Ikelite DS200

[wardric]

Hi,

I just won an Ikelite DS200 substrobe in an amateur photo contest.

I would like to know if it's considered a good one and what are the main differences with the DS125. I am a total newbie with stobes btw.

My present camera is the Canon Powershot A-75 (yep, a point and shoot) and a Canon WP-DC30 casing. Will it be compatible with the DS200?

Thanks

 

[fisheyeview]

Hi,

I just won an Ikelite DS200 substrobe in an amateur photo contest.

I would like to know if it's considered a good one and what are the main differences with the DS125. I am a total newbie with stobes btw.

My present camera is the Canon Powershot A-75 (yep, a point and shoot) and a Canon WP-DC30 casing. Will it be compatible with the DS200?

Thanks

Not really. It could be made to work, but I don't think you would like the results. You can not fire the DS200 with a fiber optic cable. (Nor any other Ikelite strobe that I know of.) You would have to shoot it as a slave strobe using the internal flash on your camera. This would more than likely produce a lot of back scatter from the internal flash which defeats the purpose of having a strobe. The DS200 is a great strobe for wide angle photography, but there are better strobes out there for you.

You could go with the INON D2000 which is a great strobe that can be triggered via fiber optics. The only down side to the D2000 is that you can not fire it electronically. This means that if you upgrade to a DSLR the strobe will not grow with the camera. If you don't think that you will ever go DSLR then this is a great strobe.

If you think that you may eventually go DSLR then I would go with the INON Z240. It can be fired via an electronic connection or a fiber cable. It is a great strobe. It's light, and small for travelling. It is also nice because it takes AA batteries. It is an all around good strobe.

Another down side to the DS200 for you is that the strobe is probably bigger than your housing.

 

[wardric]

Thanks

I tought I could fire the strobe without the internal flash but if I cant, you're right, it would have the same back scatter problem.
How does the fiber optic works?

 

[dhaas]

wardric,

As Fisheyeview points out, this is a large super wide beam strobe a bit more in demand by digital SLR camera users. For your needs it might be overkill, but if you intend to upgrade to a mid-level hard wired housed camera (Canon G7, G9 or new little Nikon P5000 / 5100 models) the DS200 would work in TTL modes.

There is also much confusion on how ANY little point and shoot housing can add a DEFLECTOR of any opaque material to bounce up to a slave sensor, and how it actually works. Powering down your built in flash to simply "trip" the slave sensor will save battery power on ANY small P&S camera and works fine.

Fiber optic seems to be the rage by some, but I have several VERY experienced UW photographer friends shooting P&S cameras and the fiber optic isn't as reliable as many would tout. Especially in bright ambient light conditions. That said, many people like this approach.

Ikelite's EV controller plugs right into any of their DS series strobes, and functions as 10 step adjustable strobe controller for systems that can't be hard wired via a synch cord.

Check out details at IKELITE Underwater Systems or contact me

dhaas
David Haas Underwater Photography

 

[wardric]

Thanks David.

I'll check if I can power my a-75 flash down

 

[Gilldiver]

If you have a clear plastic housing you can try to put some silver tape over the area where your flash is on the Inside of the camera. This should prevent any light going forward of the camera while giving you enough "back flash" to trigger the EV controler.

Or, how much you want for the strobe?

Pete

 

[wardric]

If you have a clear plastic housing you can try to put some silver tape over the area where your flash is on the Inside of the camera. This should prevent any light going forward of the camera while giving you enough "back flash" to trigger the EV controler.

Or, how much you want for the strobe?

Pete

lol,

I might end up selling it but I'll check all the options first, including upgrading the camera

 

[dhaas]

Wardric,

Selling the DS200 might also be an option. And if Pete is looking you might consider it

PM me if you want advice on newer faster P&S or other digital camera choices.

dhaas

P.S. - LOVE the dorkdivers site A buddy and I were going to do a parody of current diving zealotry calling it DIW (Doing It Wrong) but your site encompasses more

 

[wardric]

ok, thanks

btw, the dork diver site isn't mine, but I tought it was funny so I put a link on my sig.

 

[philmayer]

As the others have posted, the DS200s were designed for DSLRs, not P&Ss. But they are great strobes and you shouldn't have any trouble selling it.

I have two DS200s. The primary difference from the DS125 is more power. The DS125 is a slightly newer design and it recycles faster from a full flash than the DS200. Both strobes are intended for use with DSLRs. The strobes themselves cost nearly as much as a DSLR and are definitely overkill for a P&S.