affordable NEX 5 and 5n Housing

[Nitro91]

Ive got the nex-5 with a nautical and single inonz240 with optical setup. Strobe is on manual mode and I adjust light output on the strobe. What's difference between s-ttl and manual

 

[danny.hightower]

danny.hightower

I do macro shots and at the moment I use a Canon S95 with a +6 diopter on the Ikelite housing. Just wanted to know if this Taiwan made housing could fulfill this function. So, my idea is to stack my 67mm diopter onto the lens port if it has the 67mm thread.

What lens were you thinking about using for macro? I think the only cantidate is the 24mm Ziess. I am fairly certain (99.9% sure) the 30 macro is to short to use as there is too much distance between the end of the macro lens and the outside of the housing so by putting a diopter on it you would make that problem worse. I am 100% certain your subject would be pressed against the port glass and you would need a strobe.

---------- Post added at 07:29 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:14 AM ----------

Ive got the nex-5 with a nautical and single inonz240 with optical setup. Strobe is on manual mode and I adjust light output on the strobe. What's difference between s-ttl and manual

Thats a great setup you should post a pic of it. Here is a site with some stobe information. TTL Converters|Underwater Photography Guide

I beleive someone in a previos post mentioned that the electrical stobe connections were a better way to go. Before my trip I was able to read a couple of books on UW digital photography and they stated the electrical cables using o-rings and screw on plugs were highly problematic as most camera floods or in dive strobe malfunctions could be traced back to using that technology. Now lots of people are using the s-ttl and shooting manual with the fiber optics as the trigger. Also 100% of the dealers i spoke with and the books warn against using the newer feature of the on strobe optical trigger which does not require a fiber optic connection. They say other flash will trigger it or the strobe wont see the flash.

TTYL

Danny

I have never shot a strobe but plan on adding it to my setup in a few more months.

 

[Mark Derail]

S-TTL works very well with Canon housing and the INON S2000 no wires, no lines at all

I thought there was only 2 ways to signal an external probe - copper wire or fiber optic - to transmit the "when" and "how much power".
The advantage of a copper wire is reliability UW.

How is the S-TTL <auto> with the INON S200? It also has a manual override, 12 increments.
How is your usage?

INON mentions that you can also use a cable system.

From gooogled info:

■ Next generation wireless TTL! ■
INON has successfully developed ultra sensitive slave sensor unit with 100 times more sensitive with fourfold range comparing to D-2000 series enabling highly accurate wireless S-TTL auto mode together with 『Direction Window Cap』 to effectively collect master strobe light. The 『Direction Window Cap』 eliminates blind corner making wireless S-TTL auto mode with free and creative lighting.
Existing INON optical cable connection compatible structure offers you a choice between wired connection or wireless connection with your camera system.

■ Optical cable system with unlimited expandability ■
The S-2000 is equipped with connector mount on its front side providing maximum dual strobe connection for S-TTL auto mode with optical cables. So you can addS-TTL auto mode strobes as much as you like as far as your camera system allows using S-TTL control signal. You can create your underwater studio with multiple S-2000 system with perfect lighting.
​

There's a great article on INON's website here that explains it.
INON Technical Guide [S-TTL Auto]

From this webpage there IS a cable from the housing to the probe.

 

[Mark Derail]

Ive got the nex-5 with a nautical and single inonz240 with optical setup. Strobe is on manual mode and I adjust light output on the strobe. What's difference between s-ttl and manual

Manual - you set the strength of the flash yourself - you develop an "eye" after some time to how much flash you need. The best is to use a diffuser and POWER TO THE MAX - in my humble opinion...for the shots in the 2-5 feet range.
For long range, max power w/o diffusers.
For up close macro, MIN power WITH diffusers.

It's darn hard to judge how much is too much UW looking at a tiny screen - that's why you want to shoot RAW and be able to correct exposure and WB afterwards. Adobe Lightroom, a 200$ purchase, is well worth it. I use Lightroom 200x more often that Photoshop CS5.

TTL stands for Through The Lens - was born from back in the pre-digital film days. A sensor inside the camera would read the amount of light coming in, either in spotmeter (little circle in the middle) or generalized mode.

Digital offered another method, with the pre-flash of the Point & Shoots, to use the CMOS sensor as a generalized mode light meter. Since there is no mirror to flip "up" like with SLR cameras (single lens reflex).

S-TTL refers to Sync Through The Lens, meaning that advanced DSLR's or Point & Shoots, can use the camera's on board light sensor to determine the strength of the flash to be used.

See the INON web link : INON Technical Guide [S-TTL Auto]
It does a nice job of explaining.

What I DO NOT get - is the "wireless" setup of the INON S200 - how does that work?
Each strobe has it's own built-in light sensor?

 

[danny.hightower]

What I DO NOT get - is the "wireless" setup of the INON S200 - how does that work?
Each strobe has it's own built-in light sensor?

Yes the new strobes have something like a sensor which sees the light from the OB flash and then fires. Thats what i was talking about in my previous posts that people didnt seem to like.

 

[Mark Derail]

Ah, if you're the only photographer - you'll be fine - but if someone else is taking pictures, it will screw up your Pre-Flash (point & shoot) or your main flash, as it will detect ambient flashes.

The fiber optic is the best bet - I had one camera flooding with an Olympus housing because of the 5-pin copper wire connector. Up to 60 feet it was fine, the slow leak started deeper. I was in the 80 foot range when I noticed moisture, signaled my buddy for a partial UP, but at 40 feet there was significant water.
Even my memory card got damaged

Based on what I read - the black velcro - or that 29.95 kit - is the best way to go.

BTW - your UW strobes have another VERY useful feature !!! On land. Place them in strategic locations at family gatherings, and everybody with a camera will benefit. Diffuser recommended.

What I DO NOT get - is the "wireless" setup of the INON S200 - how does that work?
Each strobe has it's own built-in light sensor?

Yes the new strobes have something like a sensor which sees the light from the OB flash and then fires. Thats what i was talking about in my previous posts that people didnt seem to like.

---------- Post added at 12:04 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:50 AM ----------

 

[danny.hightower]

Also if your shooting close focus wide angle your strobes will be pointed too far to the side and not be able to pick up the OB flash. When you consider all the other things you have to worry about (on level, very close, in focus, correct appeture, sun at your back, light metering, strobe output, strobe placement and framing it would frustrate me to no end to have the strobe misfiring because of that

 

[Mark Derail]

I gotten some nice shots by on purpose orienting towards the sun, to get the rays coming down.

The double-strobes lights up your subject with a clear & bright background.

 

[bvanant]

I thought there was only 2 ways to signal an external probe - copper wire or fiber optic - to transmit the "when" and "how much power".
The advantage of a copper wire is reliability UW.

I am pretty sure that this is not the case. Copper wire underwater (especially powered copper wire) has lots of issues underwater. Leaks can corrode the cables and dissolve away the pins, and flood your housing. In the last 5 years, I have seen three or four cameras flooded from leaking sync cords, and none from fiber optic cables. This is a moot point with the Nex anyway since fiber optic is the only way to get signals to the strobe that I am aware of. You can of course put a hotshot on the Nex-5 instead of the strobe but then you need to find a housing that has a hotshot adapter for the Sony.
The real advantage of a sync cord (when it works) is that you can fire the strobe a lot faster than you can in TTL mode optically. There are ways around this too.

In any case I think in a few years even the pro cameras that have no built in strobe will be using sTTL optically.
Bill

 

[DesertEagle]

Fiberoptic is great. I recommend covering the camera's flash with dark plastic. The strobe will still work, but the small flash won't light up the inside of the housing. Inon has a kit for that. I personally use underexposed slide film.

My big question: will any wide adapters fit onto the cheap housing? Maybe an Ikelite WD-4 dome glued onto the front.