Strobe advice needed

[nyscubagirl]

So....I have a cannon elf 500, which I love, and for now it takes pictures more than good enough for me.....But I want to buy a strobe/flash attatchment before my next trip which is to Roatan in late April....What do I look for? What makes a good one? Are there brightness/power levels that effect the photo?

I'm an absolute beginner...so all advice is welcome. (check out the photos I posted, they are from my first trip with this camera, last august)

 

[alcina]

Here is a great place to get started with comparing different features along with explanations of those features -> www.digitaldiver.net -> strobe finder

Also quite a few SB members have recently been looking for strobes so I am sure they will pop in with their findings, too!

Personally, I'd go Inon or Ikelite and make sure the strobe will move with me for years and years to come, no matter what camera system I use in the future

 

[menemsha43]

I have an Elph S410/DC-800 housing. I am very happy with the Sea & Sea YS 25-Auto I just bought. The Fiji photos in my gallery were taken with it.

 

[Jim Ernst]

your pictures are nice, good job, as you may know if you had a strobe, pictures like your trumpet corol would have all of the color in them, i use the ike-lite dc 125 and it has four differant settings and a great life, very good on all power settings as well, though it is a little pricey, but i would recomend it at any time to anyone. my 2 cents

 

[f3nikon]

So....I have a cannon elf 500, which I love, and for now it takes pictures more than good enough for me.....But I want to buy a strobe/flash attatchment before my next trip which is to Roatan in late April....What do I look for? What makes a good one? Are there brightness/power levels that effect the photo?

I'm an absolute beginner...so all advice is welcome. (check out the photos I posted, they are from my first trip with this camera, last august)

Type in Ikelite on ebay... or waste your money on a $600 strobe.

 

[tkring]

I use a Sea and Sea DX 90 but from what I learned I don't really need it. I only use it for pictures three feet or closer. Also, I could get the color I need from my internal strobe. I don't really dive deeper than 60 feet and usually on sunny days. With this strobe, I turned it down to the lowest level or I find that I over expose the picture. Therefore, I've learned to trust what I see in my viewfinder. Overexposed? Turn down level and try again.

Final opinion ... I have the strobe and so will use it, but if I had to do it over again, I would put the money in a higher end camera.

As others have said ... just my two cents.

 

[f3nikon]

I use a Sea and Sea DX 90 but from what I learned I don't really need it. I only use it for pictures three feet or closer. Also, I could get the color I need from my internal strobe. I don't really dive deeper than 60 feet and usually on sunny days. With this strobe, I turned it down to the lowest level or I find that I over expose the picture. Therefore, I've learned to trust what I see in my viewfinder. Overexposed? Turn down level and try again.

Final opinion ... I have the strobe and so will use it, but if I had to do it over again, I would put the money in a higher end camera.

As others have said ... just my two cents.

Very good point! I could never understand why have a $600 strobe on a $200 camera! The camera has more electronics, LCD, sensors etc. than any strobe around!

 

[cowjazz]

I have the Sea and Sea YS-25 for my Canon S70. The power is adjustable, and settings are based on the f/stop values. You can also adjust the strobe to fire with a pre flash or no pre flash depending on your camera.

I recently added the fiber optic cable for the strobe, and it has made life a lot easier. No more trying to block my cameras built in flash with my free hand to avoid backscatter.