Strobe arm???

[LI Diver]

I recently bought a ds-51 strobe and standard arm package. I connected it to my Ike housing and G9 camera and took it for a dive. I really did not see much difference in the shots that I took that day compared to just with the built in flash on preceding days. Granted it is probably the indian and not the arrow and I'm sure that as I experiment with different settings and such that they will improve. The thing that bothers me however is how awkward it was on the dive with that arm on the set up. Boat diving may be better with someone handing it to me off of a boat but I was wondering if anyone has tried using this type of strobe with just an ike "short ball stem","clamp and dove tail ball. It would put the strobe closer to the camera which kinda defeats the purpose of the arm but would certainly be further away than the built in flash is. Anyone???

 

[danclem]

The flash should be a major improvement to your pictures unless: 1.) The subject is too far away. You want to be close. 2.) The strobes are not firing properly: prefire or out of sync. 3.) The settings are not set properly. 4.) The strobes are not aimed properly.

First, try putting it on manual and shoot something at 250/f16 that is about three feet away. Full strobe power, no TTL: if you have diffusers, take them off. You can also light up different parts of the subject by changing strobe positions. There should be a major difference with external strobes. If it works on manual you can back track and see if it is a problem with the flashes not firing, not syncing, or not fully firing. If it does not work on manual, try the second option.

Second, fire topside with someone looking at your strobes to make sure they are firing when the shutter is depressed.

Hope this helps a bit. I shoot with a really bulky rig: Nikon DSLR in a Subal housing with two Ultralite sections on each strobe. On boat dives it is always handed to me, and during the initial descent you tighten up the arms for initial positioning. We returned from a photo shoot of of Key Largo a couple of weeks ago, and one really nice piece of gear that several photographers had was a strobe quick release. Really easy to pop a strobe off and manually place it in a position to get the lighting you want.

Keep at it: underwater photography can be so frustrating at times, but it is terribly addictive as you get over each new problem.

Cheers,

Dan

 

[gert7to3]

You can also check your strobe synch by shooting into a mirror. If the strobes are on (and probably blowing out the image) then you know your camera has synched.

Here's a strobe positioning guide first posted by Bobof:
http://www.kelpfish.net/strobe.swf

 

[LI Diver]

Thanks guy's, the strobe is definitely firing. I tryed it in my house on recieving it as well as the morning of the dive and it is quite evident when in use. I notice the underexposed images edit up nicely but the overexposed blown out ones are goners. I had the metering set to center spot and I think that I will try it on center weighted average on the next dive.Here are a couple examples:

 

[ChristyV]

Hi, I posted a thread this a.m. asking for help with my G9 camera. Maybe you can help me. I purchased the underwater housing for the G9 and I am looking at the Sea&Sea strobe. I am wondering if I would be better off just changing to the Ikelite housing and getting one of their strobes. I am not a good photographer even on land but want to take photos of small to very small animals under water. Do you know anything about extensions that go on housings? Thanks!!

 

[gert7to3]

LI Diver

How is your DS-51 connected to your camera? Are you shooting TTL or slaved through the Ike bulkhead? What are your camera settings? Tell us shutter speed; aperture; ISO; exposure mode: underwater, scene, manual, aperture or shutter priority, etc. What were you adjusting to obtain differences in exposure?

When shooting underwater you have three things to cope with at once. You need to establish the hue and intensity of your background; set the aperture small to obtain depth of field; and expose your subject properly with your strobe. For simplicity (an oxymoron) you generally want to set two of these and then adjust the third. Most people find the strobe intensity is the easiest variable to work with.

I use manual mode; spot metering and focusing; set the aperture to ƒ6.1-ƒ8.0; ISO to 50-100; then, without the strobe, set the shutter speed to expose for the background. Faster shutter speeds will underexpose (darken) the background brightness/hue. Your camera can synch with the strobe to a fairly high speed. Finally adjust the strobe intensity for your subject.

ChristyV

A Sea&Sea strobe will work fine. I believe the Canon housing will only let you use a fiber optic cable to trigger your strobe. But manual mode will accommodate this type of shooting just fine.

Go take a look at the stickies found in the "Tips & Techniques" forum for further start up information.

 

[gert7to3]

Also check the G9 Inon vs S&S thread in this forum.

 

[LI Diver]

Hi, I posted a thread this a.m. asking for help with my G9 camera. Maybe you can help me. I purchased the underwater housing for the G9 and I am looking at the Sea&Sea strobe. I am wondering if I would be better off just changing to the Ikelite housing and getting one of their strobes. I am not a good photographer even on land but want to take photos of small to very small animals under water. Do you know anything about extensions that go on housings? Thanks!!

Hi Christy, I'm no pro either nor an authority on this stuff either but for what it's worth.... I got the Ike housing for two reasons. 1 because you have the option of using a TTL synch cord due to the bulkhead connector on the housing. 2 my previous a70 got flooded in a canon housing and it may or may not have been the housings fault but I figured I would try the Ike this time. You can of course use any strobe with and housing with a fiber optic controller but you lose the TTL. I've only had 1 dive with the strobe so far but I love the Ike housing. Now someone told me that the G9 may be getting or already is discontinued so think or research that before spending a lot for a housing again. You can sell housings on e-bay for about 1/2 their value however (Iknow from experience) Good luck. Also ck with alcina on here she's great with this stuff!

 

[LI Diver]

LI Diver

How is your DS-51 connected to your camera? Are you shooting TTL or slaved through the Ike bulkhead? What are your camera settings? Tell us shutter speed; aperture; ISO; exposure mode: underwater, scene, manual, aperture or shutter priority, etc. What were you adjusting to obtain differences in exposure?

When shooting underwater you have three things to cope with at once. You need to establish the hue and intensity of your background; set the aperture small to obtain depth of field; and expose your subject properly with your strobe. For simplicity (an oxymoron) you generally want to set two of these and then adjust the third. Most people find the strobe intensity is the easiest variable to work with.

.

Gert, I started with the camera on manual 1/125 and f5.6.The strobe attached with the synch cord and set on ttl. My first shots were terribly washed out so I closed the aperture down to 7.1. Still the same. Picked further subjects and exposure was better but much back scatter. Went to 1/250 a little better but no cigar. Got deeper with less ambient light and under exposed.Re adjusted slower and larger, eh so so.Got frustrated and set to u/w mode and decent results but still not greatly different than with built in flash. Supposed to dive today but looks like t-storms coming in.:depressed:

 

[AndyT]

AFAIK you cannot get TTL with the G9 in manual mode.