Strobe for beginner photographer

[stebatta]

Hi!
I'm using my Canon G15 since many years and I always been happy with the auto white balance setup (in tropical sees in the first 20 m the pictures are very nice).
However, I heard many divers saying I should rather use the flash and avoid the underwater setup...

Therefore in vision of my next trip to Raja Ampat I was thinking of buying a strobe that together with the arm would be around 300$ but not too complicated to use...

Do you have any suggestions of what would be a good option?
What do you think about the Sea&Sea YS-03?
Or maybe someone believes the strobe is not really necessary?
I tried to look online but the info are so technical it's very confusing...

Thanks a lot for any tip you can give me!

 

[Nemrod]

I do not get paid by Inon but the strobe you want is the Inon S-2000. The GN is 20 at ISO100. It has an extremely wide angle of 100+ X 95+ degrees and is evenly lit across. A GN20 is plenty for CFWA and macro and two of them (in due course) will provide excellent results. One will be fine for starting out and can indeed light up your subject and fish pics just dandy. The strobe handles full Manual and optical sTTL and is compact (very small and light) and extremely well manufactured. You almost never hear of Inon strobes giving trouble. It has a fast recycle and will shoot all day on four rechargeable AA batteries.

N

 

[Chris Ross]

You want the option of manual flash, TTL is often not reliable outside macro and is not as hard as it sounds. Set you G15 at f4 and 1/250 in manual - ISO100. Set the strobe in manual and adjust the power output so an image in a darkened room is well exposed with the subject 300-600mm away - that is your starting setting. Try and keep the same distance all the time and fllash exposure should not vary much. You may need to increase the shutter speed in shallow water or pointing up.

You don't mention what housing you have - you will need a fibre optic port to pick up the onboard flash. Agree the INON S-2000 is a good choice.

 

[stebatta]

Thank you a lot Nemrod and Chris for the insightful tips!
I ordered the INON S-2000 (with fibre optic and arm) and will definitely try the setting you recommend
I hope it will arrive in time to play with it before my trip!
I have a Canon WP-DC54 housing, if you have any other tip I'm always happy to hear them

 

[Chris Ross]

You will need a port to attach the fibre optic cable to the housing - the kit may come with a stick on type port for your housing - but I would suggest you check with the vendor to be sure it is included.

 

[Nemrod]

I think this one is what you need:

Inon Optical D Cable (L Type)/Cap W54 Set for Canon WP-DC34

I assume you checked that the strobe comes with the fiber optic cable? You will need to speak with an expert as to the adapter, as I said, I THINK the one I linked is correct. It is my working belief that the WP-DC34 and DC54 use the same adapter, thus your need for expert advice.

Just an aside, the S-2000 is optical triggered. Without the fiber optic cable and adapter installed it will still function. If this is your go to for a first timer, install the diffuser screen that came with your camera. The S-2000 will still see the camera strobe and will fire. However, everybody else with a strobe and camera who takes a shot will also trigger your strobe with the open sensor. Which can be annoying.

James