Canon A95 and external strobe compatibility question

[dwimor]

Hello everyone,

I'm new to scubaboard as well as underwater photography but I have been diving for a few years. I currently have a 35mm sealife (piece of junk) which I purchased when I got certified. I am looking to purchase a new A95 and would like to know if my existing external sealife strobe will fit the WP-DC50 housing for this camera? As mentioned, I'm new to UW photography and I'm not sure if the strobe mounting screw and housings are all pretty much standard or not.

I believe that the flash I have is the SL960 External Flash.

Thanks for all your help.

Jason

 

[edwinh]

It will not fit the Canon housing directly. You'll need to mount the housing to a strobe mount and get a fiber optic cable to slave-fire your strobe from your build in flash. Not too sure if your current strobe can be slave-fired that way though.

 

[TLangston]

Is a strobe necessary? or is it just for those ambitious photographers who want professional pictures?
I am also going to be getting the A-95 with the WP-DC50.
Jason, where are you egtting the best deal?

Teri

 

[dbh]

Is a strobe necessary? or is it just for those ambitious photographers who want professional pictures?
I am also going to be getting the A-95 with the WP-DC50.
Jason, where are you egtting the best deal?

Teri

It is necessary if:
1. You want to light up something further that 12" - 18" away
2. You want to cut down on backscatter (internal flash shots tend to intensify backscatter).
3. You want to take your photography to the next level.


Dave

 

[Scuba65]

dwimor: if you're interested at some point i have an Inon D180's for sale...let me know.

 

[liberato]

Is a strobe necessary? or is it just for those ambitious photographers who want professional pictures?

Like dbh said it all depends. You can take competent pictures without an external flash especially in clear water and in fact it is probably better to start off without one so that you spend more time on aesthetic considerations rather than fiddling with equipment. I have seen some divers so focused on their fragile expensive equipment that they don't seem to enjoy the diving itself as much.

The neat thing is that you will know when, if ever, it is time to upgrade. Even though you have an inexpensive camera and case you can do high level work with the easy addition of an external strobe. In the meantime you can to great show your friends work without. It is nice sometimes to just have a camera you can stuff in your pocket in case you find something interesting to shoot.

 

[LegoPacific]

Is a strobe necessary? or is it just for those ambitious photographers who want professional pictures?

That's kind of like asking if the $1600 Atomic titanium regulator is necessary. Sure it might be nice to have, but if all you're doing is simple, shallow dives, then the $200 Sherwood will breathe the same air.

I'm constantly amazed with the results from the inexpensive setups. Manual white balance and a bit of Photochopping can go a long way.

Here's a pic from yesterday's dive. Ambient light, manual white balance, 30' of murky green water.

 

[jakubson]

Is a strobe necessary? or is it just for those ambitious photographers who want professional pictures?
I am also going to be getting the A-95 with the WP-DC50.
Jason, where are you egtting the best deal?

Teri

As many people on the board will tell you, you do not need an external strobe to get good pictures some of the time. External strobe has two main benefits:

1. More light (obvious)
2. Less backscatter (not as obvious to a newcomer). Backscatter is light spots reflected back to the lens from particles in the water. It is worse when the flash is parallel to the lens.

Canon has a great UW tutorial on their japanese site:
http://web.canon.jp/Imaging/uwphoto/index-e.html
For some bizarre reason, they don't use the term backscatter - they call it "marine snow" but you can get the point.

As for price, I don't know who has the best. Earlier today I priced a A95 and WP-DC50 at Beach Camera (where I have had good luck) at $440 including shipping.

 

[Chad_Ordelheide]

Nice Shot Lego!!
I'm with him, I'm getting great shots without a strobe!! If you really need one, I've seen some articles on the D2000...I believe it was made by Inon. Anyway, check out my Gallery or Legos for shots taken without one!! I just went to Palau, the guy with a nice strobe was always trying to get it to work. It was large and bulky! When all was said and done...I had much better pictures! Anyway, have fun and if I were you, I would take a pile of pictures before you get one!! It's best to know you camera backward and forward. A strobe isn't going to make up for that!!

Chad

 

[dwimor]

Thanks to everyone who responded, you've all helped. I guess I'll go ahead and purchase the camera becasue its really the one that I want. If my existing stobe doesn't fit then I'll just unload it on ebay or something.
I'm sure that I'll have more questions for everyone in the future. Thanks again.

Jason