Looking for Strobe set recommendation

[SailingDiver]

Hello. I have not bought an underwater rig yet, and am looking for some help.

I think I am going to get an olympus SP-350 with the PT-030 housing.

I am having trouble picking a strobe though. what would the scubaboard community recommend?

I am looking for a baseplate/arm/strobe package with dimmable strobe. hopefully around $300. is that reasonable?

thanks

 

[dbh]

around $300. is that reasonable?

Not for anything that isn't going to cause you headaches and frustration (and lost time when you constantly send it in for repairs).

New, figure +/- $850. You might find something used for +/- $550.

I personally LOVE the Inon line of strobes.

HTH,
Dave

 

[Larry C]

Do yourself a favor, spend a little extra and get one of these
http://www.reefphoto.com/index.php?...id=237&zenid=c8d17d891766405081f8e6f27cb833ec

or an Inon D2000 in the basic model. (you can get the head only for about the same money as the Ikelite and rig up your own tray and arm if you don't want to shell out the cash, but the ball socket set up is really nice for an exta $100 or so.)

 

[havnmonkey]

Do yourself a favor, spend a little extra and get one of these
http://www.reefphoto.com/index.php?...id=237&zenid=c8d17d891766405081f8e6f27cb833ec

or an Inon D2000 in the basic model. (you can get the head only for about the same money as the Ikelite and rig up your own tray and arm if you don't want to shell out the cash, but the ball socket set up is really nice for an exta $100 or so.)

I agree, proud owner. It is a great strobe. Upgrade the arm to ball arm if possible. Also check out for used ones too.

 

[SailingDiver]

The Olympus 350 and housing also support TTL, but it's a pricey option.

is it worth the extra 200-300 dollars to get it to comunicate with the strobe?

Will TTL help a newer underwater photographer, or hinder?

thanks for the recommendations so far

 

[havnmonkey]

I use TTL w/ my Canon and it means my flash will fire every time and I can adjust the power through the camera; If NOT buying the manual controller is enough savings to buy the TTL ready housing and camera- go for it.

You must remember:

-w/ a slave fired external strobe another camera can trigger your strobe
-w/ a slave fired external strobe your internal strobe must fire; that does drain your batteries quicker.
-w/ a slave fired external strobe you must also block the internal strobe
-w/ a slave fired external strobe the sensor might not pickup the trigger flash in high ambient light conditions.

-however-
TTL is more expensive.

 

[alo100]

You can also use a fiber optic line ($3x) to sync between your camera and the slave,
so that even the strobe is further or other noisy situation, it won't be triggered.

 

[havnmonkey]

If your oly and housing are TRULY TTL you might save money by NOT buying the manual controller (i think about $150) and using the cameras controls to set the power of the strobe.

--some cameras have a "manual" hot shoe, it only tells the strobe to fire; but no power communication.

 

[Larry C]

The Oly uses a proprietary ttl signal. It only works with an Oly strobe, unless you buy the Heinrich/Weiskamp bulkhead. You can also buy the Ikelite housing with the ttl package. The Oly strobes are not the best in terms of coverage angle (the ability to cover a wide angle shot without dark edges and a hotspot in the middle) nor are they especially powerful. I haven't used the FL-36, but with a $600 price tag for the UW housing, I'm not inclined to. The other downside to the Oly ttl on the SP-350 is the preflash delay. In order to gauge the lighting, the camera preflashes, sets the strobe level and focus, then flashes again. This whole process takes about 3 seconds. If you were shooting a moving object, your shot is no longer there. The alternative is to use the hotshoe manually and the strobe in "auto", which is much faster, or you can use a slave strobe as previously described and simply adjust the strobe manually for the conditions.