Ikelite Questions

[jmat1980]

OK,
I recently bought an underwater camera housing and substrobe system from Ebay(ikelite aquashot 3 w/substrobe).


Will I even need to use the substrobe if im only going down no further than 40ft?

The housing came with a cover for the cameras flash and another piece that goes over the lens. I assume you cover the flash when using the substrobe, but if you are not using it do I still use the part that goes over the lens??

I obviously do not know much about photography let alone underwater photography so please help!!! I just want to get decent pictures while on my vacation...

Thanx in advance
jmat

 

[jmat1980]

Sorry, tried to edit above
Still have the same question above

 

[devolution365]

You may want to post the answer to your question incase someone else with the same problem searches for a solution and comes up with your post.

 

[MarkH]

OK,
I recently bought an underwater camera housing and substrobe system from Ebay(ikelite aquashot 3 w/substrobe).


Will I even need to use the substrobe if im only going down no further than 40ft?

The housing came with a cover for the cameras flash and another piece that goes over the lens. I assume you cover the flash when using the substrobe, but if you are not using it do I still use the part that goes over the lens??

I obviously do not know much about photography let alone underwater photography so please help!!! I just want to get decent pictures while on my vacation...

Thanx in advance
jmat

That was my first camera too (but mine only had the internal strobe). The thing that goes over the lens is the close-up kit. Without it, the closest you can get to the subject is 3 feet. I think the close-up kit lets you get to within about a foot (not sure exactly). I never had the close-up kit, but I'm pretty sure that if you have it on, then you're stuck taking pictures close-up. -Everything far away will be blurry. The thing that comes with it that goes over the internal flash should be a diffuser to dim the "blast" coming from the internal strobe (for when you're close-up). When you're using the external strobe, the internal strobe should be covered (I think there is another plastic part for that, maybe that's what you have). If you are taking pictures of things far away (big shark, divers in distance, basically anything farther than 5-6 feet away), don't bother using the strobe. You will just get backscatter. For things close-up, definitely use the strobe. Alot of colour is lost even 40 feet deep.

 

[HowardE]

Another reason that you'll want the substrobe with you is that it will help the bouyancy of the camera itself. It will make the camera less bouyant (probably) since there is air in the housing, small cameras have a tendency to be positive. The strobe will probably balance out the rig a little bit keeping it more neutral.

The info from swankenstein is good... you want the strobe with.

 

[jlyle]

add to the above, using the strobe will minimize back-scatter. There's a deflector for the camera's flash when using the strobe. You'll find lots of information on ikelite's web site.

I used every Aquashot system, from the first one using one-use cameras up to the Auto-35. Great film systems. I've now gone over to the darkside and shoot digital, but I got great results with my trusty Aquashots.

 

[MarkH]

Another reason that you'll want the substrobe with you is that it will help the bouyancy of the camera itself. It will make the camera less bouyant (probably) since there is air in the housing, small cameras have a tendency to be positive. The strobe will probably balance out the rig a little bit keeping it more neutral.

That's a good point. Mine was very bouyant. I could feel it tugging on my wrist (lanyard) trying to float up.

 

[discrepancy]

My Ikelite housing came with two white plastic covers for the internal flash. They look the same and both spring-mount around the lens barrel.

One is a diffuser. It is translucent, and its function is to diffuse the light from the built-in flash to reduce harsh shadows, especially for close ups.

The other white cover is a deflector. It looks the same as the diffuser, but it's completely opaque. According to the instruction book, you attach it, "when using the DS Sensor or EV-Controller (in slave mode) with a DS Substrobe."

The way to tell the two covers apart is the deflector has a decal on it (mine's got a round black sticker with a white octopus in the middle.