Need Help on my setup?

[vinx]

I just got a Canon Powershot A2300 with Ikelite housing + Sea & Sea YS-01

my question is what is the best lighting settings to use? So my strobe and my internal flash will fire at the same time... and get a good quality picture??

My friend who gave me the sea&sea strobe told me that I make it as a slave... I read online manual and I think it needs the Fiber optic wire? Can I still make it as a slave without using any wire? he told me I can do that.. but didnt explain how.

Can you guys help me with this? sorry for the noob question... I'm new on this stuff...

All the help will be much appreciated. Thank you!

 

[PatW]

You do not want to use your internal strobe. The reason for this is backscatter. Even clear water has little bits of stuff in it. Your internal lens is in a straight line from sensor to subject. Any intervening piece of stuff will be lit up creating a little (or in some cases a large) white dot. If there is much stuff in the water, your photo will look like it was taken in a snow storm. Your strobe should be off to the side or above. The idea is the beam of the strobe should not illuminate things between the camera sensor and subject. That way you avoid backscatter. Since your strobe is off to the side, it is often highly desirable to have another strobe shooting from the other side to give even lighting.

 

[TheDeuce]

You do not want to use your internal strobe. The reason for this is backscatter. Even clear water has little bits of stuff in it. Your internal lens is in a straight line from sensor to subject. Any intervening piece of stuff will be lit up creating a little (or in some cases a large) white dot. If there is much stuff in the water, your photo will look like it was taken in a snow storm. Your strobe should be off to the side or above. The idea is the beam of the strobe should not illuminate things between the camera sensor and subject. That way you avoid backscatter. Since your strobe is off to the side, it is often highly desirable to have another strobe shooting from the other side to give even lighting.

Agreed with one caveat. I wouldn't be in a hurry to add a second strobe. Work with one to start with and you'll be able to get solid results. In the meantime you'll be able to experiment and learn a LOT about the interplay of light and shadow by manipulating the placement of your single strobe. Adding a second strobe has a lot of value but so will all the learning you glean from working a single light source. Some of my favorite shots are single strobe since it allows for strong contrast between the lit side and the shadowed side of your subject. There's a lot of creativity that can be used there.

And there's the added bonus of keeping it simple until you're comfortable with your new setup. Get 500-1000 shots under your belt, milk everything you can from your current setup, and then add to it.

Here's one I like: I know I won't win any awards but it has a sense of depth that would have been washed out with the added coverage of a second strobe:

And by all means - don't use the internal strobe!



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[vinx]

Thanks PatW, TheDeuce

how about using longer arm or short arm? which one is better?

the one I have is the short one but I can borrow the long one from my buddy who don't use it anymore since he upgraded.

 

[Lopez116]

I'm in the same situation as the OP. Just got a YS110a for my G10. Taking it to grand cayman next week. I have an ultralight tray, but not sure what size arm to get for it...

 

[TheDeuce]

No need to go crazy on arm length but have enough length to allow your strobe to illuminate from a variety of angles. I'm using the stock arms that came with my Ike DS 161 and I'd consider that to be the minimum.


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