can be set to automatically enlarge to give a magnified image to focus on. Manual focus can be invaluable when shooting shy animals that are spooked by vibrations from autofocus motors or for coping with subjects autofocus has problems locking onto. For manual focusing INON use a special magnetic collar that slots onto the Panasonic 45mm macro lens. In turn this lets you focus your lens underwater by simply twisting the focus collar on the INON lens port. This feature makes handling the Panasonic GF-1 in the INON X2 - GF1underwater camera housing very similar to focusing a camera on land. With zoom lenses, the focus control operates your zoom for fast precise framing.

Glass ports

Panasonic offer a range of lenses for the GF-1 from an 8mm (16mm equivalent on 35mm/FX) full frame fisheye to a 7 -14mm (14 - 28mm 35mm/FX equivalent) ultra wide zoom to a super telephoto of 45 - 200 (90 to 400mm 35mm/FX equivalent). Our test unit was supplied with a 45mm Panasonic macro lens. This is equivalent to a 90 on a 35mm or FX camera. It's an ideal lens for small fish photography in clear water and focuses down to lifesize. The INON port is sealed using a chunky piston O ring and screws down into place. Two built in indicators confirm the port is properly positioned. INON have used polymers for the port barrel to reduce weight. In keeping with INON's well known reputation for optical precision, coated optical glass is used for the lens port to ensure perfect image quality. Coating the lens minimises reflections and maximises light transmission. A built in M67 thread allows UR Pro filters to be used for colour correction and INON UCL165 and 330 close up lenses to be used with the Panasonic 45mm macro lens for increasing magnification. INON is fully supporting the INON X2-GF-1 underwater camera housing with a choice of flat and dome ports and port accessories.

Download X2-GF1 Lens Chart here

Strobes

The INON X2-GF-1 underwater housing is equipped with four receivers for INON fibre optic strobe cables. The Panasonic GF-! In its INON X2-GF-1 underwater camera housing supports optical sync with INON underwater strobes. So photographers have the benefit of reliable TTL flash exposures with this system without the use of conversion circuitry. INON strobes offer TTL exposure compensation as well as 12 (S-2000) or 13 (D-2000 and Z-240) manual power settings for perfect flash pictures, even under difficult conditions.

Installation

Installation is very straightforward and much more like loading a compact into an own label housing than fitting a D- SLR into most casings. All controls line up automatically, apart from the on/off switch which can be positioned from outside the INON X2-GF-1 underwater camera housing. There are no flash hot shoes or cables to wire into the Panasonic GF-1 body or tricky controls to engage which can make preparing D- SLR underwater camera housings fiddly. Unlike most compact housings, the INON X2 -GF-1 does feature a screw to lock the Panasonic GF-1 camera body into the housing using the cameras tripod socket. There's little risk of the camera accidentally falling out of the housing.

Safety clips

Only two locking catches are needed to close the housing against its large silicone O ring. The seal is bright yellow, so it's easy to see debris on the seal. The O ring is a wide bore type and soft, making it more tolerant of particles of sand, for example, as it can mould around them. The catches incorporate a safety lock to prevent accidental opening. A leak detector is built in. This has both a warning light and an audible alarm.

Thumb Grips/Support Edge

The housing has sculpted thumb grips on the rear, which provide a secure grip. These mean that many photographers will be able to use the INON X2- GF-1 underwater camera housing without handgrips., keeping the unit ultra compact. Handgrips and wrist supports are offered as an option for those who prefer them. The thumb grips also provide ridges which keep the back of your housing protected when you lay it down on aflat surface. This is a vulnerable area for any digital housing as it's easy to scratch the monitor window and damage controls.

Accessory mounts

The INON X2 - GF-1 can be customised to accept strobe arm mounts and focusing lights. There's a lot of flexibility to let you choose exactly how you configure your lighting system.

 

After Sales Support

Servicing of the INON X2- GF-1 underwater housing and accessories will be handled in house by INON UK.

A preliminary review of the INON X2-GF-1 underwater housing appears in the June issue of "Dive Magazine".