Strobe for C-5050 - Recommendations?

[Wristshot]

Second quest for info from Scuba Boarders that are into Underwater Photography and willing to share their knowledge.

I just got a C-5050 for Christmas, and now I need the goodies to get me all set up. I would like to have gear in hand before I head out to Key Largo for the week of Christmas to New Year's, so this question is time sensitive. If you have no input of value then I apologize for wasting your pixels, but please don't waste everyone else's by telling me that you have no input of value or telling me to search for it. I have been looking.

I know a lot about photography, but not a lot about Digital Underwater photography. I got a camera that is highly recommended here on the Scuba Board, and I will be buying a housing ASAP.

1) But what do I do about strobe(s)? Dee? Gilligan? Your suggestions?

2) I see a lot of people talking about YS90 strobes by Sea & Sea. I have no experience or knowledge of this. Is this the best strobe for the money? Forget what you have currently, if you were buying today, what would you buy? What would you avoid? Why?

3) What else is needed for a robust and functional set up? I think an arm would be needed for attaching the strobe to the housing. What are the best values for strobe arms out there? What would you buy if you were buying today? What would you avoid?

4) Also, i think that there must be some method of triggering the strobe. I have read some about fiber optic links. Is that the "best" way to go? What alternatives would you suggest?

5) I would guess that the ultimate set up would be dual strobes, but that could be a bunch of money. Would it be good to start with one and then get a second strobe later? Would there be a difference in gear or accessories if that method was followed?

6) Any other general suggestions to help me get rolling quickly? Is there anything else I am forgetting to ask? Anything else you learned the hard way that you can share with me?
----------------

I have all the gear and accessories for landscape and studio photography, and I have shot a few thousand rolls of 35mm film, and a few dozen 2 1/4 rolls in my day. However, like I said Digital Underwater Photography is a whole new venture for me, so I want to learn from the people that already learned.

Thanks Gilligan for the PT-010 housing web page, as it will help with my quest for knowledge.

And my thanks in advance to all the people out there that will give me sincere assistance and advice.

Just asking because I really want to know,


Wristshot.

PS: I have downloaded the Redoux on choosing and other things from the archives; I just wanted more info.

 

[2 Bar]

...to all your c5050 questions. Hope this helps.

http://groups.msn.com/OlympusCamedia5050SupportGroup/

 

[RESCUEDIVER]

You've got a fairly large learning curve between now and then

Learn everything you can about the camera on dry land

Particularly get comfortable with manual mode and changing aperature and shutter speed

Practice with your housing on land...the buttons can be confusing and difficult

Forget about any setting but manual...use ASA 64 or 100, 1/125 or 1/250 and 5.6 to start and slave strobe setting (with an external strobe)...your internal strobe will work adequately for close up shots

Look at the numerous posts on this, Digital Diver Net, and Wet Pixel on how to use the camera

Strobe choice is somewhat broad, but the popular models are Sea and Sea YS-90Dx and YS-90Auto, Ikelite DS-125 with Auto Controller or Manual Controller, or Inon D-180

Since you are in a hurry, I would avoid the large NY camera houses...although their prices are good, you won't get any support...and I am guessing you will want some

try

http://www.underwatercamerapros.com/

http://www.backscatter.com/

http://www.marinecamera.com/

These dealers are more than reputable and can help you out

 

[Dee]

Wristshot once bubbled...
Second quest for info from Scuba Boarders that are into Underwater Photography and willing to share their knowledge.

I just got a C-5050 for Christmas, and now I need the goodies to get me all set up. I would like to have gear in hand before I head out to Key Largo for the week of Christmas to New Year's, so this question is time sensitive. If you have no input of value then I apologize for wasting your pixels, but please don't waste everyone else's by telling me that you have no input of value or telling me to search for it. I have been looking.

I know a lot about photography, but not a lot about Digital Underwater photography. I got a camera that is highly recommended here on the Scuba Board, and I will be buying a housing ASAP.

1) But what do I do about strobe(s)? Dee? Gilligan? Your suggestions?

2) I see a lot of people talking about YS90 strobes by Sea & Sea. I have no experience or knowledge of this. Is this the best strobe for the money? Forget what you have currently, if you were buying today, what would you buy? What would you avoid? Why?

If I was buying a strobe today I would be seriously looking at the Inon D-180. I've been totally happy with my S&S YS90DX so this is no reflection on it. But the Inon is alot smaller and would be easier to pack and it's as close to the YS90DX as I can get.

3) What else is needed for a robust and functional set up? I think an arm would be needed for attaching the strobe to the housing. What are the best values for strobe arms out there? What would you buy if you were buying today? What would you avoid?

You should know this if you've done your homework. You keep asking for best and best value. That's two loaded questions as everyone has their own version of what's best. You also don't necessarily have to go 'robust' or at least my version of it. That's one reason I left the 'robust' film rig and truly upgraded when I went digital. If I were buying today I would still buy my L&M Infinity arms and Fisheye tray. I would still avoid the tray and arm systems that have lots of joints, parts, hassles and weight.

4) Also, i think that there must be some method of triggering the strobe. I have read some about fiber optic links. Is that the "best" way to go? What alternatives would you suggest?

Yes, I do think the FO cable is the 'best' way to go. It's simple, it's accurate, it's dependable, and it's manual and as such isn't susceptable to flooding.

5) I would guess that the ultimate set up would be dual strobes, but that could be a bunch of money. Would it be good to start with one and then get a second strobe later? Would there be a difference in gear or accessories if that method was followed?

The best thing to do is to start with NO strobe. Get used to the camera on land first, then in the housing, then take it underwater by itself, no strobe. Learn what the camera can do on it's own with only the internal flash as your artificial light source. Only then can you judge when a strobe is truly needed to get the best exposure....it isn't always. When you add your first strobe, learn all that it will do for you before you add a second.

6) Any other general suggestions to help me get rolling quickly? Is there anything else I am forgetting to ask? Anything else you learned the hard way that you can share with me?

There's no way you're gonna go from no digital experience to using dual strobes by Christmas so use the KISS principal = Keep It Simple Stupid. Master each step along the way or you'll never master any of it. the 5050 is not the easiest of the Oly C-series of cameras to learn and only practice and study will have you ready by Christmas. I think we all learned that the hard way...there are no shortcuts.

As for accessories, I don't get in the water with photo equipment without 3 things....

1) a coiled lanyard on my cameras housing

2)gbUndersea's Digital Lens Dock and Save-A-Lens sytem on my add-on lenses and

3) D.E.P.P. Insurance coverage on my rig.

Several good sets of 2200-2300 NiMH rechargeable batteries and a MAHA 204 charger, micro cloths for cleaning, and a thought in my mind....I am a diver who takes photos, not a photographer who dives. No shot is worth damaging the environment or harassing the livestock and there will always be another shot. When it stops being fun, leave the camera on the boat.

 

[TedJ]

Dee,
I hope you saved that whole explanation as it really sums up perfectly the question that gets asked very frequently. Good job.
TEdJ

 

[Gilligan]

Wristshot, when ready take a close look at the Inon D-180 strobe. It is half the size of the YS90DX and it has a built in focus light which in my opinion is a major plus. It works off a fiber optic kit. The new D-180S is out and it is cheaper than the 180 but it does not have a focus light but instead an aiming light. I personally wouldn't give up the focus light. I am about ready to buy the D-180 from Yuzo in Japan. So far he is $100. less than anyone else I have found in the USA including shipping (strobe and optic kit only). Yuzo favors payment via PayPal and gives you a 3% discount for it. BEWARE of PayPal on inter-currency purchases. They build in a service charge on the currency exchange and it is not cheap. This strobe + fiber optic kit + shipping is around $516US with Yuzo (todays exchange rate). Paying through PayPal it is around $544. I am in the process of contacing Yuzo for direct credit card payment but first have to check with my credit card provider to see if they will whack me for a Yen currency purchase.

 

[Dee]

Gilligan....when I paid Yuzo for my FE tray via Paypal, I didn't pay any kind of conversion fee. The money was transferred from my checking account to Paypal and I sent it in US funds. I think Yuzo was the one who told me to do it this way. Maybe it's different if you use a credit card.

 

[ssra30]

Yuzo has bank account both in Japan and the US so he can accept both US dollars and yen.
I guess I will pipe in as the minority here for Ikelite strobe as well. Basically the Ikelite DS 125/DS50, Inon 180D, Z220, Sea and Sea YS 90DX are all the available choices and all have some strong and weak point. The main disadvantage of the Ikelite is the size as it is quite a bit bigger (especially the DS125).
Some benefit of the Ikelite DS 125 is the strong modeling light (strong enough to use as light source for night dive), fast recycling time, manual control can be mounted on the arm so it is a bit more convienient to make adjustment, incredible service support (if you have flood insurance and flood your strobe, it does not matter since your insurance company will take care of it anyway but if anything else should go wrong, Ikelite is easy to contact, fast to response etc).
One thing that may become a benefit is that Ikelite has decoded Olympus TTL signal and will offer it on Oly C5060 as a wired connection to Ikelite strobe for true TTL (it should work better than current Ikelite photosensor or Inon's ) but nothing is said whether it will become an option with C5050 or not (don't see any reason why not). Hopefully it will be but we have to wait and see.

Generally it is a good idea to just play with your camera/internal flash for a little while until you are comfortable with all the camera's setup, getting better composition etc before adding a strobe which will add another level of complexity to your hobby.

 

[marpacifica]

When I ordered my rig from Yuzo, I went through Paypal, which allowed payment by credit card. My Amex bill showed a charge in US$, and when I did the math it came out to $1 = 113 yen. The currency website I checked had $1 = 116 yen (for the absolutely best rate, probably reserved for bank trades or currency hedgers). I'm pretty sure I didn't see a currency transaction fee, but maybe it's because I didn't transfer money from my checking account to Paypal.

 

[Gilligan]

I'll have to go back and look at all that PayPal stuff again. They have a pop-up window on their site after you log into your account and it shows some conversion transaction rates from dollars to yen. Those exchange rates were lower than the norm making the product price higher.
I don't want to use my checking account debit card as it has no purchase protection. Only my credit card has that.
I'll e mail Yuzo for the easiest way
Thanks for the replies