TTL issues with D750 and Ikelite housing

[MADTravels]

My wife is having exposure issues with her new D750 and Ikelite housing, she is using dual DS160 strobes and when she takes a picture the strobes fire but the picture is really dark.
We have set the camera per the ikelite instructions under U1 setting.
A aperature priority, F8, ISO 200, center weighted metering, AF focus mode, Focus point to center, focus selector to L, JPEG Fine, Size "L", White balance auto1, Picture control to SD, Active D lighting "off", HDR "off", Vignette control "Off", Auto Distortion and Long Exposure NR "Off", AF-S priority "Release", AF illumination "On", Built in AF-assist "Off", LCD Illumination "On".
When the strobes are set to TTL the picture is extremely dark, when the strobes are turned down to 4, the picture looks better but turning up to 3 or 2 doesn't seem to have any affect.

 

[oly5050user]

Sounds like strobe not sync with camera. Why shoot A priority with that system? If a user needs to use camera on any type of program / automatic mode simply get a sea life camera and click away like a tourist would at a fraction of the price of what your system costs. Want creative ability with system then Learn how to use camera on manual. It really is not rocket science. Try a few exposures on M . If no understanding of ISO/ shutter speed/F stops , then take a photo course from akin instructor that actually knows what they are doing. Hope this helps.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

Sometimes I set the strobes at full by mistake. Make sure they are all the way into the TTL setting. Also, I agree with oly5050user. Set the camera to manual and Active D to on.

 

[MADTravels]

Ah yes, now I remember why I avoid forums. Bloated egos that know everything and like to talk down to those that don't...all the time offering no information regarding the actual issue showing how little they do.
Thank you so much for taking your precious time to reply to my post...in case you missed it that was sarcasm.

 

[high/baric]

I'm not familiar with your camera model, so I might not be the right person to answer, but this sort of sounds like a possible pre-flash problem. In case your camera uses pre-flash, check that the strobe is firing during the actual flash and not during the pre-flash.

 

[BHB ScubaTroll]

Ah yes, now I remember why I avoid forums. Bloated egos that know everything and like to talk down to those that don't...all the time offering no information regarding the actual issue showing how little they do.
Thank you so much for taking your precious time to reply to my post...in case you missed it that was sarcasm.

Ah, bloated sarcasm for those who attempt to help you solve a problem you have not been able to solve yourself, all the time offering potential solutions to to actual issues for which you can't seem to solve yourself...

I was going to offer some insight here, but you have simply ruined that opportunity, because I must be a "blowhard" that has an ego much larger than my own knowledge...

Good luck to your spouse...

 

[high/baric]

I'm sure up until the last post everyone has tried to help you (and your wife), even though others may have a style that can come across a bit more patronising to some. Others, myself included, speak English as a foreign language and due to limited vocabulary can sound blunt at times. On a public forum such things are to be expected (as you said yourself). Now I don't know how experienced you and your wife are with photography, but assuming you are relatively new to it, I cannot resist expressing a different opinion on camera modes. I have taken a few underwater photography courses and while some mentors encourage using manual mode from the beginning I tend to agree with the other school of thought. In photography I believe that selecting the subject, finding the right angle (especially if using natural light) or positioning your strobes and lights correctly, and composing the picture are fundamental to having good results. Fine-tuning camera settings really is secondary as modern cameras take pretty good pictures with automated modes, so you should use whatever makes you feel comfortable and guarantees you can focus on the aforementioned elements. In the beginning it can also help to have less things to focus on to guarantee you don't accidentally cause harm to your environment (we all have heard about those other divers with their GoPros). Even automatic settings are okay to start with, especially when shooting with strobes. Aperture and shutter priority modes can help bring out the subject; large aperture (= small f value) will put the background out of focus when shooting against a reef (as I'm sure you have noticed when using this mode), while very fast shutter speeds will make the background dark when shooting with strobes against open water or a background that is far away. Both techniques bring the viewer's attention to the subject. Most cameras can also still use TTL in these modes. They still leave a lot of potential untapped though, so when she feels like she's ready to take full control of her photography, it's time to move on to full manual mode. This will, at start, be time consuming and you'll likely ruin a lot of pictures with wrong settings, but it'll be worth it! At least my camera does not support TTL in manual mode, so in addition to camera settings it may require manual strobe power adjustments, but that just means it really does give you full control. Taking a course in (underwater) photography can really help, especially if things like aperture, shutter speed and ISO don't come intuitively to you. Good luck with your new kit!

Ps: Always shoot in RAW if possible, it really matters in underwater photography where photos most of the time can benefit from post-processing.

Pps: Sorry for the wall of text, this mobile interface is pretty clumsy to write a post on.

 

[cneal]

The Ikelite TTL connector I iuse with my Aquatica housing has manual and TTL modes and the TTL setting location is picky.

I always look at the camera settings display for TTL to be specified. If it doesn't say TTL, it isn't.

Hope this helps.