Fisheye FIX for the S90

[bsummers]

Thats a lot of magnification with all three lenses down . How much did you zoom in? I imagine it is very difficult to get good focus with the very narrow zoom range.

Here is a link to a thread in Wet Pixel that might be of help to you.
Inon UCL-165 vs. UCL-330 Macro close lens. - Wetpixel :: Underwater Photography Forums

I have accepted that the stacked UCL165Ads as being very challenging but not impossible.

Have you already bought the flip lens? If so then you might be the first one on this thread that would be able to make a hand-on report.

Sorry Ozzieworld , I do not remember how far I zoomed in when taking those pictures with the flip lenses.
Yes, getting things in focus was definitely tricky as one has to find that optimal working distance. An inch or two too far forward or backwards and the camera would not focus. I think it's just a matter of learning where that working distance is and you can get used to it ( I hope!)
I don't have the flip lens yet. As a matter of fact, I have nothing but the S90. I am trying to determine all the things I want for the camera first before committing to anything so I don't end up with redundant pieces (don't have the $ to spare!). So far, I have on my list:
Fisheye fix housing for the S90
FIX UWL-04
FIX single piece 52mm lens mount
Fix flip macro lenses (3 piece)

Next step: which strobe, tray and arms?

 

[ozziworld]

Several people have the FIX S90 set-up with the UWL-04 and the 52mm single-piece adapter. What would be interesting would be what they set-up for Macro.

I stuck with the INON because of the circumstances of the used lenses becoming available at the right time so I never got around to really looking at other lenses. I briefly considered the flip lenses but there was not enough info.

So far, I think I can recommend a single UCL165 as it has performed as expected for me. In your case I guess you would need a 52/67 adapter.

Maybe others will ad their inputs.

By the way, I ended up with a single INON S2000 strobe. Will be looking at getting another one as I am quite happy with its size and performance. I still have it on a basic flex arm and 10Bar tray which I will upgrade when I add the other strobe. The ULCS ones seem to be rated quite well.

 

[bsummers]

I'm thinking of getting the Sea & Sea Ys110a strobe for my set up. One or two? I know everyone says 2 is better but can I get away with just one and still shoot good wide angle shots using the FIX UWL-04?

Alternatively, I already have a Sea and Sea YS-27DX. Does anyone think it would be workable to have a YS110a on one arm in TTL and a YS-27DX on the other arm (which only has manual controls and is not as powerful as the YS110a)?
Would that set up be too difficult to work? Would I be better with just one ys110a? ( Yes, yes I know -two ys110a would be best. But don't know if I can invest in that right now)

 

[Nemrod]

I'm thinking of getting the Sea & Sea Ys110a strobe for my set up. One or two? I know everyone says 2 is better but can I get away with just one and still shoot good wide angle shots using the FIX UWL-04?

The answer is really no, you cannot cover a lens that is a 150 plus degree FOV with a strobe that covers about 90 to 100 degrees. You can do close focus wide angle where you have a subject that you highlight with the strobe and let ambient light do the rest of the scene. A single strobe aimed into the center of a photo will be obvious and often appears as vignetting or light fall off from the lens, it can work for you sometimes, most of the time it just looks like you had one strobe and needed two.

N

 

[bsummers]

Thanks Nemrod. So I really do need 2 strobes to get the best out of the UWL-04. Any idea whether using 2 different strobes ( the YS110a and the YS 27DX) will be a problem? My concern is that one half of the photo will be more brightly lit that the other.
Sorry Nemrod, I don't remember which strobes you have- but when you use your 2 strobes to take wide angle shots, do you think that each strobe is pretty close to doing a full dump to light up your subject?
I am worried that the YS27DX will not be powerful enough to keep up. The guide number for the YS 110a is 22. The guide number for the YS27DX is 20. Doesn't sound like that much of a difference but I have been told that the YS27DX is nowhere as powerful as the YS110a - not sure why.
When you shoot wide angle, do you use manual power adjustments on your strobes or TTL?
I think I recall there was someone on this thread who had an Inon D2000 on one arm and a S2000 in the other arm. I wonder if that might be a similar set up to what I am proposing ( Ys110a on one arm, Ys27DX on the other)?

 

[Nemrod]

You can indeed mix and match Inon strobes, it is even covered in the Inon strobe catalog pdf. It is used to create shadow effects etc. As to the YS, I would assume you can, don't know for sure.

No, shooting up close, the D2000 strobes are not at full power even with the Fisheye UWL-04. Once strobe to subject distance gets much beyond four feet almost all strobes go full power I would think and we are mostly dealing with ambient light.

N

 

[bsummers]

So Nemrod, I am assuming you shoot with 2 Inon D2000 Strobes? Do you shoot with both strobes in s-TTL or manual?
I read that TTL doesn't work so well with wide angle photography- better for macro. Since you are the wide angle guy, I was wondering what you do?

Does anyone shoot with one strobe in TTL and the other in manual? How does that work?

 

[Nemrod]

So Nemrod, I am assuming you shoot with 2 Inon D2000 Strobes? Do you shoot with both strobes in s-TTL or manual?
I read that TTL doesn't work so well with wide angle photography- better for macro. Since you are the wide angle guy, I was wondering what you do?

Does anyone shoot with one strobe in TTL and the other in manual? How does that work?

Actually, neither, I much prefer the EA (External Auto) mode which the D2000 and Z240 have and the S2000 does not have. I shift to the sTTL for what little macro I can force myself into doing. I rarely use Manual on the D2000 even if I am in Manual exposure mode on the S90.

The D2000 and Z240 have the following shooting modes:

1. sTTL (Low and Normal) - bootstraps camera flash
2. Auto - Uses built in exposure profile and "Auto" sensor in strobe head to control strobe exposure
3. Manual - You set the f stop to match the camera f stop or otherwise as you desire
4. Full - Full dump of capacitor

With Inon strobes you can play around and use either sTTL in the master and Auto in the second strobe to create shadow effects or even combine Manual in one and sTTL in the Master. This can vary depending upon how you run the optical cords:

Camera ----> Master -------> Second strobe, loop sync cables from camera to strobe 1 and then from strobe 1 to strobe 2

or;

Camera ----------> Both strobes, one in sTTL, the other in EA, each strobe is cabled directly to the camera strobe

Some of the above set ups are of dubious value and I have only played around with it a little bit so if you want to please feel free to have at it but don't fuss at me if the results are not great.

N

 

[floridafish]

bsummers,
I have an Inon S-2000 which I use in sTTL and an S&S YS-27 which only has manual mode. Generally, I start out with the YS-27 at about 3/4 power and adjust as necessary. Very wide angle, I go to full power. Both strobes are connected via their own fibre optic cable to my FIX housing. Two strobes do provide a more balanced wide angle shot, but of course, the 2nd strobe is just one more thing to adjust when taking a picture!

FF

 

[franktai]

To all contributors, great thread - this must be the most exhaustive knowledge base anywhere. Will help us when we figure out how to use the WA lens on the G11 we ordered via BackScatter over Xmas this year in Palau!

Anyhow to your stacked questions, I have only stacked a UCL165 + UCL330 and have found it to have razor thin DOF - but its there! What I did was program one of C1/C2 dial/modes on the camera to the correct manual focus amount and switch the camera to that mode whenever I pull out the combo then underwater you physically move the camera forward/backward to focus then snap. I would imagine you would need to do the same thing for your stacked UCL165s - results can be really amazing if you pull it off but it is difficult.

See attached, nudi from Anilao, Philippines with double stacked UCLs and no crop... iso200 (oops, shoulda been iso80), 1/500s @ F8 - it is a full 4000x3000 pixel, 12Mb file that has been printed & framed in our house

It is so difficult using two UCL165AD Macro Lenses on my FIX S90. Firstly it vignettes terribly and have to zoom in to about 90mm. Then there is the resulting narrow focus range and minimum depth of field.

Is there anyone that uses two UCL165s stacked ?. I have seen some images in the INON website with very small critters and a lot of magnification.

Am quite satisfied with a single UCL165AD. It provides a fair amount of magnification and gives me a little more distance to the subject so I don't bump into them with slight surge. I do need to zoom (35mm) in a little to avoid vignetting but usually shoot at 90mm for maximum magnification. I like the way it performs and handles.

The fisheye with the flip lenses? Don't think I have seen any posts with someone that has that set-up.