Inon Z-240 Issue with TTL

[rjsimp]

I just got the strobes yesterday and wanted to try out the TTL on them. Since my D200 is in for repair, I set them up on one of our SP-350s with the TTL bulkhead. I set the strobe to STTL and the EV to TTL (the little button IS pushed in and locked). I then shot a series of shots. It wasn't working as you can see in the shots below. I tried several things, but it seems to be using the same power all the time unless i go manual or Auto which both work as expected.

So, I tried hooking up my YS-90s again and put them in TTL, it worked the way they should.

Has anyone seen this or have any ideas on what to try? Hard to believe both strobes would be bad, so must be a communication problem that the YS-90s are not having or a setting on the strobes..

Any help would be appreciated.


These test shots show that it should work at least as good as the YS-90s and it isn't.

 

[alcina]

Sorry I can't help I don't use ttl at all and I haven't even had a chance to put batteries in my new 240! Guess I should do so before I dive this weekend (fingers crossed!)

 

[rjsimp]

I figure it should work even if I don't end up using it.. I would sure hate to think it is supposed to work and the strobes are somehow faulty and not working. Like I said, manual works great.. just thought I would go through the TTL settings and see how they work and they didn't..

 

[pakman]

not familiar with TTL bulkhead on that SP-350. Are you sure it's compatible with the Inon. Also have you checked the settings on the Z-240's? Left dial at TTL and Right ev dial at 9 o'clock ("TTL") and the magnet button pushed in?

 

[Gudge]

Inon's sTTL system is designed for use with a fibre optic cable only. Basically it works by copying the camera's built flash output. If you're trying to use sTTL with an electrical sync cord it isn't going to work.

The most common problem with sTTL not working is whether the advanced cancel circuit is enabled or disabled. Depending on the strobe you either put the magnet in or out (D2000 series strobes) or put the button on the lower right of the strobe (Z240) in or out. For a camera with a preflash such as the SP350 the magnet/button should be out so the advanced cancel circuit is enabled. For a camera like the D200 the advanced cancel circuit should be disabled and the magnet/button should be in.

Go to this web page, scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the link at the bottom for the Z240 Settings - Quick Start:

http://inonamerica.com/products.php?product_id=272&prodcat=1&subcat=1&PHPSESSID=02bb9dec81cf5b0501d82ea8b428fc33

 

[alcina]

Thanks, Gudge!

Hopefully that helps

 

[rjsimp]

Gudge,

Actually on the 240, it tells you specifically to put the dial on STTL and the EV dial in the 9'oclock position where it say's TTL to activate the "Standard TTL". So in this mode, the standard TTL should be working NOT sTTL..

If I don't have the button on the lower left in, the camera doesn't see any flash when you take the picture even though the strobes fire. So that means they are not syncronized. If I put the button in, they are syncronized. I played with it a bit and tried it in all different ways.

The TTL bulkhead for the SP-350 is the Heinrichs-Weikamp replacement head on the PT-030 housing. As you can see it works pretty good with the YS-90s. Here's a list of strobes that are supposed to work with the SP-350 with this bulkhead. As you can see the YS-90 TTL Duo and the Inon Z-240 are on the list. So it should work.

Just so we're clear, I am NOT using an optical sync here. It is a wired connection.

Thanks Gudge for your first wack at it.. do you have any other ideas now with this new information? Since you sound like you are familiar with it, maybe something will come to mind.

 

[Gudge]

Having no experience with the Heinrichs-Weikamp replacement head I just downloaded the manual and had a look. Have you set the SP350 flash mode to external flash only? The manual talks about seeing the pre-flash and main flash when it fires, so I believe the advanced cancel circuit should be enabled (magnet/button out).

Other than that I'm out of fresh ideas. My experience with Inon strobes is gained from using a Z220 and D2000w in manual mode with my 20D, a D2000 in sTTL mode with fibre optic sync cord on my wife's Oly 5050 and assisting a well known SB member to set up her Z240 (which she hasn't even got wet yet).

 

[rjsimp]

Gudge, yea I started with the cancel circuit button out. When I do that I get a full dump of the strobe and nothing even close to a controlled flash. I have the camera set to external flash only.. no internal flash is fired. So that's not it.

What's irritating is that the system works perfect with YS-90s.. If I didn't have two Z-240s and both doing the same thing, I would think there was a problem with the strobe.

I also tried a different sync cord just to make sure.. I am tempted to jump on a plane and go to DEMA (where Inon is this week) and dump it in their lap and say make it work. In any case, Reef Photo (where I bought them from) is there also so between them, they need to figure it out..

 

[Gudge]

I'd send a quick email off to Heinrichs-Weikamp as well.