Advice on a strobe . . .

[timonier]

Sorry if this has been answered (maybe many times), but this is my first post and I'm having difficulty navigating Scubaboard's threads. I just got a housing for my Olympus C-770. Got the Olympus one (PT-022) and for less than half the best retail price by going to eBay -- brand new from 47th St. Photo. I want to get a strobe after numerous tries with various cameras and back scatter. What is the best option for this? I love land-based photography and have been a committed amateur for years, but our kids have now been certified and I want to record their dives. I've been looking at the Sealife SL960D. Any thoughts?

 

[alcina]

this should help you get started:
http://www.digitaldiver.net/strobes.php

I like Inon & Ikelite. Sea & Sea also has good reviews.

 

[havnmonkey]

Sl960d is a great sturdy flash, very powerful for the price. It is a little finicky with sensing the flash through the fiber optic cable if you are taping it onto the housing, which you will have to do unless you can fabricate yor own mount. It would take you a couple of dives with different levels of ambient light to get the sensor positioned right- in Coz there was so much light at eighty feet I had to hold my hand over the sensor to shadow it.

I would also recommend the diffuser because it does have a hotspot.

I'm still going to use mine as a slave to my Ds-50 (for background lighting)

 

[Peter Guy]

I have the 960d that I've used with my Minolta Xg and now my Canon S80. I put together a Velcro "mount" for the Minolta because the tape just didn't work well -- and I also cut the optic cable on the bias so that I was sure light would get into the cable. It seems to work fine for pictures from 24 - 50 inches -- I prefer the internal flash (diffused) for close in.

I've just used it once with the S80 and took off the cable and just let it sync through the port -- but that was a night dive so ambient light (not that we have any in Puget Sound anyway) wasn't an issue.

The biggest complaint I have about my 960d is the very SLOOOOWWWW recharge time -- much slower than the specs say. Perhaps I just need to use higher powered batteries (I've used NiMH and Alkalines both with just about the same effect).

I'd like to modify mine to make the arm a few inches longer and I seem to remember that someone had posted a DIY fix for a similar strobe. If any of you know how to make it longer, I'd appreciate the tip.

 

[timonier]

Thanks all -- very much. I can see why it was a good idea to join ScubaBoard.

 

[herman]

...............................
I'd like to modify mine to make the arm a few inches longer and I seem to remember that someone had posted a DIY fix for a similar strobe. If any of you know how to make it longer, I'd appreciate the tip.

What you are looking for are some loc-link sections. The flexable strobe arm will simply pop apart if you give it enough of a bend. To reassemble it you just push it back together. You can buy 2 ft of 3/4 line for around $8 and use as little of it as 1 joint or the entire 2 ft. I have bought it from this web site. They did a good job and were quick. http://www.modularhose.com/Merchant5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=M&Category_Code=6

 

[ManTeeRay]

I was actually going to post almost the same question. I have been looking into a strobe for my Olympus C-7070 with a PT-027 housing. Any more input? Does anyone know much about Sea and Sea and/or Epoque as well as Sea Life?

How is the synchronization of the SL960D with the camera? The first time I used an underwater camera it was a friend's DC310 with 960D (I think) strobe. It seemed to have a bit of a delay between the flash and the camera that was hard to get used to especially at night. Sea and Sea really seems to emphasize s "Built in pre-flash sensor assures that the strobe will fire when the camera does and not before as in some competitors models." Is that what I was experiencing?

 

[dbh]

IMHO, you should not skimp on your strobes. They should last for years. If you get a good strobe, it should be compatible with new systems as you upgrade. I have owned Ikelite, Sea & Sea and now use Inon.

If you cannot afford one of these right now....save! Don't settle for an Epoch or Sunflash, it will cost you more in the long run and you will be frustrated.

HTH,
Dave

 

[ManTeeRay]

Dave, you obviously like Inon better if that is what you have gone to but, having used them, would you recommend Sea & Sea or Ikelite and what do you think of the slightly less expensive Inon models such as the D-2000 versus Sea & Sea or Ikelite?

 

[dbh]

Dave, you obviously like Inon better if that is what you have gone to but, having used them, would you recommend Sea & Sea or Ikelite and what do you think of the slightly less expensive Inon models such as the D-2000 versus Sea & Sea or Ikelite?

They are all very good strobes and I would not hesitate to buy any of the 3. The 2000 series Inon's are great strobes. I know of several people using them that are quite happy. The Sea & Sea YS90-DX is also a nice strobe. Do not get one of the Auto's. If you go the Ikelite route, you will want to get the manual controller to give you more control over your strobe.

In these tough travel times, I chose Inon because of their size & weight with no loss of power (IMHO).

HTH,
Dave