TTL Strobes w/ Slave & Optic Connectivity

[Slcurtis]

Greetings all! Long time diver, first time U/W photographer looking for advice.

I have a Canon G10 with the Canon housing, and I've been having a blast with it. But as we all know, strobes are good, so I'm looking for suggestions. Obviously without TTL/sync chord connectivity on the Canon housing, I must use the fibre-optic/slave mode option, but as I'm looking to (eventually) get the Ikelite housing for the G10, which allows use of the hotshoe and TTL connection, I'd like to get a strobe that I can "grow into", so to speak.

Any suggestions vis-a-vis a good quality strobe with both TTL/synch and slave mode/fibre optic options (and any relevant tray/arm/ball joint arm tips) would be appreciated! Budget is not as important as paying for quality. Thanks in advance

 

[Wisnu]

For slave/fo option I choose INOn D-2000 or S-2000., their sTTL is accurate; but I prefer to use manual mode.
For TTL/sync, I do not have the set-up but if I will consider Canon 580EX II with UW housing - that's true TTL.

 

[Puffer Fish]

I use YS110's (now the YS110a... in auto.) Love them. But to use in auto, you still have to set an range for them to work in. TTL control is is just time.... how long the strobe is on, not the strengh of the flash. If you shoot a lot of macro, you have to turn the output down ....

I would also second the inon comments above. Either would work.

 

[oly5050user]

if getting the ikelite housing ,get an ikelite strobe.TTL feature on ke housing only works with ike strobes.Get the biggest/widest strobe you can afford if you are already thing of "growing " with it.I have a couple of 125 strobes that we use here.I think the new generation of that strobe is now the 160.

 

[Slcurtis]

Cheers guys... thanks very much for the information. Question for you Puffer Fish - how do you synch the Sea & Sea YS-110 with the G10 in a Canon (WP-DC28) housing? Does Sea & Sea make a "stick-on" fibre-optic cord?

 

[Puffer Fish]

Cheers guys... thanks very much for the information. Question for you Puffer Fish - how do you synch the Sea & Sea YS-110 with the G10 in a Canon (WP-DC28) housing? Does Sea & Sea make a "stick-on" fibre-optic cord?

Well, no. Over the last few years (with other camera's) I have tried a variety of methods....and have settled on the following:

1. Get a small piece of black rubber or plastic (I used a piece of hard rubber) cut to about 1/2 x 1 inch and just over 1/4 inch thick. Harder is better, as drilling a hole to match the sensor plug is easier.

Note: The location of the hole has to match the location of the strobe so be careful to check for both the block and the tape.. there is not a lot of room.

2. The hole should be exactly the same size as the plug.

3. Homedepot or Lowe's sells a grey foam, double sided tape that is waterproof.... has red covering to protect one side.

4. Cutting the hole in the tape is a major pain, as you cannot drill it. I ended up getting a punch to do it, but one can just play with a sharp knife and get at openning.

5. Stick a larger than the block piece of tape on the case, wrapping it over the curved surface (or the tape will come off). I see I used a 1 x 1.5 inch piece. Attach with the hole lined up over the strobe.

6. Attach the block and put some weight on it for a day.

I made two and carry the tape with me, just in case, but after over 150 dives, it is attached as good as it was the first day (maybe better).

I think one could do the velcro tape to the case, then velcro to the block just as well, as the glue on the back of the velcro is also really good...that was going to be my next method if this did not work.

One could also use plastic glue and attach a block of plastic in the same way, but just in case I ever wanted to remove it, did not do that.

I only attached one fiber optic cable to the case, and link the strobes to each other. It would be possible to put two holes in the block, but I was worried about getting a really good signal to the strobe, and at times, I only use one strobe, so would have to make a plug for the other openning. As it is, it works great.

Please be aware that you just need a trigger signal to fire the strobes, you need a really clean signal to use TTL.

 

[bvanant]

If you want to grow and want eventually to use a strobe fired both optically and electrically then I would suggest the Inon Z240. Great strobe, great power, well made, reliable. I also use the S2000 strobes but they are only optical.
Bill

 

[Larry C]

Have to second Oly 5050 user. I use a pair of YS110's fired electrically, with a ttl converter, but if you're planning on using an Ike housing, they won't do ttl. On the other hand, they have 12 power levels for manual shooting and your camera won't do ttl in manual either. If you're shooting in AV/TV and want to do ttl with an Ike, you need Ike strobes. The Ike housing will also let you do manual settings from the housing, I think, if you use their strobes. If you're not shooting ttl, the Inon Z240 will fire electrically and shoot in auto mode. Basically, the strobe is deciding on the light you need, but you have to point it straight at the subject. OTOH, if you can close down the aperture enough, I know someone who shoots dual SB-105s with her D-40 and just leaves them full blast all the time, adjusting aperture and shutter and strobe distance to adjust to the light level.

 

[bvanant]

Larry:
The Inon strobes will work in STTL mode where they use the output of the camera flash to make the output decision. No need to point the strobe since you are actually using the strobe in place of the onboard flash. Of course you need to be shooting the camera in a mode where TTL is working on the camera. Certainly the z240 works fine with a G9 in a canon housing or it did last week in the Philippines.
Bill