Inon z240 vs Inon D2000 vs any other strobe for my new Canon G9???

I just purchased a Canon G9 as my first underwater camera to begin the wild adventure of underwater photography. I have not decided what housing to get... the canon or the ikelite, however I am leaning more towards the canon due to price. Is the ikelite worth the extra money? I am also looking into purchasing a strobe, as I really want my pictures to turn out. I mostly take pictures of fish and coral formations, however would like to be able to take some distant pictures. The strobes that I am considering are Inon z240 vs Inon D2000 vs Sea & Sea YS-110 vs ?????. Would all of these be compatible with the canon G9? I am hoping to spend around 500-600 for a good strobe that I will be able to use with my Nikon D80, if I get a housing one of these days. Also, any recommendations on a close up lens I could use with the canon G9? All suggestions and advice are welcome. I need all of the help and advice that I can get. Thanks in advance.

Melanie

On your G-9, I'd go with the Z-240, especially if you're using the Canon housing. It's waaay more powerful than either of the other two, and it will work optically with the Canon housing. If you're going Ikelite, then the DS-125 would be a good choice, but it's not nearly as strong as the Z-240. You also have the option of a hardwired connection with the Inon (as well as the Sea & Sea) The D2000s is optical only, and the D2000w isn't substantially cheaper than the Z-240, so go for the best.

Thanks Larry. That reconfirms the thought I... now I just need to decide which housing to get.

I am still leaning towards the canon housing, however I know that I will not be able to use lenses with it, which really makes me second guess the canon housing. I have heard of people that have somehow adapted their housing to be able to use lenses. I cannot figure that out. Anyone?

I suspect with the popularity of the G9, Inon will produce something similar to this for the canon housing:

INON America - News & Events

You might wanna check out this adapter UWdigitalcamera.com

Just got back from the Philippines. I am still shooting underwater with my Nikonos (topside with my new Canon 40d--love it!).

I love my Nikonos, esp. with the 15mm wide angle, but the macro tubes and focusing wires are a pain, and critters don't like that hardware sticking in their faces. Plus I would like to be able to see what I get right away. Eg, water clarity was not very good this time around, and, even with my flash as far off the camera as I could get it, I had backscatter problems. Wasted a lot of shots. I don't want to house the 40d, cuz I like to travel light, but I do want to go digital underwater.

I met a fellow who had the housed (Canon's housing), G-9. It has a lot of great opions esp. for photogs that want more than an auto p&s (eg RAW, manual focus, manual exposure), and it took some really nice macro pix (at least from what I could tell from the camera's LCD). But, of course, it isn't all that great for wide angle. Not only is the widest angle on the lens not all that wide, the autofocus and autoexposure were fooled badly on normal shots.

So, in your decision-making process for choosing a housing, it would be good to determine if the housing controls allow you to access the manual focus and exposure controls. I understand the Canon housing does not. Perhaps someone knows better than I on this subject, and I would love to know what you decide to get.

Jim

subzero:

You might wanna check out this adapter UWdigitalcamera.com

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As respects using a wide angle lens with the above Canon housing lens port adapter, this is the reply I received from Yuzo who owns uwdigital.com:

"For DC8/18 or DC6/16, it is possible to use UWL-100 with some zooming up but not recommended. Even with these, you see some blooming of the image.

But with DC11 or DC21, you see hard vignetting and blooming of image, and I say it is impossible to use."

If you go with the Ikelite housing, they have a shorter flat port available that won't let the camera fully zoom, but accepts a 67mm WA lens. That might be worth the extra bucks. The Ikelite housing will also use Ikelite's ttl converter, allowing you to shoot ttl with the DS-125, which is a fine strobe. You can still use other brand strobes, but with optical firing. The Z-240 has an "auto" setting that self adjusts if you point it directly at the subject. That's not always a good idea. If you're going to house your D80 later, I'd either go with the Z-240, which is a terrific strobe for WA with a DSLR, or the Ikelite, on the assumption that you'll house the D-80 in Ikelite and can move the strobe over to your new housing. Again, the Z-240 will work fine with either, but won't do ttl with Ikelite housings.

Larry C:

<snip> The Ikelite housing will also use Ikelite's ttl converter, allowing you to shoot ttl with the DS-125, which is a fine strobe. You can still use other brand strobes, but with optical firing. <snip>

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My understanding was that you can still use other brand strobes via the bulkhead (i.e. not optically triggered), just that you have to adjust them manually since the TTL of the Ike is only compatible with Ike strobes.

randini:

My understanding was that you can still use other brand strobes via the bulkhead (i.e. not optically triggered), just that you have to adjust them manually since the TTL of the Ike is only compatible with Ike strobes.

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I think you're correct about that, as far as getting a cable and firing with manual adjustments. I just meant that as far as ttl, you'd have to use an optical slave system if you don't have an Ikelite strobe. All of those strobes will do that, D2000S, Z240 or YS110 or YS250 as far as I know, and all but the D2000s will connect with a cable. If they still do the D2000w, which was an extra $100, I think, that one does both as well.