Mounting strobe to Olympus PT-053 housing at a reasonable price...

[travelrider]

Hi, I'm getting into underwater still photography and since I already own an Olympus TG-1, I thought the best way for me to get started without spending a fortune would be to purchase the Olympus PT-053 housing for this camera and put a strobe on it. (I also own a Nikon D7000 but I'm not ready to spend $1500+ on a housing alone, plus the Olympus is waterproof on it's own, so if I get a small leak in the housing, my Olympus will be fine whereas my D7000 might not be).

I'd like TTL capability and so I'm leaning towards the Sea & Sea YS-D1. There's my first question. Is that a good choice? Any others I should consider? Will the TTL work properly with the Olympus TG-1/PT-053 combo?

Second, I'm trying to figure out how to get the Olympus housing connected to the Sea & Sea YS-D1 without spending another small fortune. I'm looking at this package from Blue Water Photo (Sea & Sea YS-D1 Strobe Package | Bluewater Photo & Video). They want $970 for this (including the YS-D1). Back out $700 for the strobe and $50 for a fiber cable (which is also ridiculous), and basically they're asking $220 for the mount and arm. Is that overpriced or is that the going rate for this kind of thing? Seems I ought to be able to do this cheaper and still have a good setup. What are your thoughts?

Thanks for your guidance!

 

[jameseg]

I can't answer your question about whether the TG-1 will work with a TTL strobe, but maybe I can help with the second question.

The strobe you linked to is a relatively high-end strobe. Great if you're looking for something that can grow with you, but possibly overkill for your current setup. Likewise, the Ultralight tray and arm system is pretty high-end.

Here's a TTL strobe lower down the SEA & SEA line that's paired with a more generic tray and arm package at a much lower price:

System Packages :: Lighting Packages :: Optical Ocean Single Modular Sea & Sea YS-01 Lighting Package -

I have this same tray and arm package, and it works well.

James

 

[JackConnick]

Yes, the TTL works fine with either strobe on the TG-1/PT-053. The YS-D1 is a great strobe and you can substitute it on the above mentioned package, but it's overkill for your camera and lens right now. If you were to add a wide angle lens, or move later to another larger camera then it might make more sense, or you could just add a second YS-01.

 

[Karloss]

I currently have the same set up and am considering the Sea and Sea YS-01. The only cost for myself would be in the strobe head and fiber cable being that I already own an arm and tray. There are less expensive accessories out there and I suggest trying BandH photo and video as another source to search.