kerryw
Contributor
Sorry it's one of those things I've had for years so no idea where I got it and no brand on it..
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Sea & Sea Target Light Holder (holds Pelican Stealth & UK Mini Q40 Lights)
Any reports yet on the Ikelite AF 35?
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Sorry it's one of those things I've had for years so no idea where I got it and no brand on it..
Sort of a bigger version of this...
Sea & Sea Target Light Holder (holds Pelican Stealth & UK Mini Q40 Lights)
caledfwlch
Guest
Hmm,
I was reading an article on strobe positioning. Seeing as how the AF 35 is a flexible arm with limited reach and no moving joints - can I position the strobe alogn the same level as my camera?
Can I achieve these positions?
underwater strobe positions|Underwater Photography Guide
I was reading an article on strobe positioning. Seeing as how the AF 35 is a flexible arm with limited reach and no moving joints - can I position the strobe alogn the same level as my camera?
Can I achieve these positions?
underwater strobe positions|Underwater Photography Guide
Capt.Ed
Contributor
I've got an AF35...bought it for my Sony DSC350 point and shoot. It takes great pictures. As with any lighting system you've got to get in the water and play with it a little to make sure you've got the exposure set right (on the stobe). It's got an automatic setting which works pretty well. What I do is adjust the intensity depending upon the distance of my subject; back it down to 3 for close up/macro work and bump it up to 8 or 9 for distance, say shooting a turtle swimming by or an eagle ray.
The only negative thing that I've noticed is that I have to turn the stobe off when snorkling on the surface because it will fire when the sunlight hits the slave unit. Not a big deal when diving but I also do a lot of freediving and snorkling. When I'm freediving it's not a big deal because it takes me a few seconds to get down anyway so the stobe has time to reset. When snorkling I just have to think about it and I keep the camera pointed below me in a manner that won't cause ambient sunlight to hit the slave. When moving from spot to spot I tend to turn it off and then I don't have to worry about it "strobing away".
Oh, somebody mentioned that it's rated for 300 feet. Although I've never been to 300 feet I routinely dive to 110 -120 feet. There are a lot of tech divers out there that routinely exceed recrational depths too...this is a good choice strobe for them because of it's depth rating.
Like I said, I love mine and won't trade it and I see no reason to upgrade.
I'm probably going to buy a DSLR later this year and will be buying an Ikelite stobe for it. Of course I'll get one that is compatible with my camera like a DS160
The only negative thing that I've noticed is that I have to turn the stobe off when snorkling on the surface because it will fire when the sunlight hits the slave unit. Not a big deal when diving but I also do a lot of freediving and snorkling. When I'm freediving it's not a big deal because it takes me a few seconds to get down anyway so the stobe has time to reset. When snorkling I just have to think about it and I keep the camera pointed below me in a manner that won't cause ambient sunlight to hit the slave. When moving from spot to spot I tend to turn it off and then I don't have to worry about it "strobing away".
Oh, somebody mentioned that it's rated for 300 feet. Although I've never been to 300 feet I routinely dive to 110 -120 feet. There are a lot of tech divers out there that routinely exceed recrational depths too...this is a good choice strobe for them because of it's depth rating.
Like I said, I love mine and won't trade it and I see no reason to upgrade.
I'm probably going to buy a DSLR later this year and will be buying an Ikelite stobe for it. Of course I'll get one that is compatible with my camera like a DS160
The AF-35 has an arm that is made up of many plastic ball joints that allow a great deal of flexibility. I am able to move my strobe in just about any angle I want. It will basically curve about 120 degrees in any direction I would say.
About the depth rating. Be sure to tighten the battery cover very tight. I had mine flood after about 20-30 dives with it. I am sure I just did not tighten the screw enough. My local dive shop sent it back to Ikelite and they repaired it free of charge. I now crank down pretty hard on the screw.
Love my AF-35 and I highly recommend it for amateur photographers like me who don't want to spend $3,000 on a camera outfit. I'm seriously considering the new video light from Ikelite because I think I can take pretty good pictures in many cases with a static light rather than a strobe flash.
About the depth rating. Be sure to tighten the battery cover very tight. I had mine flood after about 20-30 dives with it. I am sure I just did not tighten the screw enough. My local dive shop sent it back to Ikelite and they repaired it free of charge. I now crank down pretty hard on the screw.
Love my AF-35 and I highly recommend it for amateur photographers like me who don't want to spend $3,000 on a camera outfit. I'm seriously considering the new video light from Ikelite because I think I can take pretty good pictures in many cases with a static light rather than a strobe flash.
DazedAndConfuzed
Contributor
Does anyone know if the AF35 is a true TTL design like the S&S YS-01 or Inon S-2000? Or does it just use the sensor on the handle to do the light measurement?
Wow! Your question blows me away. All I know is that I never use the automatic flash setting on my AF35. I manually adjust flash using trial and error. I have found that the AF35 typically washes out images with light if I don't tune it manually.
Having said that, I take some pretty good pictures after about 3 or 4 iterations of light adjustment.
Having said that, I take some pretty good pictures after about 3 or 4 iterations of light adjustment.
spoolin01
Contributor
DazedAndConfuzed
Contributor
So its TTL-like, which makes no sense, given TTL is through the camera's lens. This makes it similar to much of those strobes in the $300+ range, as opposed to the $400 strobe heads.
spoolin01
Contributor
I think it does work through the lens, in a way, but it doesn't take a strobe command directly from the camera, like a wired TTL strobe. The strobe must pre-flash when the sensor sees the camera pre-flash, so the camera 'sees' the effect of both its own light and the light from the strobe during the pre-flash evaluation that it uses to set its exposure flash duration. Then when the exposure flash happens, the strobe sensor watches that and quenches when the camera flash quenches. Thus a TTL-like result.
This approach is used by the external Weikamp TTL adapters that have been around for years, from what I understand. When I contacted Weikamp a few years ago, this is how they explained the TTL capability of their setup.
This approach is used by the external Weikamp TTL adapters that have been around for years, from what I understand. When I contacted Weikamp a few years ago, this is how they explained the TTL capability of their setup.
DazedAndConfuzed
Contributor
That's how the other leading makers' optical TTL works. Why are some of those considered future proof when you upgrade your camera to something like DSLR while this is not. As long as the DSLR could pop its flash head up, it could still work as a TTL, albeit a very weak one.
