DS125's....a few questions

[chippy]

I just got my 125's and have a couple of simple questions:-

1) using my Oly 5050, and setting (on camera) the flash mode to "slave", should the manual controller be set as B & C or B & D?

2) I bought my strobe from the good old U.S. - far, far cheaper than UK prices, which means I therefore have two 6 hour chargers with U.S. socket connections. Is it possible to buy a U.S to UK travel adaptor - I presume you must be able too? If so would the UK 240 voltage system fry the charger, and worst still damage the battery?

I budgeted for 1 1/2 hour smart charger from the UK anyway, but as I don't really need the charging speed it seems a bit of a waste to buy one if there's no real need.

3) lastly, i was amazed at how much heavier they are compared to my DS50...presumably they'll be fairly neutrally bouyant once in the water?

Paul

 

[ssra30]

1) I can't remember the combination right now but you should have the sensor set to no preflash, check in the manaul to see if it is B/C or B/D, sorry I seems to have misplaced my manual for now. The setting that came from the factory is for preflash.

2) I only have the Smart Charger which will accept both 120v and 240v. Not sure about the regular charger from Ikelite but it should say on the charger what voltage it will accept. You should be able to get a travel adapter for various sockets readily.
I highly recommend the smart charger because say if you are on a live aboard and do 3 day dives, 1 night dive, it would be nice after 2 dives to be able to recharge quickly. That way, you will also have enough power left to use the modeling ight as your primary source for night dive as well. If you are planning on doing 2 dives a day or no more than 3 dives per day then it might not be as important as the strobe, especially with no preflash should last you 2-3 dives easily (depending on how many pictures you take, of course).

3) The DS 125 is slightly negative bouyant underwater.

 

[ike]

Switch settings are shown on following URL:

http://www.ikelite.com/web_pages/mansenswitch.html

"C" is for DS-125 strobe. Believe you want "A" for the 5050 camera because it does not have a preflash in the slave mode you are planning to use. The smart charger is definitely recommended............

 

[ReyeR]

Looks like you hit the jackpot, considering what your signature used to be!
I'm not sure which style of the 6hr charger you've got (wall mounted or cord style) but either are fairly easy to adapt. The first is just an adapter plug, the other uses a standard cord you'll find at a computer store. Check the label - if the INPUT voltage says 110 - 240 (or 250) you'll be fine. Some of the older ones you have to manually flick the switch in front. All my Ike chargers are multi-voltage.
The fast-charger is highly recommended. Not only is it a boon when doing multi-dives on a trip but it also re-conditions the battery for optimum charge and life extension. You can also leave it plugged in without damaging the battery and it will 'trickle' charge when the charging is complete. For dual strobes (dual batteries) I would say it is a must. I normally top it up after 2 dives and it takes no more than 20-40 mins per battery.
BTW who did you buy the kits from in the US?

 

[chippy]

Thanks for the replys everyone.

Reye, the chargers I have are the wall socket type, with the pins moulded into the charger itself, as opposed to a separate lead that plugs in to the wall scoket and charger. Both of them have the little voltage switch, but only 110v/220v. I think i'll have to get a smart charger, but as you say, it'll be worth it in the long run.

I'm still waiting for the FE Tray, top handle, one set of ULCS arms, clamps, mounts, top handle and lens caddies (and with the current UK postal strike it could be a while before they arrive, as the post to Jersey comes via London), so it's not quite finished off just yet. I'm going to chop up and drill one of the Ike strobe arms to make the slave mounts.

I got the strobes from BHphoto in NY. They are vastly cheaper $650 against the UK prices of GBP700, and with the good exchange rates on Tuesday when the USD/GBP rate topped out, it equated to a saving of GBP312 (USD522) per strobe!!! I ordered them Tuesday and they arrived Friday by courier.

I managed to sell off my DS50 on Ebay for GBP260 (USD435), so all in all upgrading to 125's turned out to fairly cheap for me.

Paul