DS161 strobes not syncing with camera

[bdavey]

I have just got an Ikelite case for my Fuji S5 Pro (Nikon D200 body with Fuji sensor) with dual DS161 strobes. I've set the strobes to TTL, set the housing strobe switch to 161 & given the camera the initial settings of Manual, F8 & 1/60 as recommended by Ikelite, but the strobes are firing too quickly to the point that there is no light in the image at all. I've turned off the slave strobe with the same result, I've changed the dual sync cord for the single with the same result but here's the weird thing. If I have both strobes connected & turned on, then turn off the primary strobe & take a photo the slave fires perfectly. I then have to turn on the primary again, then off to take another photo. I've changed the sync cord around but makes no difference.

Is there something I'm missing or do I have a problem?

Thanks.

 

[bdavey]

It's a good job I'm going for an eye test next week. Had it been sooner then maybe I would have realised that the strobes where set to Full not TTL. Off to play with it in the river.

Thanks

 

[emptech]

Funny, having the same problem. I'm in Kona right now, took a look and on my canon 30d, my ds160 was set on full and the ds125 on ttl. In my case, don't think it will solve my problem, but was worth a look.
Still looking for a solution.

Jim

 

[Ikelite Staff]

If your strobes are set on Full with the circuitry set on TTL, then the strobe will emit a full power dump on the camera's pre-flash. The main flash will then occur to soon after for the strobe to recycle and emit another flash during your photo.

We recommend leaving your strobe in TTL and using the manual power settings on the back of the housing. If you really want to use the manual power settings on the strobes, then you must have the circuitry in the housing set to the manual exposure mode. This will tell the camera not to give the pre-flash signal.

Regards,
Jean / Ikelite
IKELITE Underwater Systems

 

[emptech]

Jean:
My problem solved, called Canon on the phone, they told me not to use aperture preferred for an unexplained reason. I'm now using ttl on the strobes with the cam set to manual. Using a shutter speed of 1/125 - 1/200 second to get the background in while the strobes expose the subject. Apparently some issue with aperture preferred that the support person said he was unable to explain to me. Came home with good photos - Thanks - Jim