TG-5 Strobe Settings

[Guitarcrazy]

I just ordered my first strobe. I was going to order the Sea and Sea YS-2DJ, but after seeing the size I decided to get the YS-01. I am not sure I want to carry a strobe that large, it will dwarf the camera and housing. I know the performance is better, but I figured the YS-01 should be a good starting point. What do you real photographers use for general settings? I have been using the TG-5 with PT-058 and two video lights for my dives thus far. I am hoping the strobe will allow me to get some more dramatic shots with more detail. Thanks.

 

[Aqua-Andy]

If you want to use TTL, set the camera to "fill flash" and the strobe to STTL.
For manual flash settings if the camera is still in "fill flash" set the strobe to the double lightning bolt and use the dial on the strobe to adjust exposure.
For manual flash and camera set to "manual flash, I usually set the camera to 1/64 power" set the strobe to the single lightning bolt. use the dial on the strobe to adjust exposure.

These settings should get you started. The TTL has always been hit or miss on my YS-01 strobes, but using genuine S&S fiber optic cables the TTL does work much better.

 

[Chris Ross]

With the TG- series cameras you probably also want to tone down the ambient exposure a little 1/2 - 1 stop under exposure on ambient light - you want the strobe to dominate exposure. Also get close - for macro should not be a problem, but for wide shots you want to be 1m or less away, closer is better.

 

[Guitarcrazy]

The strobe arrived so I will do a little testing around the house before our next trip in Feb. Hopefully I will get better photos. Thanks for suggestions

 

[JackConnick]

The TG-3 & 4 weren't all that compatible with the YS-01's TTL. It might be a bit better with the 5, but we've found it not to be the best.

There's a work-around, but it requires you do set the camera up each time.

We have an article here:
TG-4 Remote Slave Flash for TTL with External Strobes

 

[Peter Bomberg]

[QUOTE="Aqua-Andy <text removed>
For manual flash and camera set to "manual flash, I usually set the camera to 1/64 power" set the strobe to the single lightning bolt. use the dial on the strobe to adjust exposure.[/QUOTE]

I am fiddling with my setup TG-6 with dual S-2000 (has a D-200 but found it was to hard to balance with the Sola 3800 so upgraded to dial S-2000 (lighter and smaller too). But my question is do have a handy guide of the strobe settings per F stop, my experimentation on dry land so far in A mode:

F5 roughly -2
F6.3 roughly -1.5
F18 full

Does my question make sense and anyone have a table to use as a starting point?

 

[caleb slater]

The TG-3 & 4 weren't all that compatible with the YS-01's TTL. It might be a bit better with the 5, but we've found it not to be the best.
There's a work-around, but it requires you do set the camera up each time.
We have an article here:
TG-4 Remote Slave Flash for TTL with External Strobes

I had issues with my TG-4 and an older YS-01- i had to use manual strobe settings. I sent the YS-01 back to get the new firmware installed (version C) as suggested by Sea&Sea here.
It seems to work well now on TTL, but that's above water. I will be using it in Cozumel in two weeks. I'll let you know how it goes.

 

[caleb slater]

I had issues with my TG-4 and an older YS-01- i had to use manual strobe settings. I sent the YS-01 back to get the new firmware installed (version C) as suggested by Sea&Sea here.
It seems to work well now on TTL, but that's above water. I will be using it in Cozumel in two weeks. I'll let you know how it goes.

Well the TTL did work with the new firmware, but I found that many of my pictures from last year where I was manually setting the flash were actually better. I also had some focus/motion blur issues as I was shooting in AP mode at ISO 100 and the shutter default is 1/30 which is not great.