TG5

To Tray or Not to Tray

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A friend of mine messaged me the other day:

Checking with you, I’ve just bought a TG-5. So can I start shooting UW already or I need to add on any “lens”?

You have housing?

Yes, I’m on Ikelite housing.

For macro, you’ll need a light source. Also for wide-angle but you can also go without.

I have a video light, no budget for strobes yet. 😅

That’s ok. How do you mount it? Check out my blog post for TG5 setup here: https://underwatermacro.blog/2019/01/03/my-tg5-setup/

My housing will only reach next week, will send you a photo after I have mounted it. Also, about the tray: single handle & double handle, which is better?

Honestly, none. Best is a cold shoe mount on top of the housing. Trays are good for a couple of things. To mount light arms. For double hand holding on the housing to steady during wide videos. For a shutter trigger. For when you can’t fit your hands around the housing.

And they’re bad at some things. Having to reach further to reach the shutter. Making a wider camera that you can’t fit into spaces for macro. Getting hung up on your dive gear.

My G9 has left and right handles because it’s a bigger camera.

My TG5 has a handle on the right side because it holds a trigger. Makes it easier to fire a shot without twisting the camera. I took off the left side handle because I don’t need it to mount lights and because it makes the camera wider. If I need more lights and versatility, I’ll use the G9.

TG5 is my light travel and “exploration” camera. I want it lightweight and small.

The trick is: know where you are good and where you have to trouble and optimize the camera for your style. I will tell you this. A good photographer with a TG5 and a handheld dive torch can always do better than a poor photographer with an expensive camera with all sorts of shit hanging on it.

One thing that you do want to add is a lanyard. You can see mine in the photos. I don’t like how long it is when it’s clipped off. I just clip it when I’m descending and ascending. During a dive I undo the short clip and hand-carry it by grabbing the handle with my right hand. I either put it along the right side of my body, in my hands crossed in front of me like a tech diver, or underneath my crotch. 😁

Depends on what I’m doing at the time: hunting, traveling, waiting, etc.

Noted. Will read through your blog & digest as much as I could. Thank you so much for your advice.

See you underwater!!!

–Mike

My TG5 Setup

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There are a handful of photos there, be sure to check them all out.

The buildout:

  • Olympus TG5
  • Nauticam NA-TG5 housing
  • Nauticam light ring for NA-TG5
  • Nauticam flex tray with handles
  • Nauticam M10 ball
  • Scubalamp F24
  • Nauticam clamp
  • Coil lanyard with clip

What I Like

Light Ring.  I’m a big fan of light rings.  That’s why I got the housing at $800 instead of the $300 Olympus version: it had an optional light ring (also at extra cost).  What the light ring means to me is smaller, more portable size, both in the water and in my pack.

Right-Side Handle.  I’m doing a lot of drysuit dives here in Boston.  The thick gloves make it hard to hold the camera and push down on the shutter button.  A handle gives you much more positive control over the camera.  More importantly, a handle lets you work the camera with just one hand and reduces task loading so you can do other things with your left hand while you shoot.

Trigger.  I love my triggers.  Nauticam handles do a good job of having a trigger mechanism.  The trigger gives you much more fine finger control for shots and it isolates the firing motion from how you hold the camera.  This means better focus because you don’t move the camera while you fire the shot.

What I don’t like

Width.  With the two handles, it makes the camera wider.  That makes it harder to fit into some cracks and get close for some shots.  It isn’t an issue with my G9 because it has a port that sticks out towards the subject instead of a flat camera body.  However, the left handle on this setup can be removed, which is how I’ll be trying this setup for a handful of dives.

Lanyard Length.  I use this same lanyard with my G9, which is a bulkier camera with arms and strobes.  It works because that camera needs more space.  But with the TG5, I want to hover close to the bottom to look for subjects or even tip head-down and look at things closer more often.  It seems like the camera is hanging down too much.  The TG4 setup I have also does this.  This means that I need to hold the camera with my right hand and that’s less than optimum.  So what I’m going to try is to just add a ring and bolt snap to the back of the right handle instead of the full lanyard.

Dedicated to Light Ring.  The light ring is screwed into the M52 mount on the front of the lens glass.  You can’t really take it off during a dive.  You can’t use any other accessory like a diopter with it.  I think this is a minor issue.