Strobe/Slave for Canon S40

[wetvet]

Hello to all you picture gurus,

I have a question regarding my Canon S40. I like the camera and the housing, and have gotten some adequate pictures in the sunny south, but here in deepest darkest Ontario, backscatter makes the results very poor. I understand the need for an external strobe, but AFAIK, there is no way to attach a cable to the camera. I think this means that I need a slave, but the only slaves I have encountered have sensors on the "head" of the flash, and must be close (within about 6") to the flash to pick up on it and fire.
With all the particulate matter in the water up here, I'm not sure that 6" of distance will reduce the backscatter much.
What I think I want is a slave that has a sensor that I can attach to the housing in front of the flash that has a cable connecter to a slave that I can have either on a longer arm, or hold in my hand to direct it.

Does such a beast exist? Or have I made a mistake on what I need? Or is it hopeless, and I can't base my system on the camera I have? (remember, I am doing this recreationally, and am satisfied with the picture quality of the camera in general....I never expect to publish any of my pictures) I'm not afraid to spend a little money for this, but I hate spending money on something that doesn't work.

I realize that I am new and uninformed in the photo area, so hopefully this was amusing to some of you. Feel free to correct any misconceptions I have, provide any advice, or just poke fun at me.

Thanks in advance

Wetvet

 

[Dee]

Poking fun isn't allowed as long as you are serious!

You can get backscatter even with a strobe so don't think it's a cure-all...nothing is.

If I'm not mistaken the S&S YS90DX strobe will work on your Canon. It slaves off the camera flash via a fiber optic cable. The new Inon D-180 or Z-220 might also work but I don't know enough about them yet to be 100% sure. You can contact Ryan at

www.UnderWaterCameraPros.com
info@uwcp.com
rc@ryancanon.com

His site is having a few problems today so you might wait a few hours or until tomorrow to contact him. Ryan not only sells several strobe that will work for you, he's one of the good guys who honestly wants to help you get the system you want.

You'll need a tray to hold the camera and an arm to hold the strobe. There are several good variations of each of these. A good strobe isn't cheap but it's worth every penny!

 

[pdoege]

If you own a biggish light, you can turn off the flash and use the light to provide the illumination.

Cheaper than a strobe and it works well enough.

You will eventually want a diffuser for it. You can make one out of the plastic used to diffuse florescent lights. Preety cheap at Home Depot or whereever.

The advantage of a separate light is that you can get very large angles. The disadvantage is you need two hands and they do not put out as much light as a strobe.

Peter

 

[ReyeR]

What I think I want is a slave that has a sensor that I can attach to the housing in front of the flash that has a cable connecter to a slave that I can have either on a longer arm, or hold in my hand to direct it.

Does such a beast exist?

I believe the 'beast' you have described is the Ikelite slave sensor connected to the DS50 or DS125 strobes. The slave sensor that is recommended for your camera is the Manual Slave Sensor.
The sensor unit can be mounted near the housing and has a 10-step power setting dial that allows you to control the strobes output . See Ike's website: http://www.ikelite.com/web_pages/mansensors.html

Your other options are strobes that Dee's mentioned. The principal is the same except the slave sensor is built into the strobe instead of a separate unit that is mounted near the housing. A fibre optic cable is used to transmit the light from your camera's flash to this sensor for reliable strobe synchronisation. The power setting dial is built onto the strobe itself. The Sea and Sea YS-90DX and Inon D180 will both work with your camera. Re: Inon Z220 - I'm not familiar with the S40s flash settings but if it is like the S45 or S50 ie fires a 'pre-flash' and has a 'Flash Adjust' menu that can be set to 'Manual' then it'll work with the Z220. Otherwise the D180 is recommended over the Z220 for your camera.

 

[vandco]

The Sea and Sea YS25DX uses a fiber optic cable to accomplish this as well. I have heard that it is underpowered though.