C4040 Strobe, what kind?

[My-way]

Hi all,

I have the need for a proper strobe rather than the camera flash.

However, I do not understand which one is the appropriate one. Ie. For example what is preflash and does my camera use a preflash? I have an Olympus C4040.

Also which is better, the Ikelite strobes or the Sea & Sea ones? Or is this a bit of a Chev v Ford question?

The reason that I ask is that there seems to be somewhat of a price difference with between the "digital" strobe and the ordinary strobes.

Thank for any guidance.

Cheers.

 

[clive francis]

the 4040 does have pre flash.

preflash is used by the camera for setting up for the photo (range etc. etc.)

the ike will follow the flash as near as exactly as you can get so you will get the benifit of the ttl

the sea and sea is manual and i guess at first you guess what setting to use, but as you get used to it and take more you should know what to set it to and it doesn't give you ttl.

other than that they are about the same

i have the 3040 (just got the 5050) and have the ike ds50, it is ok but could do with more power, so the ds125 is probably the best bet.

 

[ssra30]

People have had good result with both Ikelite and Sea and Sea YS90DX. Unfortunately there have never been a side by side comparison between the two (except for a comparison table that Ikelite provided on their website).
Briefly, the YS90DX only has manual control but is quite a bit cheaper than the Ikelite. The DS125 is TTL compatible (it works relatively well in many situations, however when it does not, it only has 4 manual steps-which may or may not be enough).
Personally I use the DS125 and like it very much but I never tried the Sea and Sea strobe though.
Basically if you don't mind manual control only, I would go with YS90DX since it is cheaper, if you want TTL, go with Ikelite.



My reason for buying Ikelite initially was that at the time I was boycotting a local Sea and Sea dealer so no Sea and Sea for me, luckily now I found a different Sea and Sea dealer that I would be happy to buy from if I need any more Sea and Sea stuff.

 

[Dee]

ssra30 has laid out the basic differences very well. I chose the S&S YS90DX for several reasons. I don't like TTL because I want to control my exposures so the loss of this was no big deal. The S&S covers 100º as does my wide angle lens so I can get by with using only one strobe. I've been using Sea & Sea equipment for years, trusted their products and valued their customer service the few times I did need it. I also liked the idea of the fiber optic cable. For one reason, it can't flood like sync cords can...been there. For another there is no aiming sensors to deal with. I've been extremely happy with my choice after almost 2 years.

 

[Ronsch]

Jumping in as someone who will have to make this very decision in a couple of months; the idea of a totally automatic system really appeals to me because I've never learned all the ins and outs of manual settings as I've always opted for automatic cameras. It seems to me that Digital is the perfect opportunity for anyone to quickly learn how to handle manual settings. If a shot doesn't come out, delete it, change the settings, and try again. No wasted rolls of film and frustration over shots that got away. I'm looking at this as a learning opportunity!

 

[Dee]

One of the coolest things about digital cameras is the ability to see your photo when you shoot it to see if you 'got it'. Granted the LCD monitor isn't big enough to make critical decisions about focus but you can definately see if it's too light/dark or the composition is off and take another one. Just ask the fishy to pose for aniother one! ut:

Even if you don't have a working knowledge yet of f/stops and shutter speeds, you'll learn it quickly just by example. If you start out using Aperture mode where you choose the aperture and the camera chooses the shutter speed, you'll learn from seeing what works well. After a bit, you'll soon learn to look around at the ambient light, the vizability, etc. and know that f/5.6 at 1/100 would be perfect for that shot because that's the settings that has worked so often. At that point you know you're ready to go to full manual mode. That's also the most rewarding because you were in total control of the exposure. On the other hand, you've got no one but yourself to blame when they are crap! That's when you delete stuff!

 

[Ronsch]

Does the YS90DX play well with the Ikelite housing?

 

[Ronsch]

Bump.

 

[Dee]

Ronsch once bubbled...
Does the YS90DX play well with the Ikelite housing?

To the best of my knowledge it does just fine.

 

[ssra30]

I have the Ikelite housing. The fiber optic that comes with YS90DX strobe should have no problem at all with the housing.
So yes, they should play well together