Olympus UFL-1 Underwater Strobe

[Fathomer]

Greetings,

Does anyone have experience or a review of the UFL-1 Underwater Strobe by Olympus? I called Olympus today, but the rep I spoke with was pretty much clueless.

 

[Doubler]

Bought one for my wifes rig. Haven't used it in the water yet so I can speak to that. It is very compact and doesn't add alot of weight to the setup. There is a short leg you also have to purchase if you plan on attaching it to the hotshoe. I purchased mine through Adorama for $249. The leg was $35. I plan on getting another one to use as a second strobe with my Ikelite set up.

Jim

 

[Jay_SMART_Diver]

Buy the Sealife Digital Strobe, works perfectly with my C-5000 and housing, and comes with the arm and tray.

 

[Dannybot]

I have one, got from: Olympus UFL 1 - Underwater flash - 14 (m) Description, Olympus UFL 1 - Underwater flash - 14 (m) Reviews, Olympus UFL 1 - Underwater flash - 14 (m) Accessories It was a little over $200. I doesn't seen to put out a lot of light, but I haven't gotten it to where it fires in TTL all the time. In the pool it looks to give off about hte same amount of light as the onboard flash, but hopefully I can figure out how to use it effectively on manual, and to get rid of some of the backscatter. I haven't taken it diving yet, so I'll have to wait and see. It charges as quickly as my FE-230's flash does, so you won't be waiting for that, but I still have to wait for the doggone camera lag!

 

[MMM]

I took it diving a couple of months ago and had problems with getting it to fire properly. It seemed to fire OK above water though, so I'm not sure what all was going on. Taking it on another trip next week and will see if I can figure out what I'm doing wrong...

 

[kogara]

I am using one with the SP560z and Olympus UW case. I had the same problem getting it to flash consistently with the TTL. I've since bought a fiber optic cable - Sea & Sea Fiber Optic Sync Cord L Type for YS-27DX, YS-110 and YS-25 Auto (Mfg #50107) - which connects to flash and housing seamlessly, and the TTL hits on every shot now.

 

[Dannybot]

I am using one with the SP560z and Olympus UW case. I had the same problem getting it to flash consistently with the TTL. I've since bought a fiber optic cable - Sea & Sea Fiber Optic Sync Cord L Type for YS-27DX, YS-110 and YS-25 Auto (Mfg #50107) - which connects to flash and housing seamlessly, and the TTL hits on every shot now.

I just made a FO link with a peice of FO cable I wahooed from the trash. It works on TTL everytime on land so far, I'll get in the water next month.

 

[driftwood]

I tried to use one, but just not enough flash for UW work. I am now using a Sea&Sea YS-90DX.

 

[MMM]

Just got back from using it in Cozumel. Had problems with it flooding the battery case...consistently! I've contacted the seller and am waiting for more info. If I get any, I'll let folks here know. But meanwhile, I'd hold off buying one if I were you....

 

[Bob Vincent]

I have a SW790, a PT-041 housing along with an ULF-1 STROBE. I was having a problem with the flash not firing all the time. Found out I had the camera set on auto flash when there was to much natural light it wouldn't fire. After setting the built in flash from auto to always on ... problem solved!

Then there was the backscatter problem. I took white electrical tape, doubled it and covered the housings external flash diffuser. It still fired the strobe but no more back scatter!

I set the strobe on full power and it works fine. Remember closer is better. But I have been surprized how good some open water shots turned out.