Canon A40

[HappyDiversDen]

Hey y'all ... I have a Canon digital A40 with a Canon U/W housing built for the camera by Canon ... got some GREAT shots in Coz in November ... but the resident flash isn't stong enough to light up anything further than 2 or so feet away.

In speaking to a LCS, they suggested that I could put a "peanut slave" (some sorta diode flash) on the UW housing.

When I asked they guy if Canon carried one, he said no, I'd have to go to Sea 'n Sea or Nikonos, etc. Or, he said, and I almost fell down laughin' ... he wondered if a plastic wrapped slave would work ... at 100 fsw!!

Unfortunately, with voice mail as popular as it is, I haven't been able to get a real voice at UW camera suppliers. Anyone got any idea's?

... about the peanut slave I mean, not about wrapping it in plastic ...

 

[notabob]

You may want to invest into a dedicated underwater strobe with a tray and arm. Check Underwater Digital , they sell various trays (FishEye & Inon) and strobes suitable for the Canon housing. Also, Ikelite makes very nice digital strobes (DS-50 and DS-125) that you may want to look at. I don't think Ikelite makes a tray that will fit the Canon housing, but you could probably combine an Ikelite strobe with a FishEye or Inon tray, both of which will fit the housing. Hope this helps.

-Roman.

 

[Dee]

Any external strobe is only going be effective within 3-4 ft. I've never heard the term 'peanut slave'!

I agree with nolabob...a good strobe would solve your problem. The S&S and Ikelite strobe are slave strobes. I prefer and use a S&S YS90DX which is triggered via a fiber optic cable attached to the clear housing.

Talk to Alan at Underwater Digital....he can fix ya up!

 

[HappyDiversDen]

Came across the Sea 'n Sea YS-25 DX.

Anyone had any experience with it? It apparently acts like a slave strobe via a fiber optic cord, which transmits from the camera's resident flash.

 

[notabob]

while it would be better than the built-in strobe, YS25 is a fairly low-power strobe. Might be fine for clear water, but for murkier colder waters you'll want something more powerful. Consider an Ikelite DS50 or better yet DS125. You'll be much happier with a more powerful strobe, even with the A40. You can also look into the Sea & Sea YS90DX, which Dee will suggest shortly. YS90 uses the same type of fiber cable as the YS25, and many have had good luck with it. Ikelites can use either a TTL sensor or a manual controller.

-Roman.

 

[HappyDiversDen]

Yup, looked at the 90, seems interesting. What's even funnier is that the strobe is bigger than the camera 'n housing.

The A40 resident flash is great for the pool, to take C-card pix on site, and ambient light places like Coz, but yer right in that for the muckier Ontario dives, we'll probably go heavier.

On dives in Picton last year, one of our Tek Instructors, Scott Stitt, was taking UW video with 9 gazzilion power lights, and even though on some dives we could barely see each other on the gun'l, his lights cut through ALL that. T'was a good lesson in power lighting.

Thanks for the post, we'll take another look at the 90.

 

[Dee]

I'm getting predictable, huh? ut:

Yes...I do recommend the S&S YS90DX most of the time. I've never liked TTL, learned photography without it and I don't like some of the settings TTL gives me, so that feature of the Ikelite didn't figure into comparison. (Yes...I have tried TTL several times!) I much prefer the power settings on the S&S. With 12 settings, I can twesk the output to fit anything I need.

We do agree on one thing, the S&S YS-25DX isn't strong enough to be very useful.

 

[HappyDiversDen]

On the swim thru's, I didn't get much outside the ambient light, and from about 1 foot away, I got this coral shot with a diver on the other side. I imagine a 90 would lite it up quite a bit more?