OMG! I'm finally getting a strobe to go with my G9!

[driftin' by]

It's a miracle and just 9 days before my trip to Bonaire! I found a nearly new but used DS-125 to accompany my G9 and Ike housing.

Now what!?!? Anyone got any tips or pointers on using a DS-125 with a G9? I've been shooting for a few years utilizing the internal strobe starting out was a Sea & Sea MX-5 then an A95 in a canon housing and now the G9 in a Ike housing. I have no idea what kind of trouble I've gotten myself into but at least I know the basics of shooting in manual mode... I guess the beauty of TTL is that it pretty much takes out all the guess work of lighting?

 

[Wisnu]

Great .. so you have enoght time to understand the behaviour of your camera and strobe. I prefer in manual mode -not as difficult as many people imagine.
What you have to do, go to the pool and bring various small objects. Set your camera in manual, macro on, ASA 80 or 100, fstop 8, speed 1/250 or 1/500; strobe in manual. Try to shoot the object from 20 cm, 50 cm and 1 meter. Make a note of the strobe power setting for the best exposure. Refine the power setting on your first dive. You can use C1 for this macro setting and C2 for w a - no strobe, natutal light, F2.8, 1/60 ASA 200.
Those setiing ussually work well in most situations.

Cheers

 

[driftin' by]

Wisnu, Thanks for the pointers. I can't wait to get it wet.

 

[Mel Moncrieff]

Hi Josh:

I've been using the same system Ike housing and 125 strobes for a while now, and I really like it. You can go TTL if you're shooting in shutter or aperture priority, but you will be somewhat limited in terms of settings. For example, when I'm in TTL I usually use aperture priority, as this allows me to control depth of field, and the distance that my strobe extends. But the camera always chooses 1/60 of a second for the shutter speed, so that is what I have to work with (still pretty good for a wide range of subjects). If I am in an area where I expect fish (or other subjects) to suddenly appear, and I won't have time to adjust my settings, or if I am on a dive where I have to keep up with a group I use TTL/aperture priority and set my aperture to 6.3 for most shots. If I am diving by myself (like at the Buddy Dive in Bonaire) where I can take my time, I can use manual. I leave the diffusers on my strobes and set everything manually for total exposure control. My pictures can be viewed at Mel Moncrieff's Photo Galleries at pbase.com. You can read the exposure data under each photo. The fiji trip was nearly all done with TTL, but Bonaire and Turks/Caicos was nearly all manual. Hope this helps, and enjoy your trip to Bonaire. I'm planning to go back to Buddy Dive this June or early July. Love the Lake dive site with the double reef.

All the best,
'
Mel

 

[oly5050user]

Hi Josh:

I've been using the same system Ike housing and 125 strobes for a while now, and I really like it. You can go TTL if you're shooting in shutter or aperture priority, but you will be somewhat limited in terms of settings. For example, when I'm in TTL I usually use aperture priority, as this allows me to control depth of field, and the distance that my strobe extends. But the camera always chooses 1/60 of a second for the shutter speed, so that is what I have to work with (still pretty good for a wide range of subjects). If I am in an area where I expect fish (or other subjects) to suddenly appear, and I won't have time to adjust my settings, or if I am on a dive where I have to keep up with a group I use TTL/aperture priority and set my aperture to 6.3 for most shots. If I am diving by myself (like at the Buddy Dive in Bonaire) where I can take my time, I can use manual. I leave the diffusers on my strobes and set everything manually for total exposure control. My pictures can be viewed at Mel Moncrieff's Photo Galleries at pbase.com. You can read the exposure data under each photo. The fiji trip was nearly all done with TTL, but Bonaire and Turks/Caicos was nearly all manual. Hope this helps, and enjoy your trip to Bonaire. I'm planning to go back to Buddy Dive this June or early July. Love the Lake dive site with the double reef.

All the best,
'
Mel

we will be there May 31-June 7 with a group I am bringing from NY area.

 

[driftin' by]

Hi Josh:

I've been using the same system Ike housing and 125 strobes for a while now, and I really like it. You can go TTL if you're shooting in shutter or aperture priority, but you will be somewhat limited in terms of settings. For example, when I'm in TTL I usually use aperture priority, as this allows me to control depth of field, and the distance that my strobe extends. But the camera always chooses 1/60 of a second for the shutter speed, so that is what I have to work with (still pretty good for a wide range of subjects). If I am in an area where I expect fish (or other subjects) to suddenly appear, and I won't have time to adjust my settings, or if I am on a dive where I have to keep up with a group I use TTL/aperture priority and set my aperture to 6.3 for most shots. If I am diving by myself (like at the Buddy Dive in Bonaire) where I can take my time, I can use manual. I leave the diffusers on my strobes and set everything manually for total exposure control. My pictures can be viewed at Mel Moncrieff's Photo Galleries at pbase.com. You can read the exposure data under each photo. The fiji trip was nearly all done with TTL, but Bonaire and Turks/Caicos was nearly all manual. Hope this helps, and enjoy your trip to Bonaire. I'm planning to go back to Buddy Dive this June or early July. Love the Lake dive site with the double reef.

All the best,
'
Mel

Thanks for the tips Mel! So let me understand something... Can you not shoot TTL with the camera in Manual? Also, I don't know much but wouldn't the exposure compensation allow you to do reciprocal shutter speed adjustments in 1 stop increments in aperture priority?

 

[driftin' by]

Can you not shoot TTL with the camera in Manual?

Nevermind Mel, I saw in one of your posts that you cannot. I guess that makes sense that if you want full control over you camera, you probably what full control over your strobe... now I'm seeing the benefit of having 10 manual settings on the DS-160.

 

[Mel Moncrieff]

Yes, I have not been able to use exposure comp to get the precise exposure I want with my G9. However, re: your point about the 160, I've had pretty good luck even with the limited settings on the 125 strobe, by adjusting both the strobe and the aperture to fine-tune the exposure. The nice big LCD with histogram display can give you good feedback as to whether or not you got the shot, and if you shoot raw, you can make a lot more adjustments if you're off.

 

[Mel Moncrieff]

I'm looking forward to seeing some good shots posted when you get back!

Mel