Hi,
I am getting terrible results with my brand new LX5 Ike uw-housing, it has not even got wet yet(!). I got it two days ago from the store.
I have done tons of tests and I can't see any solution other than that the TTL doesn't work.
The problem is that it consistently underexposes when in TTL (much more details below).
Unless I am very close to the subject (< 10cm) the pictures will be underexposed.
So, the rest of the post will be about when taking pictures of something further away then 10cm.
If I use the camera's Flash Compensation, I can get a decent exposure. But, I need to adjust it up and down depending on the distance to the subject. So I can't just set it to e.g. +1.3.
In reality this is even more tricky than shooting in Manual Strobe mode and setting the power on the strobe. And hey, the whole idea of getting the LX5 and Ike housing was so I could use the TTL.
All my tests have been done in either manual exposure mode or in Aperture priority mode. Aperture priority set the Time to 1/60 so in reality there is not much difference between the two modes for my test.
I get the same results anyway.
In manual exposure mode I have set the time to 1/125.
ISO is Fix set to 80.
I have tested all three in camera Meter modes, but the results are the same.
At a distance to the subject of about 0.5m:
F2 gives the darkest pictures. Then the smaller the aperture, the brigther the picture.
So, in f2 it is terribly underexposed and in f8 it is almost usable.
I have now also tested with a closer distance (0.2m). Then the behaviour is the other way around. F
2 gives the best images and F8 the darkest.
So, there is no setting that works.
This has nothing to do with the strobe not being powerful enough or the ISO being to low etc.
I have used a DS-51 and a DS161. The DS 161 gave less underexposed pictures, but the problem was still clearly there (I don't want to use DS161 with the small LX5 uw-housing).
I have used a single cord.
To make sure nothing was wrong with the TTL cord or the strobe(s), I place my D7000 in the uw-housing and moved the cord from the LX5 to the D7000 and shot the same subject from the same distance using approx the same exposure settings and lens. The D7000 got the exposures perfectly everytime. I mainly tested with the DS-51.
I have also tested with a double cord and two strobes. The result is the same.
The strobe(s) are double flashing. So, they are not in manual mode.
To make sure there is nothing wrong with the LX5 camera, I removed it from the uw-housing and shot using the internal strobe. Same settings, same subject, same distance etc. Exposure were spot on every time.
- - - -
I am leaving for the scuba vacation of my dreams in less than 2.5 weeks (april 1 2012), so this is extremely urgent.
I live in Sweden.
(unless you find a solution for it...) This will be the second time in a row, that I have got a faulty Ikelite housing being sent to me, brand new. Last year I bought the D7000 housing and it leaked on the first dive. then I had to wait for 3 months to get it repaired (not your fault that it took so long though). Most manufactures supports DOA. Which means that if a customer gets a faulty product, they are being sent a new asap. Last year I missed the whole diving season. This year it seems that I am going to miss (the whole point of the vacation is shooting uw-photos) the scuba vacation of my dreams. :-(
I really hope you can come up with a solution so that I can go on my trip with a perfectly working LX5 Ikelite uw-housing.
Thanks in advance!
PS
This is my 7th (8th? lost count) Ike uw-housing. I have had several both D-SLR and compact housings, both with and without TTL. I currently also have a Ike D7000 uw-housing, so I think I am pretty familiar with the settings/stuff.
I am getting terrible results with my brand new LX5 Ike uw-housing, it has not even got wet yet(!). I got it two days ago from the store.
I have done tons of tests and I can't see any solution other than that the TTL doesn't work.
The problem is that it consistently underexposes when in TTL (much more details below).
Unless I am very close to the subject (< 10cm) the pictures will be underexposed.
So, the rest of the post will be about when taking pictures of something further away then 10cm.
If I use the camera's Flash Compensation, I can get a decent exposure. But, I need to adjust it up and down depending on the distance to the subject. So I can't just set it to e.g. +1.3.
In reality this is even more tricky than shooting in Manual Strobe mode and setting the power on the strobe. And hey, the whole idea of getting the LX5 and Ike housing was so I could use the TTL.
All my tests have been done in either manual exposure mode or in Aperture priority mode. Aperture priority set the Time to 1/60 so in reality there is not much difference between the two modes for my test.
I get the same results anyway.
In manual exposure mode I have set the time to 1/125.
ISO is Fix set to 80.
I have tested all three in camera Meter modes, but the results are the same.
At a distance to the subject of about 0.5m:
F2 gives the darkest pictures. Then the smaller the aperture, the brigther the picture.
So, in f2 it is terribly underexposed and in f8 it is almost usable.
I have now also tested with a closer distance (0.2m). Then the behaviour is the other way around. F
2 gives the best images and F8 the darkest.
So, there is no setting that works.
This has nothing to do with the strobe not being powerful enough or the ISO being to low etc.
I have used a DS-51 and a DS161. The DS 161 gave less underexposed pictures, but the problem was still clearly there (I don't want to use DS161 with the small LX5 uw-housing).
I have used a single cord.
To make sure nothing was wrong with the TTL cord or the strobe(s), I place my D7000 in the uw-housing and moved the cord from the LX5 to the D7000 and shot the same subject from the same distance using approx the same exposure settings and lens. The D7000 got the exposures perfectly everytime. I mainly tested with the DS-51.
I have also tested with a double cord and two strobes. The result is the same.
The strobe(s) are double flashing. So, they are not in manual mode.
To make sure there is nothing wrong with the LX5 camera, I removed it from the uw-housing and shot using the internal strobe. Same settings, same subject, same distance etc. Exposure were spot on every time.
- - - -
I am leaving for the scuba vacation of my dreams in less than 2.5 weeks (april 1 2012), so this is extremely urgent.
I live in Sweden.
(unless you find a solution for it...) This will be the second time in a row, that I have got a faulty Ikelite housing being sent to me, brand new. Last year I bought the D7000 housing and it leaked on the first dive. then I had to wait for 3 months to get it repaired (not your fault that it took so long though). Most manufactures supports DOA. Which means that if a customer gets a faulty product, they are being sent a new asap. Last year I missed the whole diving season. This year it seems that I am going to miss (the whole point of the vacation is shooting uw-photos) the scuba vacation of my dreams. :-(
I really hope you can come up with a solution so that I can go on my trip with a perfectly working LX5 Ikelite uw-housing.
Thanks in advance!
PS
This is my 7th (8th? lost count) Ike uw-housing. I have had several both D-SLR and compact housings, both with and without TTL. I currently also have a Ike D7000 uw-housing, so I think I am pretty familiar with the settings/stuff.
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