Oly C3000 & Ikelite DS-125

[JJacobe]

OK,

I did the research, asked for advise (from the ever wise folk on scubaboard.com), saved up, and have made the plunge. I've chosen the DS-125 and now could use some more advice on intial setup, and possible settings to get the best results!

I am back in Cozumel in February and would love to come back with some good shots.

Any and all advice is welcome. Thanks! :chillin6:

 

[jlyle]

When in February and where are you staying? Tell me about the C3000...what housing? What kind of connection do you have to the strobe?

 

[JJacobe]

When in February and where are you staying? Tell me about the C3000...what housing? What kind of connection do you have to the strobe?

I'll be in Cozumel February 18th or 19th. I like to stay in one of the villas with some friends. We have some friends that live on the island. So staying in their part of town is fun!

I have the Ikelite #6130.1 housing and Olympus C3000, which is a digital that is about 4 years old. It is not unlike the C4040. I have the #3944.77 Deluxe Package, which includes the manual controller.

My Photo Gallery shots are shots with the C3000 and the 6130.1 housing, using only the Oly flash and the Ikeliter diffuser. I used only the auto setting of the camera and am looking to get some more color and a more professional look.

 

[jlyle]

Sorry we will miss you, we leave the island on Feb 11.

With the controller, you will need to block the front of the housing's flash port to avoid backscatter (I use duct tape). If the C3000 is like the C5050, it will have a "slave" mode for the flash. You manually control the output on the strobe with the DS-125 in "TTL" (it isn't) and by adjusting the controller.

If you want to use the auto setting on the camera, you need to replace the manual controller with the Ikelite TTL controller.

 

[JJacobe]

Sorry we will miss you, we leave the island on Feb 11.

With the controller, you will need to block the front of the housing's flash port to avoid backscatter (I use duct tape). If the C3000 is like the C5050, it will have a "slave" mode for the flash. You manually control the output on the strobe with the DS-125 in "TTL" (it isn't) and by adjusting the controller.

If you want to use the auto setting on the camera, you need to replace the manual controller with the Ikelite TTL controller.

I don't believe there is a "slave mode". Does the TTL controler need to be wired direct to the camera (through the housing)? I don't think that this is possible with my housing. Ikelite recommeded the manual control. I think they recommened it based on my housing.

I believe I may have to do a little more adjusting of the white balance, etc. because of the housing/camera. Then again I am absolutely new to this and am just trying to find some guidance. It is fun to take on new challenges though!

 

[ReyeR]

I don't believe the C3000 has Slave flash either, so it is going to fire a pre-flash. Set the camera's flash to 'always fire' (also called Forced flash or Fill-in flash) and block it with something as jlyle suggested (put the block on the housing, see Jays site: http://www.jaytreat.com/Diving/Photography/mods.htm).

On the manual sensor set the switches to 'B' and 'C' - 'B' tells it to ignore the pre-flash and 'C' tells it that a DS-125 is connected to it, as explained here: http://www.ikelite.com/web_pages/mansenswitch.html. Mount the sensor and aim it at the camera's flash

Switch the DS-125 to the 'TTL' position.

On the C3000, if you have Flash Exposure Compenstation (flash level), dial it all the way down to the lowest setting (-2.0?) - this will allow the camera's flash to recycle faster and also save batteries. In Manual (M) shooting mode start with something like ISO 100, shutter speed of 1/125 (or 1/250) and aperture of F5.6. If you are shooting with the strobe leave the White Balance on 'Auto'. Adjust the strobe power and/or aperture and/or strobe-to-subject distance to control the strobe exposure. Adjust the aperture to control the depth-of-field (DOF). Adjust the shutter speed to control ambient light exposure and motion blur.

See Jay's site for some tips (he used to use a C4040, Ikelite housing, DS-125 and TTL controller) http://www.jaytreat.com/Diving/Photography/taking_photos.htm and Dave Read's site to learn about exposure and strobe usage: http://www.daveread.com/uw-photo/.

Good luck!

HTH