f3nikon
Guest
CompuDude:The S80 can't use TTL, unless I've missed something major. No ports. Slave strobes only. If it did, it would really be the perfect camera, though, IMHO.
Ed, safe to assume you're using full manual mode, or at least app priority?
I hope I can get my S80 to do as well as yours!
Thanks CompuDude, I know the S80 can't use TTL, that comment was an inside joke for someone who has been Peddling the digital TTL system for underwater use. Because it takes him 10 shots to zero in on the correct exposure in manual mode, which I find absolutely incredible!
I use aperture priority as well, with the manual strobe at half power for close up work. I start at f5.6 (my aperture range is from f 2.0 to f 8.0) then fire off the shot, review the exposure and adjust the aperture to add or subtract the lighting. I can get the correct exposure on the first or second shot (most folks do), then I bracket around this, not with just exposure but also with composition, camera angles etc. If half power still gives off too much light I add diffusers to the strobe.
Keep in mind that for most underwater or close up land photography the shooting distances are about 2 feet or less. It only takes one or two f stop settings (aperture openings) to cover this range, I bracket at 1/2 or 1/3 stops as well. Manual mode gives you more precise lighting control, as Ed and others have proven.