strobe question

[divedadepths]

hey. Im a new diver and already had a sony digital camera, so when i got certified i just bought the $100 housing instead of a $500 sea life camera. So now i am looking to enhanse my photos and am looking to buy a strobe (looking at the ones from scubatoys http://www.scubatoys.com/store/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=SL960 and http://www.scubatoys.com/store/detail.asp?product_id=SL960D) . My question is do i need the ones espically made for digitial cameras or is the basic one enough?? (the basic one says that is works on digitial but the digitial one says that it has all these special settings for digitial cameras) Thanks in advance everybody!

 

[havnmonkey]

The Digital, SL960d, is the one you want. It comes with a fiberoptic synch cable and (most important) preflash settings.

 

[divedadepths]

is it really worth the extra 120 bucks

 

[bobf]

If your Sony digicam fires a preflash to determine proper exposure, you will most likely not be able to use the non digital SeaLife SL960 strobe. If a preflash is indeed employed by your digicam, the SL 960 would not be compatible with the Sony digicam for the following reason:

The SL 960 external flash will be triggered by the first blip of light it detects. If the first blip of light from your Sony is a preflash, the SL 960 will be optically triggered and emit all of its stored energy in sync with that event. The SL960 will then most likely not be able to recycle quickly enough to fire again on the main flash from your Sony, which occurs fractions of a second after the preflash. The main flash is the flash that syncs with the shutter opening.

The SL 960D version of the strobe however is equipped with preflash cancellation circuitry. IOW, the strobe is capable of being programmed to ignore up to four preflashes, thus saving its stored light energy for the main firing event. This will allow the external strobe to sync with the camera's main flash, the flash that fires at the same time the camera's shutter opens.

The SL 960D is also reported to have variable power output control and a fiber optic cable........

SL 960 manual:

http://www.digitalreefmaster.com/download/flash.pdf

One other note, if you are very recently certified, please take time to master proper buoyancy techniques prior to taking the camera down with you........

hth,
b

 

[divedadepths]

If your Sony digicam fires a preflash to determine proper exposure, you will most likely not be able to use the non digital SeaLife SL960 strobe. If a preflash is indeed employed by your digicam, the SL 960 would not be compatible with the Sony digicam for the following reason:

The SL 960 external flash will be triggered by the first blip of light it detects. If the first blip of light from your Sony is a preflash, the SL 960 will be optically triggered and emit all of its stored energy in sync with that event. The SL960 will then most likely not be able to recycle quickly enough to fire again on the main flash from your Sony, which occurs fractions of a second after the preflash. The main flash is the flash that syncs with the shutter opening.

The SL 960D version of the strobe however is equipped with preflash cancellation circuitry. IOW, the strobe is capable of being programmed to ignore up to four preflashes, thus saving its stored light energy for the main firing event. This will allow the external strobe to sync with the camera's main flash, the flash that fires at the same time the camera's shutter opens.

The SL 960D is also reported to have variable power output control and a fiber optic cable........

SL 960 manual:

http://www.digitalreefmaster.com/download/flash.pdf

One other note, if you are very recently certified, please take time to master proper buoyancy techniques prior to taking the camera down with you........

hth,
b

thanks. I think my camera has a preflash, but im going to look into opitions to turn it off. Do you think it has this option? If this is possible, or my camera ends up not having a preflash, would the cheaper one be enough? thanks so much

 

[havnmonkey]

some do, some don't... If you can turn off the preflash yes it would be sufficient. But I would recommend the Sealife synch chord, it'll help make sure your flash triggers the strobe.

I couldn't tell if the non digital strobe has power settings, I know that I have seen them without them. I have the SL960(digital) and it can blow out pictures when it is on high, even with the diffuser.

I now have an Ike. DS-50 w/ a TTL synch and I use the Sealife as a 2nd slave strobe sometimes.

I recommend the digital one.

http://www.sealife-cameras.com/accessories/access.html

 

[havnmonkey]

that manual doesn't say anything about power settings...

 

[ScubaKat11]

The SL 960D version of the strobe however is equipped with preflash cancellation circuitry. IOW, the strobe is capable of being programmed to ignore up to four preflashes, thus saving its stored light energy for the main firing event. This will allow the external strobe to sync with the camera's main flash, the flash that fires at the same time the camera's shutter opens.

The SL 960D is also reported to have variable power output control and a fiber optic cable........


hth,
b

I just got the SL960D. Very Powerful and good for beginers with strobes. You can look at some of the pics I took with it on 12-29-2006 in the Photo Gallary on SB.

 

[divedadepths]

OK- Just an update. I found out how to turn off the "preflash". Turns out the "preflash" was just the red eye reduction which is dumb to have on anyway b/c you can just PS it out. And.....for christmas my grandparents gave me this big jar of change which is going to add up to about $450, of which i get half, (why did they have to be thoughtfull and think of my younger brother too?!?!?!). Enough to pick up the cheaper of the two strobes and some other scubatoys!!

 

[AndyT]

If you can wait a while and save some more money while mastering your buoyancy control and other diving skills consider buying something from Ikelite, Sea & Sea or Inon. These are all good makes of strobes and will potentially last you throughout several cameras.