Old substrobe S and making it work with Fantasea housing

[cruxpot]

Hi all,

I picked up an old Ikelite substrobe S for real cheap. It's a discontinued product and I have two issues with it.
Substrobe S: Ikelite Substrobe S with Cord 40388 B&H Photo Video

I am using a Fantasea FP-7000 housing which has a flash cover with two holes for fiber optic cables to attach to it and detect light. Unlike the one in that link above, my substrobe S has no cable connection, but just a light sensor covered by a round clear plastic semi-orb, and no way to screw into the light itself. Is it possible to use a fiber optic cable with such a setup and securely attach it? It seems to pick up light just fine from the camera's internal flash, but I am concerned about the internal flash whiting out the picture (lowest setting on Nikon P7000 is 1/32).

FP-7000: Fantasea Line Water Sports Photo Products & Accessories- FP7000 Underwater Housing for Nikon Coolpix P7000

Second issue, I need some kind of diffuser for this strobe because it blasts the subjects. Any recommendations on something I can fit onto it so it won't fall off and give me the best shots?

I attached a picture.


My main goal is to take pictures of sea life relatively up close with the flash.

Thanks,
cruxpot

 

[bvanant]

There are several ways to make this work. Simplest is to find a rubber bulb (eyedropper/pipette bulb type) and cut it to the size of the sensor. Then glue it on and punch a tiny hole (big enough for the fiber) and attach the fiber through the hole. My guess though is that the amount of light through the fiber might not be enough to trigger the strobe but a simple test with a bunch of duct tape should answer that question.
Bill

 

[cruxpot]

Ah, I see what you mean. That's a good idea. And rubber cement to attach to the senor area? Any idea what kind of stores carry rubber bulbs in this size or do you order online?

 

[Larry C]

You could adapt a diffuser from a current model, just measure the diameter and find one of similar size, then attach it with velcro or nylon twine. If you can't find one, you can make it out of milk carton or go to the auto wrecker or auto parts and get a round back-up light lens (clear) and come up with an attachment system. Trailers sometimes use these. They have little convex squares that diffuse light nicely.

 

[havnmonkey]

I actually look into doing this everytime I see an old set of Ike's on EBay

1st issue: I think this strobe only has one power setting "FULL" and is not adjustable.

2nd issue: does the light sensor work with your cameras flash?

i would go to a dark room, turn the strobe on and hold the camera flash right up against the sensor and fire away. If the strobe fires you have something to work with.

these strobes are often used with remote triggers for creative lighting, but I think the triggers run around ~$200


keep us updated!

 

[cruxpot]

Here is the followup. I took this thing on one trip after making a diffuser by scuffing sandpaper on an acrylic sheet and dremeling it out. I then duct taped this to the front of the flash, and put another opaque plastic sheet in front of that. Then I duct taped the fiber optic cable to the sensor. It looked really ghetto but it worked on a 2-tank dive trip. Then I forgot to turn it off and threw it in a hot car trunk.

When I got back to my room hours later, I noticed the test switch was not working and it was making strange sounds. I thought maybe the batteries were low so I went to the store and bought brand new alkaline Duracell AA's and it still makes a weird whirring sound and doesn't work at all, although it is "on." I guess I fried something.

Does anyone know if this is salvageable and are there strobes out there that will auto-shut off and not overheat? I was pretty shocked I could ruin a strobe like this. Fortunately, only spent $30 on the actual light.

 

[havnmonkey]

I think you fried it. Sorry! Most substrobes do not turn off automatically, I'd say "none do" but I haven't seen them all. Just be thankfully you didn't do it to a brand new pricey one!! I'm sure it will be nearly impossible to find someone to fix it, any number of things could be melted inside.

i am glad to hear you got it working with your camera, good job!

Find another cheap Ike, or maybe upgrade to a sea and sea ys-02... Which can be found on eBay for ~$250

EDIT: I'm sure you know now, but always remove the batteries before putting a strobe in a potentially hot environment or storing for more than a day or two.