Strobe(s) for Canon G10 and Future Upgrades?

[sidne]

I have a Canon G10 with the Canon WP-DC28 housing that I bought for snorkeling a few years ago.

It has become immediately clear to me that I need (an) external strobe(s) in order to achieve the quality I seek.

Recommendations for strobe solutions? One strobe? Two strobes? Bracket/arm/fiber-optic arm recommendations? Trade-offs regarding upgrade paths?

Additional information:

• Weight/size is a consideration. If I'm traveling to Cozumel for 10 days, I'll haul anything with me. If I'm in Asia for 2-3 months for work, weight is a much bigger issue since many of the intra-Asia flights have strict weight constraints and I need to haul an astonishing array of clothing and material for work in a variety of settings.

• I will probably upgrade at some point in the not too distant future to a G15 plus housing and/or buy an underwater housing for my 7D.(Or maybe upgrade that to a 5D and get an underwater housing.) It would be nice if the solution I choose now will continue to be usable along my upgrade path. I would almost certainly not go with Canon housings in the future.

• I'm more interested in a long term solution than an inexpensive one that won't work for these future needs. Unless the inexpensive solution is REALLY cheap, of course. (Like 10%-15% of the "optimal" solution.)

• I'm interested in both macro and wide-angle photography. If I had to guess, I would predict I would go more toward the macro level.

• Although all of these cameras are capable of video, I'm looking at lighting for still photography. I've never been much into video.

• Without a strobe, I found shutter priority worked best for me. I'm not afraid of manual or custom modes, though.

• Warm water diving in relatively clear water in Cozumel, Roatan, Bali, etc. is my plan for photography. Depths anywhere from 20 to 100 ft.

• I've only gone on one night dive (and no camera-didn't need the task-loading). But I'd like to be able to bring the camera on night dives at some point in the future. Can't believe those octopi!

I've looked at the Inon Z-240 and D-2000 and the Sea & Sea YS-D1. Overkill? Inadequate? Wrong choices? Others I should consider?

Thanks in advance for the assistance. Looking forward to trying to sort out options.

If anyone is interested or if it would help to see the types of photos I'm trying to take, a few of the very small number of photos I've taken while diving with the G10 without a strobe are available on my flickr account in my Cozumel 2012 set. (Feel free to critique anything if you wish. I'm looking to learn.)

 

[mjh]

I think you are on the right track. Lighting is what makes the difference between ok photos and Great photos, true on land and even more so underwater. In general more power is better and two strobes are better than one.

As to strobes all the ones you mentioned are good. The S&S has the edge in power and are very light, great for travel, given the power. A good focus/video/night dive light is a good add to a system like this. If it is going to be your primary dive light you might want to look at something in the +500 lumen range. Here is an example of a package that will work for many systems and housings: System Packages :: Lighting Packages :: Optical Ocean I-DAS Flat Tray & Sea & Sea Double YS-D1 Strobe Package -

One more recommendation is when you upgrade consider a non-Canon housing, they are ok but limit your options for ease of use with quality wet lenses. Ikelite is not that much more and gives you a 67mm threaded port and more durability.

 

[bvanant]

Strobes will last for a long time. Buy the best one you can afford and a lot depends on what you are shooting. I use both Inon and S&S strobes, and the D1 is the "hot" strobe right now. For macro shooting (mostly what I shoot) I use 2x s2000. For bigger stuff the Z240 and D1 are pretty much equivalent. The D2000 is not on my list since I think that it is sort of in between the s2000 and Z240/D1 and I would go on either end.
Bill

 

[sidne]

I think you are on the right track. Lighting is what makes the difference between ok photos and Great photos, true on land and even more so underwater. In general more power is better and two strobes are better than one.

As to strobes all the ones you mentioned are good. The S&S has the edge in power and are very light, great for travel, given the power. A good focus/video/night dive light is a good add to a system like this. If it is going to be your primary dive light you might want to look at something in the +500 lumen range. Here is an example of a package that will work for many systems and housings: System Packages :: Lighting Packages :: Optical Ocean I-DAS Flat Tray & Sea & Sea Double YS-D1 Strobe Package -

Thanks. This is helpful.

It's a little difficult for me wrap my head around this as when on land I have a personal preference for trying to go with ambient light if at all possible. I always shoot RAW and use Lightroom (occasionally Photoshop) for processing and it's often possible to remove most of the noise.

But underwater, longer shutter speeds just aren't an option. And far enough down there isn't much ambient light.

I've noticed a number of packages as I'm searching (and in recommendations here). Is it particularly common with underwater strobes, arms, connectors, etc. to pick them up in packages? I'm used to a lot of the packaged components (kit lenses, etc.) not being the best choice. Just curious if a package is common and if so, why? Because it makes it easier to figure out all of the necessary components for a setup?

One more recommendation is when you upgrade consider a non-Canon housing, they are ok but limit your options for ease of use with quality wet lenses. Ikelite is not that much more and gives you a 67mm threaded port and more durability.

I'll definitely go non-Canon for a housing for any future G15+ or 7D (or 5D MkIII-I can dream ). I just already had this one for the G10. If the housing itself failed permanently without ruining the camera I would probably upgrade the camera and get a new housing at that time. I don't think I'd put the money into another housing for the G10 (as happy as I've been with it.)

When I'm ready for that, I'll be researching again.

And thanks for the tip on the dive light. The one time I dove at night, I rented dive lights.

---------- Post added February 3rd, 2013 at 10:18 PM ----------

Strobes will last for a long time. Buy the best one you can afford and a lot depends on what you are shooting. I use both Inon and S&S strobes, and the D1 is the "hot" strobe right now. For macro shooting (mostly what I shoot) I use 2x s2000. For bigger stuff the Z240 and D1 are pretty much equivalent. The D2000 is not on my list since I think that it is sort of in between the s2000 and Z240/D1 and I would go on either end.
Bill

Thanks. I will very likely go with either the Z240s or D1s.

Just to be clear since you said you used S2000s for macro, there isn't an advantage to the S2000s for macro over the Z240s or D1s is there?