Updated Ikelite Housing for the Olympus TG-6/TG-5 also Accommodates the OM System TG-7
When OM System unveiled the TG-7 recently, there wasn’t very much new to get excited about. Charging is now via USB-C, and the screen supposedly produces more accurate colors. But otherwise, the new camera seemed almost exactly the same as its predecessor, the Olympus TG-6. After a four-year wait, that was admittedly a little disappointing. Still, with the TG series, it’s very much a case of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”: The TG-7 is still among the best compact cameras available for underwater photography.
As it turns out, though, the TG-7 and the TG-6 are actually very slighly different externally, as Ikelite discovered upon closer inspection. “The profile where the side of the camera meets the silver lanyard ring now slopes gradually,” says Ikelite, which unfortunately makes the TG-7 a very tight fit in existing Ikelite housings designed for the TG-6 (and TG-5). To rectify this—as of serial number UC68463—the housing has now been slightly modified so that any of the three cameras, TG-7, TG-6 and TG-5, will fit smoothly inside. The update affects Ikelite’s standard housing (6233.06) as well as the company’s housing with dome port for the Olympus FCON-T02 fisheye lens (6233.14).
If you do have an older TG-6 housing (i.e., serial number UC68462 and below) and you want to use the TG-7, Ikelite gives you a few options. The safest is to send it back to them so they can make the modification ($125 plus return shipping). The other two options—which Ikelite points out you choose at your own risk—are forcing the camera into the housing (which risks damaging the camera) or making the modification yourself using a pair of clippers.
Check out Ikelite’s latest article and video, if you want to see how the TG-7 fits into Ikelite’s (updated) housing with dome port for the FCON-T02 fisheye and pairs beautifully with the company’s DS51 strobe and RC1 TTL Receiver for automatic strobe exposure.
