onboard flash with G11 and Ikelite housing?

[SailNaked]

it seems the port on the ikelite housing totally obscures the flash and that the little plastic bits then make it even worse? is this how it should be? should I just shoot away and expect the light to make its way around the large port enclosure?

also I am confused about the literature, the Ike lit, says that the internal flash is only good to about 2 ft, and then the cannon lit says to shoot at more than 2 ft.

My head hurts. my favorite money pit can not get me the DS51 till I get back from Bonaire, so I may be using the inboard flash like it or not.

 

[Gilligan]

I have the G10 in a Canon housing with a Sea & Sea strobe. The G11 housing is almost the same for both Ikelite and Canon.

It is near impossible to use the on-board strobe with either brand housings. The lens port (Ikelite) and lens tunnel (Canon housing) will partially obstruct the photo leaving you with a dark/shadow area on the photo.

IMHO an external strobe is needed with either brand of housing.

The best you can do for your macro shots without an external strobe is try backing away from your subject as far as you can without losing the on-board strobes power then crop your photo in PS or the like. I'm not sure if that will solve the issue in the Ike housing.

Another alternative for your upcoming trip and until you have the $$$ for a strobe is to use "custom" white balance on all your shots (without the on-board strobe). It may be better than shadows and/or dark spots on your macro shots. The "Underwater" setting is the next best to "Custom" white balance.

 

[FrankPro1]

Agreed. Gilligan is right, an external strobe is needed with either brand of housing. But for the time being you can use the diffuser which came with the Ikelite housing to soften the heavy shadow cast from the port while using the flash. Also, with the high MP of the G10, you can crop out most of the shadow if you compose the shot with your target in the upper left hand portion of the photo.

These were shot with the G10/Ikelite/Internal Flash with Diffuser before I got my DS-51 strobe: