Snoots available for YS-D1?

[Vigfus]

Hi guys,

I'm thinking about getting one/two snoot/snoots for my YS-D1 strobe(s) and were wondering what kind of brands that are available and if you used them what you liked/disliked about them? They are quite pricey so if anyone has experience with building their own I'd love to hear how you went about it and how the outcome turned out as well.

Best Regards,
Vigfus

 

[Ran Mozaik]

I just posted a blog post on that
Have a look: DIY 5-Minute Snoot for Underwater Strobes
It works great underwater as well. I'll update the post with some photos soon.

 

[cleomagic]

I also did not want to spend a few hundred bucks for a snoot for my YS-01. I ended up building my own fiber optic snoot inspired by the following design: Fiber snoot for underwater photography

I figure I have about $35 in parts in it plus labor ... and the satisfaction of building it myself.

I did design mine to use the focusing light, but I never ended up using it. I'm also considering shortening the snoot length as they just seemed a bit too long to get them aimed exactly where I wanted them. I used it last week for the first time in Little Cayman and about the only thing I was unhappy with was my method of attachment to the strobe. I used bungee materials which did seem to be not secure enough as the snoot moved on the strobe when I tried to adjust it. I'll have to come up with a better attachment method before the next macro subject trip.

My parts list:
1' 4mm (5/32") Solid Core Fiber Optic Lighting Cable (EGS4B) from Fiber Optic Products - (for the focus light)
1' 7mm Solid Core Fiber Optic End Glow Lighting Cable (EGS7B) from Fiber Optic Products
1ea 1/4" Loc-Line Coolant Hose Kit (#40413) from Amazon (for the focus light)
1ea 1/2" Loc-Line Coolant Hose Kit (#50813) from Amazon
1ea Black Drain Pipe Cap from Home Depot. I took my strobe down and found the size that most closely fit

I drilled a hole for the 1/2" Loc-Line dead center in the cap for the strobe and "threaded" it using a piece of ceiling light threaded pipe which was the same size as the connector. I then screwed in the connector. It was super tight and I never worried about it. I found the correct point for the light and did the same.

You could probably do a pair of fiber lights off the same strobe if you wanted to. As your strobe is round, where mine was rectangular, you might not need to customize the cap as much as I did.

I did find shooting with the snoot to be much more challenging than using just a strobe and it took patience to get something close to the right shot. If you were aimed just a little off, the picture was completely black. You also need a patient subject

I should also point out this made a great underwater pointer.

Here's a picture of my snoot. When we finish going through our pictures from the trip, I'll post some of the snooted photos. I may also try and post some snoot construction photos as well.

 

[DENLASCUBA]

I also did not want to spend a few hundred bucks for a snoot for my YS-01. I ended up building my own fiber optic snoot inspired by the following design: Fiber snoot for underwater photography

I figure I have about $35 in parts in it plus labor ... and the satisfaction of building it myself.

I did design mine to use the focusing light, but I never ended up using it. I'm also considering shortening the snoot length as they just seemed a bit too long to get them aimed exactly where I wanted them. I used it last week for the first time in Little Cayman and about the only thing I was unhappy with was my method of attachment to the strobe. I used bungee materials which did seem to be not secure enough as the snoot moved on the strobe when I tried to adjust it. I'll have to come up with a better attachment method before the next macro subject trip.

My parts list:
1' 4mm (5/32") Solid Core Fiber Optic Lighting Cable (EGS4B) from Fiber Optic Products - (for the focus light)
1' 7mm Solid Core Fiber Optic End Glow Lighting Cable (EGS7B) from Fiber Optic Products
1ea 1/4" Loc-Line Coolant Hose Kit (#40413) from Amazon (for the focus light)
1ea 1/2" Loc-Line Coolant Hose Kit (#50813) from Amazon
1ea Black Drain Pipe Cap from Home Depot. I took my strobe down and found the size that most closely fit

I drilled a hole for the 1/2" Loc-Line dead center in the cap for the strobe and "threaded" it using a piece of ceiling light threaded pipe which was the same size as the connector. I then screwed in the connector. It was super tight and I never worried about it. I found the correct point for the light and did the same.

You could probably do a pair of fiber lights off the same strobe if you wanted to. As your strobe is round, where mine was rectangular, you might not need to customize the cap as much as I did.

I did find shooting with the snoot to be much more challenging than using just a strobe and it took patience to get something close to the right shot. If you were aimed just a little off, the picture was completely black. You also need a patient subject

I should also point out this made a great underwater pointer.

Here's a picture of my snoot. When we finish going through our pictures from the trip, I'll post some of the snooted photos. I may also try and post some snoot construction photos as well.
View attachment 194715

Very nice DIY kit, really like the flexibility idea but I was wondering with that length what the quality of the flash will be. Can the flex pieces be removed and reattached easily to create different length snoots or once they are cut is that the length you are stuck with.

 

[cleomagic]

The Fiber Optic cable delivers nearly full power from the strobe directly to the end of the snoot. So much light that in order to prevent blowing out the subject, I ended up adjusting the shutter speed to let in less light. I did play with manually adjusting the strobe power, but the shutter speed was much easier.

Here are two pictures. The first one is much more dramatic lighting of a Christmas Tree worm than shooting it with a normal strobe. The second one isn't necessarily a great picture, but gives you some idea as to how bright the snoot is.

 

[DENLASCUBA]

Ah ok I must not have processed the fiber optic part of the materials when reading through just the loc line part. Very nice DIY kit, will definitely make one myself before my trip to Myanmar in Dec.

 

[cleomagic]

In answer to your other question, the Loc-Line segments can be individually removed to shorten the overall length. You will need to cut the Fiber to the length you want. The Loc-Line is very tight. The best way to connect the segments is to put the inside piece in cold water and the outside piece in very hot water. Let them soak for a couple of minutes and then push them together. Then let them cool. They will be very snug and you don't need to worry about them coming apart.

 

[bvanant]

I am really confused since I am quite sure that changing the shutter speed can have NO effect on the power output from the strobe. The strobe is so fast compared to your sync speed that changing it will have no effect. Ambient light is another story of course.
Bill

 

[Interceptor121]

Bill is correct the shutter speed controls ambient light only. You compose the shot so that you have a completely black frame and then use the snoot to light the subject. I have snoot shots taken at f/2.8 1/500 that have pitch black background. If the snoot angle is narrow it is just a matter of correct position