Advice for a relative beginner.

[Mike McG]

Hi guys,

I started wildlife photography around a year ago when I bought my first ever 'proper' camera, Fujifilm XT-4. I have spend a lot of time learning and had some half decent results so far on land with the Fuji. I know it's not the best for this but it was what I could afford at the time. I'm obviously a diver too and always used my GoPro to film underwater life with the addition of a video light so I was keen to take the Fuji underwater. I invested in a relatively cheap Seafrogs housing this year and I would like to add a strobe so that I can get some stills but I have absolutely no clue about strobes or flash photography at all. Sea Frogs told me I needed a flash trigger and a fibre optic cable and then a strobe. If anyone has any advice or recommendations for a first strobe or what a basic set up would look like i'd like to hear it. I would have a budget of maybe a few hundred pounds for the strobe. I also have no idea what TTL is or if I need it.

I have a 6'' dome port with a couple of different mid range lenses that fit. Nothing wide angle or macro so it would just be standard photo's of underwater life or maybe parts of wrecks nothing wildly artistic yet.

Thanks,

Mike.

 

[Nemrod]

TTL is through the lens metering. Yes it is good and yes it works and no you probably cannot have strobe TTL with that camera and housing. Most photo divers shoot in manual and with manual strobe, no TTL. You would need a TTL capable trigger and the SeaFrog trigger is manual only.

I do mostly shoot manual mode with optical TTL, no TTL would be a no go for me. But you should be fine without strobe TTL.

Two Inon S220 strobes or similar would do for fish pics, you will not light up a wreck with any sort of strobe. And then two optical cables, assuming Inon, these:

Fiber Optic Cable INON D Type to Sea&Sea 2 meters

This product is also available at the European websitewww.saltedlineeurope.com _____________________________________________ This cable is used to connect Inon strobes or Meikon ST-100 strobe to Aquatica, Sea&Sea , Olympus, Nauticam Compacts, Meikon, CamDive and Fantasea underwater housings...

seafrogs.com.hk

YS Sea and Sea strobes:

Fiber-optic Cable M (2 meters). Sea & Sea type connections on both sides.

Materials: Acrylic, PE, ABSDimensions: Diameter - 2.7mm, Length - 480mm (folded spiral), 2000mm (unfolded spiral)

seafrogs.com.hk

 

[Mike McG]

TTL is through the lens metering. Yes it is good and yes it works and no you probably cannot have strobe TTL with that camera and housing. Most photo divers shoot in manual and with manual strobe, no TTL. You would need a TTL capable trigger and the SeaFrog trigger is manual only.

I do mostly shoot manual mode with optical TTL, no TTL would be a no go for me. But you should be fine without strobe TTL.

Two Inon S220 strobes or similar would do for fish pics, you will not light up a wreck with any sort of strobe. And then two optical cables, assuming Inon, these:

Fiber Optic Cable INON D Type to Sea&Sea 2 meters

This product is also available at the European websitewww.saltedlineeurope.com _____________________________________________ This cable is used to connect Inon strobes or Meikon ST-100 strobe to Aquatica, Sea&Sea , Olympus, Nauticam Compacts, Meikon, CamDive and Fantasea underwater housings...

seafrogs.com.hk

YS Sea and Sea strobes:

Fiber-optic Cable M (2 meters). Sea & Sea type connections on both sides.

Materials: Acrylic, PE, ABSDimensions: Diameter - 2.7mm, Length - 480mm (folded spiral), 2000mm (unfolded spiral)

seafrogs.com.hk

Thanks for the help. Seafrogs told me I need to get this. Could you explain what it is and what its for?

Flash trigger for fiber-optic cables

 

[Nemrod]

Thanks for the help. Seafrogs told me I need to get this. Could you explain what it is and what its for?

Flash trigger for fiber-optic cables

Most modern UW strobes are optically triggered. Your camera does not have a built in flash to trigger the strobes so must use a trigger strobe installed into the hot shoe. The optical cables carry the signal to the optical sensor on the strobes to sync the camera shutter and strobes to fire together.

Optical triggering is much easier to set up and does not require through the housing electrical bulkhead connectors that must be water tight. Electrical triggering via cables to the strobe from the hot shoe through a bulkhead are mostly obsolete though it can be a best solution for certain cameras and photography. In your case, you need the optical flash trigger, some optical strobes (Inon/YS and others) and an optical cable for each strobe with correct plug ends, as I linked.

Most camera housings use Sea&Sea (YS) connectors and if you have a YS strobe the two ends will be the same. But Inon uses a (better, IMO) screw in connector so the cable will then be YS to Inon rather than YS to YS plugs. It sounds complicated, it is not and much less so that trying to hook up electrical cables for the few strobes out there that sync that way or which have both capabilities.

 

[tarponchik]

I am using the most primitive underwater slave flash I could find, the Intova ISS2000. When it dies (this is my 2nd and one ISS2000 already died) I will replace it with something like this or this.

 

[rmorgan]

Really, one flash will not be very satisfying other than for macro (which you won’t have, you say) or animal “portraits’ within, say, a meter of your camera. You have a great camera, and might be able to find a pair of used strobes, perhaps on waterpixels.net or on Scubaboard, which would let you move forward with less frustration than trying to manage just one. A decent guide to strobes is at Underwater Strobes

 

[tarponchik]

Really, one flash will not be very satisfying other than for macro (which you won’t have, you say) or animal “portraits’ within, say, a meter of your camera. You have a great camera, and might be able to find a pair of used strobes, perhaps on waterpixels.net or on Scubaboard, which would let you move forward with less frustration than trying to manage just one. A decent guide to strobes is at Underwater Strobes

I am happy with one strobe because I do not want a heavy rig to limit my mobility. The only downside really is the shadow, but I can live with this.

 

[Nemrod]

Dual Inon S220 strobes on a Nauticam NA6400 (Sony APS-C) and Sony 16mm with WA converter behind a 4.33 inches dome:



Exposure f11, 1/125 shutter, sTTL strobe mode. Using the UWT board (TTL capable strobe trigger) to optically fire strobes rather than onboard pop up strobe. Faster recycle and longer battery life.