Which housing and strobe for a Sony RX100M5A?

[thegrandpoohbah]

Thanks @pubert & @outofofficebrb . Very helpful!

Yes, thank you indeed for the detailed responses.

So, my advice is that you should chat with Ran or Tal, get their input and make your final decision factoring that discussion into what you decide. (Don't let it be the only factor, but take it into consideration.)

I will do that, thanks!

 

[thegrandpoohbah]

Looks good, although the tray is somewhat expensive for what you get. Look around on Aliexpress, there are offers for a double-handle tray with four arm segments and clamps for around the same cost.

Do you think something like this would do the job?

Underwater Tray Housings Arm Stabilizer for Canon Nikon Sony Fujifilm Olympus Gopro Action Camera with 4 Butterfly Ball clam-in Stabilizers from Consumer Electronics on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group

How would the quality of this compare to the one from Mozaik? It would be about $25 CAD cheaper than my original option and would give me the right side handle and arm for if/when I upgrade to dual strobes (I am assuming I can remove them for the time being). Is there enough articulation/flexibility with this particular set-up? I would just have to swap the YS mount on the strobe head for a ball mount.

 

[Barmaglot]

Do you think something like this would do the job?

Underwater Tray Housings Arm Stabilizer for Canon Nikon Sony Fujifilm Olympus Gopro Action Camera with 4 Butterfly Ball clam-in Stabilizers from Consumer Electronics on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group

How would the quality of this compare to the one from Mozaik? It would be about $25 CAD cheaper than my original option and would give me the right side handle and arm for if/when I upgrade to dual strobes (I am assuming I can remove them for the time being). Is there enough articulation/flexibility with this particular set-up? I would just have to swap the YS mount on the strobe head for a ball mount.

That's precisely the one I've been using for the past year, no complaints, although I did have to mod it a little to get the shutter trigger extension to fit. There's also this bundle with YS arm segments: https://www.aliexpress.com/store/pr...ing-with-4-Butterfly/2387024_32794637110.html

 

[thegrandpoohbah]

So I was all set to pull the trigger and order the following tray from AliExpress along with some arms and ball clamps.

PULUZ Dual Handle Aluminium Tray Stabilizer Rig for Underwater Camera Housing Case Diving Tray Mount for GoPro DSLR Smartphones-in Sports Camcorder Cases from Consumer Electronics on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group

On a whim I decided to Google it to see if I could find it even cheaper and lo and behold there it was on Walmart.ca on clearance for $13.23! I'm not sure if that was a typo but I ordered one so we'll see. I'll get some arms and ball clamps from AliExpress and then get the housing and strobe from Mozaic.

 

[thegrandpoohbah]

Just got the shipping notification for the tray order!

 

[thegrandpoohbah]

Another question if you will indulge me Given that I am still a new diver would it be a better idea to go with a TTL only strobe like the YS-03? No manual mode would mean less messing around and more focus on diving fundamentals while still getting half decent photos. The money saved could then be used for a basic cold shoe mounted video light. I could always upgrade the strobe later on once I outgrow its capabilities. Or, as I understand it I could add a YS-01 and a sync cord and have manual control by slaving it. Thoughts?

 

[Barmaglot]

Strobes are expensive, and TTL-only ones don't save you much money. Keep in mind that strobe power is controlled by pulse duration - the flash bulb peaks at the same brightness intensity, and the total exposure produced by the strobe is regulated by how long it stays at that brightness peak, as xenon gas discharge lamps can turn on and quench nearly instantaneously. However, in TTL mode, when you're driving the external strobe(s) with your on-camera flash, their pulse duration is directly proportional to the pulse duration of the on-camera flash driving them - and small, weak on-camera flashes are often not capable of sustaining a pulse long enough to extract the full power of an external strobe. Case in point: I decided to save money by buying two SeaFrogs ST-100 Pro strobes (cost me $460 for the pair), but as it turns out, their optical trigger circuit only works in TTL mode. In this photo, taken inside a wreck, my camera ended up pushing the ISO to 12800, because the strobes did not give enough light for a good exposure with a fisheye lens stopped down to f/8:

Sea & Sea YS-01 costs $430, Inon S-2000 costs $365, Sea & Sea YS-03 costs $320 - both YS-01 and S-2000 have TTL mode in addition to manual operation, and you can keep them in TTL while you build experience, but the manual mode will be there for when you need it. A manual-only setup such as an Ikelite strobe with a fiber optic converter is probably not a good choice for a beginner, but a TTL-only device will eventually limit you.

 

[Schwob]

Thanks @thegrandpoohbah for asking and @Barmaglot for explaining. The strobe question is of interest to me to. If I may, I'd like to expand it a little. I think that goes also in the direction of what @thegrandpoohbah was asking:

I happen to have a YS-03. If I were to buy a YS-01 to complement it instead of a second YS-03, could I then indeed, pending on selected mode on the YS-01, use both flashes in manual mode or both in auto mode so to speak by slaving the YS-03 with the optical canle of the YS-01?

I understand that they then would always deliver the same output, I could not run one hotter than the other (unless with filtering). But can it be made to work that way indeed.

And what if I bought an S2000 instead... could I still do the same in concert with the YS-03. I suspect it might get problematic if the output of the two flashes isn't matched.

More of a potential mismatch problem I suspect if I bought a more powerful flash yet, say a YS-D2J just to name one. Now it is presumably quite unlikely the larger flash outputs the same amount of light at the during the same emission time as the small YS-03 it would need to be matched to. And I am thinking that dialing the power output down on the larger flash has an effect in TTL mode, but even if it did, it can only affect flash duration not intensity and still would leave me with unmatched flashes. So I think... but am not sure...
I actually asked this a store with a reputation for good info that I was planning to by from, but did not get beyond a "oh, you want to buy a flash, here is what we offer" kind of answer so far.

So anyway, this is hope for matched output (same duration = same light output) with the YS-03) is kind of the reason I suspect @thegrandpoohbah might be eying the YS-01 specifically to match with the YS-03. It is why I am.

But I do not know if they would be matched indeed. Meaning:
Same flash duration = same light output, so if YS-03 is slaved off the YS-01 their output is matched, even when the YS-01 is used in manual mode...) Does any one know?

And then, in that sense, is there another manual &TTL flash that the YS-03 could be used together with, well matched? Or is that then quite a stretch and YS-01 is it (short of 2 new flashes instead of one).

 

[Barmaglot]

Slaving a YS-03 off a YS-01 should work, though I have no personal experience. You'll need a longer fiber optic cable to run between the two strobes, and those are a little bit more expensive, but not by much. Note that YS-01, YS-D2 and S-2000 have a dedicated fiber optic cable socket in the front, for driving an additional strobe, but Inon D-200 and Z-330 don't.
Again, I'm no expert, but since you already have a YS-03, a YS-01 is probably your most optimal choice for a second strobe. If and when you outgrow them, you can sell both and buy a pair of Z-330s, YS-D2Js or Retras - underwater strobes retain their value surprisingly well on the used market, much better than housings.

 

[Schwob]

Slaving a YS-03 off a YS-01 should work, though I have no personal experience. You'll need a longer fiber optic cable to run between the two strobes, and those are a little bit more expensive, but not by much. Note that YS-01, YS-D2 and S-2000 have a dedicated fiber optic cable socket in the front, for driving an additional strobe, but Inon D-200 and Z-330 don't.
Again, I'm no expert, but since you already have a YS-03, a YS-01 is probably your most optimal choice for a second strobe. If and when you outgrow them, you can sell both and buy a pair of Z-330s, YS-D2Js or Retras - underwater strobes retain their value surprisingly well on the used market, much better than housings.

Thanks...
... or I wait and deal with one strobe until I feel comfortable spending money on two good ones. I also received a vendor reply, well a quote really, which briefly stated the YS-01 would be the logical choice, w/o necessarily confirming it will let me slave the YS-03 correctly off it in TTL mode on the YS-01 as well as in manual mode. But it appears supply on the YS-01 is a bit short at at least two well known places right now, availability is said to be mid January.... I have not looked elsewhere yet Since, that's after the trip and since I'd like to give the business to the business actually replying to the question asked ... and since I don't really enjoy taking pics (yet?) diving where I live, maybe I curb the enthusiasm a little and see what I am ready to spend money on prior to the next trip (which is who knows when...)...