Need strobe advice:

[ti325v]

Gentlemen and Ladies:
I need one or possibly two strobes and with a complete lack of knowledge on the subject, and a friend coming over from the USA to hand carry what I need soon, I have to pull the trigger on something and I need advice.
I own a small dive shop and though I do dive a whole lot, and really enjoy looking at nice photos, I rarely get the chance to take a camera out.
(If I do go out solo, invariably I wind up removing nets and other trash from our reefs)
I am not looking to dump a fortune into U.W. photography, and diving conditions here rarely dictate the need for wide angle photos.
On our best days we get 15 meter visibility, a lot of green water.

I wanted to go with the KISS principle and brought myself a Sealife 1200 with dual strobes and wide angle lens and have had very bad luck with it. Multiple mechanical or electrical problems, though Sealife has been very helpful, repairs going back halfway around the world...I am just going to drop it in the bin.
I have little interest in doing editing, unless it is one of those really amazing shots. I generally just sit customers down at my computer and breeze though photos to book diving.
I am not interested at this time in learning everything needed to take world class photos, so no desire for a dslr rig.

Here is where I am now.
Currently I have 2 nikon p5100 12 megapixel cameras, the appropriate ikelite housing. (brought the three parts for $250, old stock from Adorama)

I need strobes. According to the KISS principal Ikelite is the way to go. I would like functional TTL.
The DS51`s fit my budget, but I do not know if they meet my requirements.
I am considering buying two, and I do have have video and focus lights that I made, and I can modify my tray anyway I like in my spare time.
Should I go with a pair of 51`s or is there something significantly better for my needs and budget and will be compaitble with the Ike housing?
Thanks very much for any advice you can provide.
Larry

 

[Ran Mozaik]

The DS51's should fit perfectly with your system and provide a very good solution.
If you are looking for an alternative which would cut down on your cost, you can consider the YS-03 by Sea & Sea.
It's a completely automatic strobe, TTL only, very powerful and very reliable. The kit comes with the strobe, tray, arm and fiber optic all included half the price of the DS51 kit (with arms and cable).
You can read my review on it here: Sea & Sea YS-03 Review and Test Shots
To fit it on your housing all you need is this mask set: Sea and Sea - Sea and Sea Mask Set - Universal Fiber Optic Connection
You can use a dual connector for the fiber optic cables such as this: Inon - Rubber Bush Type L
Or just connect one to the other via cable.

The great thing about it is that it's very easy to use and exposes very accurately. The specs are similar to the YS-01 which is one of the most popular strobes available for underwater. The YS-03 has better specs than the DS51 in terms of recycle time and power output.
Only downside is no manual control, but that's what makes it simple to use.

 

[ti325v]

Hello Ran:
Thanks very much, that was just the type of advice I needed. Really basic stuff which would have taken me hours of research.
Time pressure (buddy who can hand carry it to Vietnam for me next week) dictated a fast purchase.
I did score a great deal on a Ds-51 on ebay, $230 for the strobe, arm and cable...now looking at the YS-03....can I slave it to the DS-51 ? If so how to do it ?
Thank you !
Larry

 

[Ran Mozaik]

Glad I could help
To control the YS-03 with the DS-51 you will need to create a fiber optic connector with DIY methods, such as drilling a hole in the diffuser to fit the cable end. That should give you an option to trigger it. There are no current off-the-shelf adapters that allow that.

 

[ti325v]

Glad I could help
To control the YS-03 with the DS-51 you will need to create a fiber optic connector with DIY methods, such as drilling a hole in the diffuser to fit the cable end. That should give you an option to trigger it. There are no current off-the-shelf adapters that allow that.

Hello Ran:
Thanks very much for your helpful post. I now understand another very basic part of the setup, one aspect of how the fiber optics work....BTW I am just reading the guide you posted.
Since I did score a DS-51 with arm and cable for $230 on ebay, (And it is by consensus a pretty good strobe) I am gonna go with the kiss principle....I will get another ikelite and the splitter cable. I just do not have time to be fiddling and fussing with a complicated camera when I have a boat to run and on a really good day up to 20 customers to worry about. I would love to have some nice photos, and I can say I have some amazing macro shots with an ancient 5 meg canon, in a canon case with a hand help video light. Just grab it and jump off the boat. Though dated the p5100 does take nice photos, I have 2 of them, a new housing a good strobe and I have about $600 in it. I do not have time to take the best care of delicate things, customers have to come first !
Thank you for your advice !
Larry

 

[Ran Mozaik]

Good luck and post your results here so we can all enjoy