Hating my G9/patima

[hankthecowdog]

As far as I´m seeing to use a strobe with the G9/patima means going to full on manual mode. Impossible for drift diving. By the time I take one photo, adjust iso, apature, shutter, take another photo of the long gone fish, make further adjustments and take a properly exposed photo, I´m hoping to catch up with bubbles and hoping not to get yelled at.

I´ve gotta be doing something wrong. Isn´t there a way to force the flash and still keep automatic functions?

 

[SPG3K]

How do you have the flash synced with the Camera right now?

TTL? Cable? Slave?

In any mode on the G9, you can push the control dial and cycle through the available flash options. (ON/OFF/AUTO).

If your Auto mode is not flashing it's because you set it up that way, just turn the flash back on.

 

[SFLDiver3445]

As far as I´m seeing to use a strobe with the G9/patima means going to full on manual mode. Impossible for drift diving. By the time I take one photo, adjust iso, apature, shutter, take another photo of the long gone fish, make further adjustments and take a properly exposed photo, I´m hoping to catch up with bubbles and hoping not to get yelled at.

I´ve gotta be doing something wrong. Isn´t there a way to force the flash and still keep automatic functions?

I'm not sure I undersatand your question? What exactly are you trying to accomplish?

I shoot my G9 in the Patima Housing w/ dual strobes, and have no problems at all attaining ttl-like results, without having to shoot in manual mode. I usually shoot in Aperature Priority mode, keep my ISO on 80, keep my Inon strobes on S-ttl/ttl. With this approach, I only need to dial in the aperature I would like and snap the picture - That's pretty quick.

Sure, there are times when I take a different type of shot, so I might switch to Shutter Priority or turn off my strobes and adjust the aperature/ISO a bit, and that takes a bit longer, but how is that different than any other camera?

Here's a few shots I took this weekend w/ my setup.

BTW, these next two shots were taken this weekend while drift diving.

Hope that helps,

Adrian

 

[hankthecowdog]

Thanks for the help. Will try all that, I kind of suspect that ttl is somehow not working, getting nothing like your results. I'm useining a single inon 240 with an optical cable.

 

[Nemrod]

Just a guess but you have to set for preflash or no preflash on your D2000/Z240. I suspect the G9 has no preflash in M, Av and Tv but does in Auto (unless reset and in Program as well). I think the Z240 has a selector switch, the D2000 uses a magnet switch.

The sTTL selection on the strobe overrides the preflash on and off switch (or magnet) but that function I believe only works with the camera in Auto and possibly Program.

I don't have a G9 but I read the manual and I stayed in the Holiday Inn Express a few weeks ago. In Av/Tv/M you should be able to set the G9 internal flash to low power for optical triggering of the Z240 and retain full auto exposure (Av/Tv are auto exposure modes). N

 

[Adriaan557]

The G9 uses pre-flash with Av and Tv and not with M. So Av/Tv(with flash forced) and strobe set to s-ttl should work fine.

 

[Nemrod]

The G9 uses pre-flash with Av and Tv and not with M. So Av/Tv(with flash forced) and strobe set to s-ttl should work fine.

What I am saying is if you set the camera's flash to manual low power I don't think it preflashes in Av/Tv but perhaps I misunderstood the manual when I read it. If the flash is on auto and the camera is in Av/Tv then it will preflash. Therefore it is possible to perhaps have the camera set to where it would not operate with the strobe in sTTL. Could be wrong, it was just a guess, it is easy to get the camera set up at cross purposes, the menus on these things can be baffling. The link below may have some use, maybe not. N

http://inonamerica.com/content/docs/STTL_D2000.pdf

N

 

[hankthecowdog]

Switching from Manual to AV/TV changed my world. Getting much better results but still need alot of fine tuneing. Really need to get the internal flash setting lower if I can figure that out. Using too much battery.

Getting best results with wide angle in the deep where the flash is bringing out the color of the coral. But is there a way to get color in shallower depth where the flash is a smaller percent of the overall light?

 

[Nemrod]

Stick it in Av, go into the sub menu and set the flash to manual. Then set it to it's lowest power setting. You can still turn the flash ON/OFF, (Forced or OFF) but it will not preflash and it will not drain your battery and heat up your housing. I don't have the G9 but I read the manuals and it works a lot like all Canon P&S cameras. You should be able to do this. Take the flash off Auto, put it in flash Manual mode. (The camera's flash). The D2000/Z240 should then be able to operate in AUTO and you will match the f stops selected on the camera to the strobe. I think this is right.

I don't think you really want the sTTL mode, I think what you really want is the strobe in Auto and the camera in Av. You will have to check your manuals but I think that is how it goes.

"Getting best results with wide angle in the deep where the flash is bringing out the color of the coral. But is there a way to get color in shallower depth where the flash is a smaller percent of the overall light?"

Move in closer.

N

 

[SFLDiver3445]

Stick it in Av, go into the sub menu and set the flash to manual. Then set it to it's lowest power setting. You can still turn the flash ON/OFF, (Forced or OFF) but it will not preflash and it will not drain your battery and heat up your housing. I don't have the G9 but I read the manuals and it works a lot like all Canon P&S cameras. You should be able to do this. Take the flash off Auto, put it in flash Manual mode. (The camera's flash). The D2000/Z240 should then be able to operate in AUTO and you will match the f stops selected on the camera to the strobe. I think this is right.

I don't think you really want the sTTL mode, I think what you really want is the strobe in Auto and the camera in Av. You will have to check your manuals but I think that is how it goes.

"Getting best results with wide angle in the deep where the flash is bringing out the color of the coral. But is there a way to get color in shallower depth where the flash is a smaller percent of the overall light?"

Move in closer.

N

Hi Nemrod,

Personally, I shoot my wide angle pictures, including the ones I posted within this thread, in AV Mode with the flash set to ""Auto" and the Inon Z-240's set to "STTL" on the main dial and "TTL" on the adjustable dial. Also, I always keep the preflash button pushed-in, which is designated as the "Normal" setting.

I'm sure there are several ways that the camera/strobe settings can be adjusted, and I suspect that several of those ways will yield great results, but that's what I'm currently using and it seems to be working for me.

FYI

Adrian