G9 and DS-125 fires way hot

[El Cid]

I've been playing with the ttl setup on the G9 and the DS-125 and in TTL mode, it seems like the flash is firing way too hot. I set the white balance at arm length when I get in the area where the pictures will be, then when I get in on a close subject, set the camera and focus, then when I take the shot, the picture is mostly whited out. When I turn the strobe down to 1/8 instead of ttl, it seems to be more well adjusted. Otherwise when I do ttl mode, I set the camera to way underexpose (short shutter time with small aperature) and the pictures come out with better color. I tried to adjust the flash settings in the menu, but they appear to be grayed out when in ttl mode. I'll admit to being a mental midget with photography, but am willing to learn. Any help someone can offer would be appreciated.

 

[AndyT]

Which mode do you have the camera set to - Manual, shutter / aperture priority or auto?

 

[El Cid]

I played with it in all of those modes. Had the best luck with auto, but even in shutter, aperature , and manual modes it seemed to have the same effect. It was a dive at a popular bridge and it was either over exposed when I was out in the open, or underexposed when under the bridge at a distance of 4 feet or so. I got good color when under the bridge and about 1.5 ft from my subject with the strobes manual 1/8 setting.

 

[oly5050user]

I've been playing with the ttl setup on the G9 and the DS-125 and in TTL mode, it seems like the flash is firing way too hot. I set the white balance at arm length when I get in the area where the pictures will be, then when I get in on a close subject, set the camera and focus, then when I take the shot, the picture is mostly whited out. When I turn the strobe down to 1/8 instead of ttl, it seems to be more well adjusted. Otherwise when I do ttl mode, I set the camera to way underexpose (short shutter time with small aperature) and the pictures come out with better color. I tried to adjust the flash settings in the menu, but they appear to be grayed out when in ttl mode. I'll admit to being a mental midget with photography, but am willing to learn. Any help someone can offer would be appreciated.

What housing are you using? Is it a ikelite with the circuitry /hot shoe/sync cable to support ttl?
If not you have to use a ike controler to set power on strobe.With controller you have strobe on ttl and decrease power using controller.Really should be using a ikelite housing to access all features on camera.Leave white balance on auto when using strobe,you screw it up if you manually adjust it and then use strobe ..

 

[El Cid]

I'll try auto WB, but I'm using the Ikelite housing, with full ttl, hot shoe on up to the strobe. I just can't get to the flash settings in the menu when I use ttl mode on the strobe.

 

[Ikelite Staff]

Sorry to hear of your problem with the G-9 housing. The wires inside of the TTL circuitry box may be pinched, causing the malfunction. You may try slightly loosening the two screws holding the black box (1/4 to 1/2 turn) to relieve pressure on those wires. (Note that there is no TTL with the G9 if the camera is set in manual mode).

If that doesn't work, please return the housing along with a brief note and contact info to us for immediate repair.
Sorry again for the trouble!

Jean / ikelite@ikelite.com

 

[waynel]

I intially got very excited about the features of TTL and lusted for it, but I'm not so sure now. I'm using G9, Ike housing, YS-90 with a sync cord and I often have to change my strobe output. In fact, I bracket both my strobe strength and my ASA. I just got into underwater photography a year ago (after decades on land). The first thing I noticed underwater is that your photography enviroment is constantly changing as you move through different depths, water clarity, shadows coming from above you, to the side, etc. With all these changes I just don't how reliable TTL can be. Could be I still have a lot to learn but I am always adjusting my strobe, and it doesn't always fall in step with my camera settings.

I have heard other TTL "owners" complain about the strobe being a little hot at times. If you have to manually adjust your strobe anyway doesn't that just defeat the whole purpose of getting TTL?

 

[ScubaSteve]

Sorry to hear of your problem with the G-9 housing. The wires inside of the TTL circuitry box may be pinched, causing the malfunction. You may try slightly loosening the two screws holding the black box (1/4 to 1/2 turn) to relieve pressure on those wires. (Note that there is no TTL with the G9 if the camera is set in manual mode).

If that doesn't work, please return the housing along with a brief note and contact info to us for immediate repair.
Sorry again for the trouble!

Jean / ikelite@ikelite.com

My understanding of TTL is that it takes the "environment" readings from the camera, powers the strobe accordingly and quenches the strobe at the appropriate time. As you can tell from any pictures that I take, I am very much the amateur photographer. But I do use a Nikon Coolpix P5000 with Ike housing and Ike DS-125 strobe (TTL controlled). As the Ikelite person said, it is possible that there is a fault in the unit. I'll admit that there have been pictures where I looked at how bright it was and went "WHAT??" but that has not been the norm. There have been others where I could not believe the strobe did not fire. Again, I am not a photographer so my judgement may not count for much, but in my opinion the TTL has worked very well for me with the odd exception where it could have actually been something I did. IMHO the TTL (properly functioning that is) feature makes photography possible for those who would not be comfortable controlling the camera and the strobe all the time. It is like the POINT AND SHOOT camera: You lose some function and accuracy for convenience.

To the OP, I personally would take Jean at Ikelite up on this offer to repair of the unit.

 

[El Cid]

Jean, thanks for the help, but being an amature I'll give it the old college try first. The most likely problem is a U-S-E-R error.

I did a night dive in Cabo last week and the pictures turned out much better, and the next day the pictures were still improving. The first try out dive, I did everything in manual mode, so ttl would just fire full strength I guess. Its interesting that if you use manual mode you lose the strobe adjustment on the camera. I guess I could leave it in Tv Av or Auto mode but it's nice to set things manually to get the effects you're looking for. Hopefully I can head to the bridge again this weekend and check things out again.

 

[leesea]

First off use Manual as camera setting! Those other setting use defaults which screw up underwater exposures. No need to mess with ISO setting pick one like 200 and stick with it. Do not use Auto ISO.
In a lengthy pool session, change the strobe output incrementally by the controls on the strobe ONLY. Remember to turn power way down for macro. Adjusting strobe positon often is easiest solution. Inverse square law applies to light underwater.
Have you tried a simple diffuser on the strobe head? Translucent plastic bottle bottoms work.
goto Digital Diver.net and read up on your system there.