Strobe for Sony P9 and future cameras

[bertschb]

I currently have a Sony P9 and would like to get a strobe for it. I want a strobe with LOTS of power. I don't plan on using the P9 for long so I want to get a strobe that will work with the P9 and any other future camera I may use. I know nothing about strobes. Does a strobe have to work with a particular housing/camera or can I get a "generic" strobe that will work with any camera? Price doesn't matter much (as long as it's under $1,000). I'm more concerned with flash output and the ability to use it with the P9, the Sony F707, an Olympus or a cheap DSLR (DRebel).

I hear about flash sync cords, modifying housings, fiber optic cables, etc. I'm confused.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[DesertEagle]

I would look at the Inon D-2000. You can connect it via fiberoptic cable or a regular synch cord. Even with the fiberoptic slave you can get "pseudo" TTL. The unit is small, recycle time is good and it takes AA batteries.

Cameras that do not have a flash hot shoe need to synch with a fiberoptic cable. The external flash needs to have a slave mode that can detect the camera's flash. Models like the Olympus C-5050 have a shoe so your connection depends on the housing you are using. A Canon DRebel housing would almost certainly be connected by a regular synch cord.

 

[bertschb]

Do all strobes have a slave mode and a fiber optic cable? Also, how does the hot shoe connection work? Is there a cable that runs from the shoe to a port in the housing that you plug the strobe's sync cable into? Is the fiber optic setup something that works with any housing?

I want to be able to light up the reef from say 20-30'. Will the Inon D-2000 do that?

I'm going to Roatan in March and I really want LOTS of flash power. My poor Sony P9 is good to about two feet with the built in flash.

Thank you very much for the help!

 

[f3nikon]

I currently have a Sony P9 and would like to get a strobe for it. I want a strobe with LOTS of power. I don't plan on using the P9 for long so I want to get a strobe that will work with the P9 and any other future camera I may use. I know nothing about strobes. Does a strobe have to work with a particular housing/camera or can I get a "generic" strobe that will work with any camera? Price doesn't matter much (as long as it's under $1,000). I'm more concerned with flash output and the ability to use it with the P9, the Sony F707, an Olympus or a cheap DSLR (DRebel).

I hear about flash sync cords, modifying housings, fiber optic cables, etc. I'm confused.

Any help would be appreciated.

Very good question. Its not strobe but strobes, more than one. For wide angle shoots up to three strobes, macro, one strobe right above and as close to the the centerline and angle of your camera lens as possible.

Why so close to the camera lens you say? Backscatter? That backscatter problem does not apply to closeup macro shots in clear waters. Its the extreme shadows that will be a problem, extreme strobe angles from the camera lens will cause shadows.

My advice, buy one small macro strobe for now, with slave photo eye (no more than $200) and fire the strobe from your on camera flash (need to bounce the camera flash to the strobe) then shoot and shoot macro on land and U/W, shoot plants, trees, objects in the house, watch for the shadows. Learn what that light angle does.

After you mastered macro shots switch to wide angle. You will find that that one strobe will not cut it. Will you need more small strobes to catch the shadows. So why not one BIG strobe to take care of it all? The problem with one big strobe is that you only have one angle to play with at any given time. Also you are causing the strobe light to reach across the picture to light up the other side, causing one side to be overexposed and the other to be under, and the shadows!

 

[Tobagoman]

I currently have a Sony P9 and would like to get a strobe for it. I want a strobe with LOTS of power. I don't plan on using the P9 for long so I want to get a strobe that will work with the P9 and any other future camera I may use. I know nothing about strobes. Does a strobe have to work with a particular housing/camera or can I get a "generic" strobe that will work with any camera? Price doesn't matter much (as long as it's under $1,000). I'm more concerned with flash output and the ability to use it with the P9, the Sony F707, an Olympus or a cheap DSLR (DRebel).

I hear about flash sync cords, modifying housings, fiber optic cables, etc. I'm confused.

Any help would be appreciated.

Both the Sea and Sea YS-25DX and YS-90DX with fiber optic cable with work with the Sony's.

 

[bertschb]

I didn't mention it in my earlier posts but I was planning on getting two strobes (can't have too much light underwater). The built in flash actually works OK (about 30% of the time) for shots less than 18" or so. I don't really want an external strobe for macro work. I want something to light up the reef from a distance.

 

[f3nikon]

I didn't mention it in my earlier posts but I was planning on getting two strobes (can't have too much light underwater). The built in flash actually works OK (about 30% of the time) for shots less than 18" or so. I don't really want an external strobe for macro work. I want something to light up the reef from a distance.

Built in flash is enough light, but can you vary the angle? The answer is no, look at macro pictures taken with built in flashes. Notice that the picture will be correctly exposed on the left side (where the flash is usually placed) and the right side is in the dark or extreme shadows. Thats because you cannot move the flash over the camera lens.

The built in or on camera flashes were not design for macro shooting. They were design for shooting subjects at med. range, 5ft. or so.

With film cameras, macro shooting with flash needed a "ring flash" unit. This is a flash tube around the camera lens with three or four flash blubs in them, for even lighting.

I use older Ikelite MS and MV 50w strobes and an Ikelite 150w. I am looking in to a Sun Pak "G" strobe, Manual, slave and a price of $180.00.

Side note: The dark shadows are not a problem when shooting subjects in openwater (no reef), because there are no back grounds to cast a shadow.

 

[bertschb]

I don't diasagree that a strobe would work better for macro work. I'm just saying that my macro shots are acceptable but anything beyond macro is worthless (no color at all). I never use the flash beyond 18" because of back scatter. You can tell by the camera I'm using that I'm just playing around right now. But, I will eventually get a decent UW setup (I have really nice land equipment) and I want to make sure I get a strobe I can use on future cameras.

I want something that will last a LONG time and has lots of power. I may use it for macro work but that's a secondary use (for me).

 

[DesertEagle]

bertschb, you may want to buy a wide angle lens before purchasing a second strobe. I would much rather have one strobe and a wide angle lens than two strobes.

Regarding the question of strobes with cords, your selection would depend on the camera/housing that you are using. If the camera has a hot shoe, then most housings for it will have an internal assembly to connect it. On the outside is a special strobe bulkhead. The Sony P9 does not have a hot shoe, so you would fire the strobe by slave mode.

Generally speaking, a wired connection is preferable to a slave configuration. The strobe will fire more reliably and you won't have to wait for the camera's flash to recycle before taking another photo.

 

[bertschb]

bertschb, you may want to buy a wide angle lens before purchasing a second strobe. I would much rather have one strobe and a wide angle lens than two strobes. QUOTE]

I really don't want to spend any more money on the P9 setup. It isn't worth it. It's a VERY frustrating camera to use. Really just a toy. But, I usually end up with 5-10 really nice shots on my warm water trips (out of 500). That number would go up considerably if I had a strobe. If I had a camera that recycled and focused faster and had a faster shutter and had manual controls and had a hot shoe and had more memory capacity and.....I'd do even better.

Right now I just want a strobe. Next will be a new camera and housing. After that more strobes/arms/etc.