For reference: XZ-1 in PT-50 with UFL-2 strobe

[stinkynewf]

There seems to be a lack of information and at the same time a lot of interest in this combo. I own this set up, using a Fantasea plate and arm, here are some facts:

The UFL-2 provides true TTL flash metering using a fiber optic cable with the XZ-1.

The maximum sync speed is1/1600.

The camera needs it's flash mode set to RC Mode ON.

The flash needs to be set to RC Mode C1 A.

With the diffuser on the flash, 1 flash has plenty of coverage for the widest angle of the built-in lens. (haven't tried it with the wide angle accessory lens yet)

The power of the flash can be adjusted +/- 2 stops on-camera using the Flash Exposure Compensation adjustment.

On a 90 minute dive, with the batteries in both the camera and flash (rechargeable) freshly charged and both on the whole time, I shot 176 images and reviewed some as I was shooting. After the dive, The battery life indicator on the camera read 1 mark down and the flash recycled from empty to full in ~ 7 seconds.

The Underwater Wide and Underwater Macro shooting modes allow you to shoot RAW. I've found the uw macro mode works really well but you have to watch your exposure as the shutter speed may drop to a speed that will show camera shake.

The flash is not too heavy for a flex arm (at least not for the Fantasea).

The zoom feature of the flash is really nice especially for macro or for vignetting the corners of the image. By zooming in with the flash head, you use less power for the same given distance.

Hope this info is useful to those considering this set up.

Here are some shots (all shot as RAW using UW Wide or Macro mode and processed in Lightroom):

 

[Jun Lao]

hi, been using this set up for 6 dives, thoughts on it, a bit big but as shared, not that heavy to stress arms, slightly positive underwater but does the job ok, specs GN32, can lower power settings. only complain is the long recycle time (7 to 8 secs) but as shared, batt life is decent enough considering it only takes 2 AA's. It works well as slave, even without fiber optic connector, it fires with the slightest hint of flash

got it cheap though so aint complaining, no diffuser included so I just cut out a portion from an old lunch box lid, relatively a good combo


with ufl2 by Yagit Diver, on Flickr


Mr Weedy by Yagit Diver, on Flickr

 

[Dannybot]

So jun, have you tries the YS-17 next to your set up? How well (if at all) did it work with this camera?

 

[Jun Lao]

So jun, have you tries the YS-17 next to your set up? How well (if at all) did it work with this camera?

Hi Danny, between us ladies, I like it better, despite weaker gn14 rtg, it throws good light even wide without wide angle lens... but for macro, this strobe is more than enough, heres a sample wide angle shot without any wa lens attached


turtle and divers by Yagit Diver, on Flickr
shot with f2.5, shutter 1/1600, iso200

tried s2000, for me this works as well, i like also the fact it has minimalist controls at the back, high & low power only, as shared, I just adjust cam manual settings+iso to compensate for weaker light. Wide angle shots wont have much noise at higher iso, for macro, iso must be set at 100 only, noise noticable if you crop beyond 40%