sp-350

[liberato]

Is anyone using the hotshoe with a TTL adapter such as the one in the Ikelite case to an external strobe (I'm using an Ikelite DS-125)? I am having some problems getting my settings correct. When I set the SP-350 camera to external flash only, the internal flash persists along with external. If I cycle through the flash button modes to no flash I can turn it off but the camera then does not recognize the presense of the Ikelite TTL strobe (exposure symbols are red (while they are green with internal flash turned on). If I take a picture anyway the flash is feeble and the TTL interface seems very broken. The DS-125 strobe works fine manually via the cable. I moved the Ikelite DS-125 from a Canon SLR and it worked fine with the very same Ikelite TTL cable. I won't have time to send it back before needed at the end of this month so I am hoping my problem is user errror. Any thoughts?

 

[tsreimer]

I actually just bought the same setup as you a month ago and took it on the dive trip to the Caymans. It's funny that you mention this issue, because I had the same thing happen to me on 2 of my dives. However, it wasn't consistent. Most of the time, when i had the external strobe selected, the internal flash did not fire. But there were 2 different times that I could have sworn that I was on external strobe only and it fired the internal as well. Unfortunately, I dont have an answer for you as of yet, because when I tried replicating this issue my last 5 dives, things worked as designed.

What mode were you shooting on? Are you doing A/S/M or one of the other modes? This could also have something to do with it as well, though it's just a hunch.

 

[liberato]

I only use the RAW modes such as A/S/M. I guess I can put electrical tape on the flash but I was hoping to get a little more battery life by avoiding the internal flash.

 

[jlyle]

Just a thought, were you forcing the flash or setting it on auto? Under bright conditions, "auto" will often not fire the flash/strobe. I don't have any idea why the camera's flash would fire when the camera is set to external. Please report back.

 

[tsreimer]

im out of town this week, but can play around with it some more towards the end of the week to see if i can consistently replicate it. but it sounds like you have isolated the problem to either the camera, hotshoe, or bulkhead.

In the mean time, I only have generic advice to give, such as making sure all the connections are fitted securely, making sure the hotshoe adaptor is seated correctly, and double checking the modes. I'm sure you have done all this already.

In any case, if you dont get your problem fixed by the end of the week, I will play around with mine this weekend anyway (hopefully also get a dive in somewhere in the channel islands if i can) to see if i can find a specific cause that's causing the error.

out of curiousity... why did you stop using your canon SLR?

 

[liberato]

My spare SP-350 just came in (I didn't want to be in the situation of having a flood with a discontinued camera model and then have to get a new enclosure, too). That will allow me to isolate the problem from the camera.

Nothing wrong with the Canon D20 but it and the Ikelite case and tray were simply too large for the usual primitive and cramped dive boat conditions I usually find myself in. Additionally, it is my beloved topside camera and the Ikelite lens port just did not seem robust (two locks intead of three) so I was always on edge and not trusting of it. I never had any problems and it may be a perfectly good design but I could never relax. The SP-350 I consider "disposable" at $180 a pop. And I missed more than I had imagined the LCD screen for framing the picture that I grew used to from my first underwater camera.

For the SP-350, I also made my own tray to replace the ponderous and non-adustable Ikelite one (I never quite grasped the rationale of having a single handle tray be left handed). I now have a compact unit that packs tight for topside and can be carried and fired single handedly. I may try the Canon again when I become a more accomplished underwater photographer but for now the "downgrade" has all been positive (save for the strange flash problem). I will play with new SP-350 tonight and I hope to better define the problem.

Edit: This sounds suspiciously like my problem. Though I know I inserted the hotshoe cable correctly the act of closing the case must have loosened it. I will check tonight.

 

[netmage]

Where'd you find it for $180 a pop? I just picked one up for my sis at Cotco ~$200... I'm looking to get myself one as well as a backup...

 

[liberato]

My first one was from Costco. My backup is from J&R

 

[Larry C]

Definitely check the cable. The internal flash will fire, even when set to external if the camera doesn't sense the external flash. I've had it happen when I accidentally forgot to turn on my strobe.

 

[liberato]

The rest of the story...

I verified the hotshoe connector was properly seated. I then substituted the backup SP-350 and the problem still persisted. Actually, let me mention here that the internal flash firing when external flash only is selected in the setup menu is a red herring. The manual actually says that it will fire unless flash is disabled with the flash button (but since they don't give you a hard copy I hadn't read through the PDF file yet). My real problem was that when I disabled the flash the external flash acted as if its TTL is very broken (feeble flash). Since I knew Ikelite has some renown for perfectly groking the various TTL codes (at least on the Canon for sure) I just couldn't believe the Ikelite interface was defective and I knew the strobe wasn't but I just went through 2 cameras and experienced the same problem so what else could it be?

OK, how's this for a gotcha? I looked more carefully at the hot shoe and there appeared to be a kind of glaze on the contacts. I then used an eraser (the kind for pens with pumice in the rubber) and rubbed the contacts. Now I have correct flash behavior. With external flash only selected in the menu and flash disabled on the flash button and TTL turned on on the strobe the exposures are perfect (at least the ones I took emulating being underwater by seeking out the darker corners of the house and scaring the poor cat and such). I did the same thing with the other camera to similar success. So it was connecting but was not making a good connection, making it hard to debug. Anyway, just another data point to file away if anyone suffers a similar problem in the future.