Review: Olympus Underwater Housing PT-043 For Olympus Stylus 1030SW

So you want to take your Olympus Stylus 1030SW down, down, down to even further diving depths! Yeah, I did too, and that was why I purchased the Olympus Underwater Housing PT-043. It is made specifically for the Olympus Stylus 1030SW, and it allows us to take our cameras from 33 feet down under, to 141 feet down under the water.

Besides giving us deeper depths, the pt-043 also allows us to add different lenses to the housing. It is a 52mm, and you can screw in red filter lenses which will fix the underwater blue water issues that many have while taking photos in blue waters.

You can also attach other special lenses, such as wide lenses, or macro lenses, fish eye, etc, etc. So long as they are 52mm, it is all good. You can also add strobe lights to the housing for better underwater photography.

Quality:

The PT-043 is made of with a round polycarbonate design that is extremely sturdy, and out of the box I could just feel how high quality the PT-043 was, right in my hands.

The buttons on the housing are all specifically located on the housing with easy to see etched in labels. They work with precision, and are perfectly aligned for flawless photography underwater.

Everything is nicely set up, and the housing itself is clear, with red bold detailing. I liked the choice of coloring Olympus chose due to the fact that if I were to drop it, I'd be able to locate it relatively easy.

Luckily though, in the water, the casing provides neutral buoyancy, so even if it were to drop from my hands, it would float to the bottom very slowly.

However thanks to the thick wrist strap, dropping of the camera and housing is not likely at all.

Placing the camera into the housing is also very simple. The housing came with packets of silica gel, that you are to place inside of the housing, right underneath where you place the camera. The silica gel will absorb any moisture from fog, so if you happen to buy the PT-043, save the silica gel packets.

The housing closes up using very sturdy and secure metal clasps. It opens and closes like a suitcase buckle would, and they snap tightly shut to ensure no leaking.

Inside of the box, there is also some gel that you use on the O ring, which is the large red rubber ring that you will see stretched along the housings mouth. This ring should be replaced whenever you notice flaws such as drying out, small rips, etc. You can buy replacement O rings online for around $10-$14.

You want to keep the O ring clean at all times, as the O ring provides the leak proof seal to the housing.

On the viewing panel side of the housing, you will notice a nifty black shade blocker. You can remove this shader, however it provides much better viewing in sun lit areas where viewing the LCD screen is sometimes difficult. The shade mount is perfect. It may add a little bulk, but viewing the LCD is much easier now.


My Use:

In the water, I tested the PT-043 without the camera first. It had absolutely no leaks, nor did it fog up, so I was happily satisfied, and went ahead and loaded my camera into the housing.

I took some photos, and loved how well the housing worked. It is a little bulky, but underwater it is as light as a feather, and easy to use.

Overall:

I find the PT-043 to be an excellent investment for those who own the Stylus 1030SW. It kept my camera dry, allowed my to keep the camera with me in the water for the entire day, had absolutely no leaks, and I felt safer about bringing my camera along with me in the water. Last year I toted the camera with me in the water, and always worried about it leaking or flooding. I no longer have to worry about it, nor do I have to worry about the camera faulting and loosing images.

A lot of people have complained about the new Stylus Tough cameras leaking. I would say the same to those of you who bought the new Stylus Tough- definitely, definitely buy a housing case for your camera, it's a smart choice, will protect your camera, and will allow you to tote it along without having to worry about your camera.