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Best Underwater Housing for Olympus TG-6
The TG-6 is an incredible camera, crazy to see that it’s still in the market after so long and still leading the compacts category.
We’ve been getting a lot of questions about the choice of housing so we’ve created this mini-guide to help you decide what’s the best underwater housing for your Olympus TG-6!
Do I even need a housing for the Olympus TG-6?
Well, it is true that the TG-6 is waterproof but experience shows that eventually, the camera will leak if used outside of the housing so the answer is Yes! You do need a housing.
There are some additional advantages: The ability to connect strobes. A cold shoe mount to fix lights on top and a more sturdy grips of the camera.
Do I need external lighting with the TG-6?
Yes! Strobes or video lights are a must with any housing. Without them your photos will be blue, washed out and no where near what you want them to be.
Do I need external lenses for the TG-6?
The TG-6 is a mean macro machine. It’s lens focuses from nearly a zero distance and a close up lens is not needed. But… A wide angle lens is certainly needed and thats another advantage of having a housing with a thread on the front port that allows connecting such a lens.
What are the housing options?
The most obvious choice is the Olympus housing, the PT-059. Its a great polycarbonate housing: Compact, super ergonomic and reliable. The thread on that housing is 52mm so it requires specific wet lenses like the Kraken KRL-02 for good wide angle shots.
Read more about it here: Olympus PT-059 Underwater Housing for Olympus TG-6
Another obvious choice is the Ikelite housing. Very similar to other Ikelite housings, the TG-6 fits in their most compact housing body which also includes fiber optic connections, a 67mm threaded port and access to all the cameras functions.
The nice advantage of Ikelite housings is that the port can be removed and replaced by a dome. This allows for wide angle shots without a wide angle lens and has a great advantage at keeping the full system as compact as possible.
Read more about it here: Ikelite Underwater Housing for Olympus TG-5/ TG-6
Many think about the TG-6 camera as a beginner camera but I’ve seen true pros get exceptional results from this camera. It’s true that it does not have a full manual mode but it’s so small and so good with macro that in certain situations it makes sense over higher-end cameras.
As such, getting a high quality Aluminum housing that will last years and will endure hundreds of dives is not a bad idea. There are a few options in the market, let’s look at them.
Everybody knows Kraken for their lights but they actually have their own TG-6 housing that looks very similar to their smartphone housing. This is a great high quality aluminum housing with a 52mm threaded port that works perfectly with the Kraken KRL-02 lens. The housing is depth rated to 263 feet and also comes with an included vacuum system. Can’t protect your TG6 more than this housing.
Read more about it here: Kraken KRH TG-6 Underwater Housing for Olympus TG-5 / TG-6
Next up is Nauticam which are knows to make the highest quality compact housings in the market. The Nauticam housing is super ergonomic, very compact and has all the bells an whistles of a Nauticam housing. It comes with a 67mm threaded port plus a bayonet mount and perfectly compatible with all their line of wet lenses. Nauticam also offer an LCD magnifier for this housing and shutter extended when using Nauticam trays.
Read more about it here: Nauticam NA-TG5 Underwater Housing for Olympus Tough TG-6 / TG-5
Last but not least is the Isotta housing in that sexy red color. Isotta makes very high quality Aluminum housings, usually more competitive in pricing then Nauticam. They have all the features you would want in an Aluminum housing and if you like that red color, this is the housing for you.
Isotta included a very cool feature and their port has both a 52mm and 67mm thread. It is also depth rated to 330 feet which is great if you are a tech diver.
Read more about it here: Isotta Underwater Housing for Olympus TG-6
Comparison Chart
| Olympus PT-059 | Kraken KRH TG-6 | Ikelite TG-5/TG-6 | Nauticam NA-TG6 | Isotta TG-6 | |
| Material | Polycarbonate | Aluminum | Polycarbonate | Aluminum | Aluminum |
| Thread Mount | 52mm | 52mm | 67mm | 52mm | 52mm/67mm |
| Controls | Full controls | Full controls | Full Controls | Full controls | Full controls |
| Vacuum System | Not available | Included | Not available | Not available | Not available |
| Default Bulkhead (strobe connection) | Dual Fiber Optic | Dual Fiber Optic | Dual Fiber Optic | Dual Fiber Optic | Dual Fiber Optic |
| Depth Rating | 150ft/45m | 330ft/100m | 200ft/60m | 330ft/100m | 330ft/100m |
| Ring Diffuser | Available Separate (FD-1) | Not Available | Not Available | Available Separate (38025) | Not Available |
| Price (USD) | $299.00 | $745.00 | $350.00 | $1063.00 | $890 |
Before we wrap this up, whats the perfect strobe for the TG-6?
On Aug7 2023, Inon released their new compact strobe the S-220. We can say without a doubt this is the perfect strobe for the TG6. Its so small, supports TTL with the tough series, pretty powerful (GN 22) and a very wide beam angle (140 deg on its widest end).
Here’s what a package like that looks like:
Read more about it here: The ultimate TG-6 package
Conclusion
When choosing a housing for your Olympus TG-6, your first consideration is whether to go with polycarbonate or aluminum. Aluminum means more durability, better quality materials all around and a very sturdy and robust housing.
Polycarbonate is much more affordable. The great thing about the TG-6, compared to other cameras, is that the camera itself is waterproof. So in the unlikely case of a flood, your camera will probably stay safe even if some water penetrates the housing.
Among the two polycarbonate options, the Olympus one is more popular, since it’s usually bundled with the camera and it has the ring diffuser available. Some opt for the Ikelite to get better build quality, aluminum controls rather than plastic and a more elegant design.
If you choose to go with Aluminum, consider the better ergonomics of the Nauticam vs the innovative automatic vacuum system in the Kraken, which can pull its own vacuum with a press of a button. Nauticam also offer the ring diffuser which the Kraken lacks.
If you’re still unsure about the housing you should get, reach out to us on the chat and we’ll help you out!
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5 comments
Hi, I have a question, the Ring diffuser FD-1 can be used with Olympus PT-059 for diving by mounting to camera or by mounting to the enclosure?
I would really appreciate your response.
Hi Natasha,
Thanks for commenting on our blog!
The FD-1 ring diffuser is mounted directly on the camera, and, at least for the previous versions of the TG ( I can only find information for the PT-056, but it is probably the same), not compatible with the PT housings. The reason is that when the diffuser is attached to the camera, the camera is too bulky to fit in the housing.
You can use the diffuser underwater, but only on the camera without the housing.
If you do want a diffuser to go on the housing, there are third-party products, but not made by Olympus.
I hope this helps.
Hello, Between Pt-059 and ikellite which one is better? can we use the camera’s internal flash with ikellite housing? and can we use a Ring light with Ikellite housing ? Thanks
Very hard to say, both housings are at the same level. The ring light can be used with both of them. The Olympus housing has a cold shoe mount and it looks a bit more slick, I think thats what makes it more popular.
Hello, what about the sea frog housings? It seems they have both polycarbonate and aluminium. But I’m not sure how these options compare to the olympus housing