out of sync flashes

[NW rx]

I just purchased a Olympus E-PL1 camera , housing etc but am using my 4 to 5
year old YS 110's. On my pre vacation dry runs in the pool and on land I am getting every other picture or so not coming out. The picture is dark like it is out of sync with the camera. I have my strobes set on TTL and slave using the fiber optic cords. The ones that do come out look great. Any suggestions out there why am getting dark out of sync pictures?

 

[herman]

Incorrect preflash setting? Don't know the strobes or camera but if you are using the camera in an auto mode that has a preflash (flash fires more than once- most do) and your strobes are not set (or can not be set) to accomidate the correct number of preflashs (some do 3/4/5) you will get strange results. Set both the camera flash, Fstop and speed to manual and try some test shots and see what happens. An old test was to take flash photos of a mirror. If you see the flash fire in the photos,the preflash settings are right, if not change setting until you do.
To get the best results, you need to set the camera in manual mode anyway. Auto modes don't do a good job UW.

Welcome to the board.

 

[Ozwald]

possibly the sync speed on your camera is not matched to the strobes. i would bet your cam's sync speed is 1/200.

 

[NW rx]

I am shooting in manual on the camera with the flash set at 1/160th with a low flash speed at 1/80th. My previous gear was an Olypmus also that I shot TTL and used dual sync cords. I had too many spots for failure due to dirt , leakage etc. and loved the fact that when diving fast in groups that I could drop and shoot a quick probably exposed picture in TTL with no hassle. This is my first venture to the hassle free fiber optic cords and was hoping to do the same in the drift diving of Cozumel. I will definitely check into the pre flash. Thanks for the suggestion. 3 weeks to Cozumel.Greg

 

[AndyT]

Weren't the YS110's notoriously poor at TTL with F/O cables?
A mate of mine had one and could not get it to work properly.
I seem to recall a thread on the is subject - maybe have a look in the Sea & Sea forum.

 

[Warmwater Wank]

Double check the slave socket(s) for obstruction (dirt, sand, salt etc.), if they look ok clean 'em with a Q-tip anyway, you won't always see a layer of dust or debris. Follow Herman's advice (ALWAYS follow Herman's advice!) and try shooting in manual camera exposure mode. It can be a consistent, simple way to go--just control the exposure (mostly) by varying the flash output setting. I shoot a 110-A and it has a Manual 1 and Manual 2 setting in between the Off and TTL position. If the old 110 has this, it'll be easy to see which one to use.

Assuming there are no faults w/ the FO cable (usually not, but...) the other possibilty is too low of a camera flash setting. On my Canon G-10 I use the lowest flash outout setting to reduce heat bulid up in the housing and to save on flash battery power. Sometimes though folks find they have to raise the output due to housing issues etc. Do you just have the camera end of the FO cable velcroed on the housing in front of the camera flash or is there a special socket for it? Higher out put may be needed to send a strong enough pulse to the 110's. Good luck. Once you get things going you will appreciate how simple and reliable FO cables can be. // ww

 

[NW rx]

I did clean the slave socket upped the flash speed to 1/160th did 1/2 dozen quick shots and received 6 well exposed shots. It seems to simple and I can't wait to see how much pre dive and post dive time that I save with the FO cables.

 

[Warmwater Wank]

FO's are simple and durable. I sort of made my own and glued in the camera end to the velcro-like fastener I was using. As I was surface swimming out on a Bonaire shore dive once i noticed it had pulled out from where it had been glued. Stuffed it back in, worked fine for the rest of the dive. Still, a spare or 2 on a dive trip makes you look like a genius Boy Scout ("Be prepared..."). // ww

 

[nightcat]

Does your camera pre-flash in manual mode? Dunno about Oly cameras but I had the same problem when using my Canon S95 only to find out that it doesn't pre-flash in manual mode. That means I cannot use the strobe's TTL when the camera is on manual.

Does the TTL work when you set the camera in other modes like aperture priority or program?

 

[AndyT]

Found one of the threads regarding unreliable TTL with FO cables and the YS 110

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/strobes-lighting/329230-question-about-ys-110-ttl.html

Read response #8 from Ryan at Reef Photo.