Flash recommendations

[glashoppah]

So after many years of faithful service I've decided to retire my Canon point and shoot and its seemingly indestructible housing. I've always been a Canon guy, but the Olympus TG-6 has caught my eye. I've ordered one, along with the housing (the '59), but now I need a flash and am looking for recommendations. I probably would have gone with the path of least resistance (Olympus external flash, cable, etc.) but apparently there's no guarantee that I can get what I want delivered in the next two weeks (need to have it all in hand before the 3rd of September). So now I'm stuck with a bewildering array of devices and apparent capability. My criteria:

1. Durability. I hate stuff that breaks.
2. Compact - I don't want to be That Guy. If I wanted to be That Guy, I'd buy a big SLR and housing and arms and etc.
3. Offers all TTL features. I don't want to monkey endlessly with settings.
4. Available - need to be able to order and have all the parts in hand within two weeks.

Recommendations?

Thanks in advance,

H.

 

[outofofficebrb]

So after many years of faithful service I've decided to retire my Canon point and shoot and its seemingly indestructible housing. I've always been a Canon guy, but the Olympus TG-6 has caught my eye. I've ordered one, along with the housing (the '59), but now I need a flash and am looking for recommendations. I probably would have gone with the path of least resistance (Olympus external flash, cable, etc.) but apparently there's no guarantee that I can get what I want delivered in the next two weeks (need to have it all in hand before the 3rd of September). So now I'm stuck with a bewildering array of devices and apparent capability. My criteria:

1. Durability. I hate stuff that breaks.
2. Compact - I don't want to be That Guy. If I wanted to be That Guy, I'd buy a big SLR and housing and arms and etc.
3. Offers all TTL features. I don't want to monkey endlessly with settings.
4. Available - need to be able to order and have all the parts in hand within two weeks.

Recommendations?

Thanks in advance,

H.

Check out the Inon S2000. Small, reliable, has TTL and manual. I don't like their controls and knobs as much as I like the Sea & Sea ones, especially underwater. It is a bit more cumbersome looking and to handle. You can also look at the Sea and Sea YS-03 (TTL, but no manual), or the YS-01 (same guide number/output as YS-03, but with manual as well as TTL). Bluewater Photo or Backscatter can get it to you before then.

 

[FezUSA]

I have the TG-4 with the S&S YS-03 package (tray, flex arm & strobe). Mostly happy with the setup, but I've noticed that after 3 years, the arm is getting very stiff and more difficult to position where I want (and/or I'm getting more picky about where the strobe head position), and I've started to have too many instances of non-firing. And yes the squeak of the arm moving is annoying, to me and the marine life!! I was going to get a Z330 as I also plan to upgrade my camera set up next year, however I've decided that as this rig will go to my art student daughter, I'd rather get a 2 x Inon S-2000 kit with new arms/ball joints. Then a member on here posted their TG-5 kit for sale and I was able to get the lights/arms I wanted. The S-2000 is much more compact that the bigger units, and it is my understanding that with the TG series cameras, more than capable enough of providing the needed light output, especially when there's 2 of them, and still quite compact. Other than being less powerful than the bigger units, some do not like the controls, but this is mainly when wearing gloves or big hands I think. The bigger units do have easier controls, but you sacrifice size and weight.

There's some good tutorials on how to set up the TG with the Inon's in STTL mode to get good results, as well as plenty of other information on how to use the manual settings too.

 

[outofofficebrb]

Other than being less powerful than the bigger units, some do not like the controls, but this is mainly when wearing gloves or big hands I think. The bigger units do have easier controls, but you sacrifice size and weight..

It is a relatively large purchase for many. If you happen to live close to one of the photo stores, or are able to ship both to you and return the one that you don't use/get wet/like (if it is an option to you), I would definitely touch/look at these if you can. I do warm water diving almost exclusively now (life is too short for cold water!) and I never wear gloves yet still found the controls and markings on the Inon S2000 cumbersome/more difficult to handle and view...I don't have old eyes, either! (20/20) As mentioned by @FezUSA, it is a sacrifice for the size, so you will have to look at what's more important to you. Fussing with the controls, being on the wrong setting than the one you thought you were on, or struggling to see the different markings is annoying, but I suppose that matters more if you are in manual mode than when you are on TTL since you tend to just leave it in TTL mode once set.

Honestly, I don't think you can "go wrong" with any of those strobes, it is a matter of preference/priority, though I would strongly urge you to get something with manual control (S2000 or the YS-01). While you may not feel like you want to "monkey endlessly with settings" right now, it is really limiting in the long run to not be able to have manual strobe control, particularly when you decide you want to set your aperture or shutter speed to a particular setting on your Olympus TG series and worse yet if you ever get a camera that has full manual capabilities where you can control both of those on the camera independently of another. You won't have to buy again.

 

[glashoppah]

OK - great info so far, really appreciate it. With these two manufacturers' devices (Sea & Sea and Inon), how are the strobes coupled to the TS-06 in the housing? Also, I'd love to avoid a tray/handle, since the housing has a mount point on it, I'd prefer to mount the flash on a short arm on the camera's mount point. How is that accomplished? Seems like every manufacturer uses a different mounting strategy.

 

[Barmaglot]

Strobes are connected to the housing by a fiber optic cable, and triggered by the camera's built-in flash.

You can put a ball adapter in the cold shoe, and then use butterfly clamps and arms to distance the strobe from the lens, but a handle is generally much more convenient to hold than the bare housing.

 

[outofofficebrb]

OK - great info so far, really appreciate it. With these two manufacturers' devices (Sea & Sea and Inon), how are the strobes coupled to the TS-06 in the housing? Also, I'd love to avoid a tray/handle, since the housing has a mount point on it, I'd prefer to mount the flash on a short arm on the camera's mount point. How is that accomplished? Seems like every manufacturer uses a different mounting strategy.

Most people will mount it on a tray and arm set. If you are only using one strobe, you can just do a tray with 1 handle/arm as shown below. I suppose you could mount it to the cold shoe at the top of the housing, but it is not ideal because what will end up happening is that you will get backscatter, the little particles in the photos because they are being lit from the same angle that you are taking your photo from. Having it on an arm as shown will give you more flexibility and will minimize and possibly eliminate backscatter depending on how you position it. Also, I find that having it like shown will also make it easier to stabilize your camera for photos and videos.

 

[glashoppah]

Thank you all for all your help.

OK, after sitting on Amazon and other sites for half the night last night, I like the idea of the YS-01, especially since it looks like that's the exact device Olympus is rebranding as their own for use with the TG-6. My problem now is, what about the rest of it? In the photo in the post above this one, I like the tray, handle, and then the bendy part - which ones are the best ones? How do I select a cable? The cables say stuff like "Inon to Sea & Sea", but nobody mentions what sort of little port the Olympus housing has - is it compatible with the Inon plug or a Sea & Sea plug, etc?

 

[VE7DAC]

I got a strobe package from Backscatter that attaches perfectly to my TG-5 case. It was cheaper to get the package than just the strobe and cable. I haven't actually dived it yet so was hesitant to comment, but I can confirm that that cable does work with the PT-058 housing.

 

[VE7DAC]

I should clarify, the arm doesn't connect to the housing, but the cable does. I 3d printed a camera tray to attach the arm to.