Strobe selection for a c-5050

[Hooked4Life]

I am shooting an C-5050 and Olympus housing. Since I have a few dives under my belt I have decided time to upgrade to a strobe. I am thinking about the Inon Z-240 for my choice of strobe. Since I have to use the optical cable, any thoughts on this strobe/setup?

We are making another trip to Cozumel in June, but will be diving in Fiji in 2008. I just want to make sure I make the right choice.

Thanks, Will

 

[Warren_L]

I don't think you can go wrong with the 240. Great strobe, and you can take it with you if you decide in the future to upgrade later on, but that setup as you propose is killer!

 

[rhlee]

I have a C5000 and use a Z-240 with it. I'm pretty happy with the results. Here are some pictures from cold water:

http://www.baue.org/images/galleries/album108

And some pictures from "the tropics":

http://www.robandallison.com/pictures/2007/070114/51.html
http://www.robandallison.com/pictures/2007/070114/43.html
http://www.robandallison.com/pictures/2007/070114/7.html
http://www.robandallison.com/pictures/2007/070115/37.html

I like that it can be fired electrically too, so one day, if I upgrade to a real camera, I can do that. The modelling light is nice, but it's honestly not enough to get my camera to focus at night; I have to add a little Q40 for that. I like the design; it looks like the battery compartment is separate from the rest of the strobe (which appears sealed), so perhaps that limits the amount of damage a flood would do (not sure). It is nice and small, but packs a good punch. I have never fired it on full power because my strobe arms aren't long enough to get it out far enough for that.

hope that helps.

 

[Hooked4Life]

So it sounds like I am on the right track. Thanks for the comments.. If I am going to spend $1k on the strobe setup, its good to know I can use it later when I upgrade cameras.

rhlee: What are you using for arms? I was thinking of using ULCS 3" and 5" arms,

 

[Warren_L]

Arm selection is going to be somewhat dependent on conditions you're shooting, and what you're shooting as well as personal preference.

If you're doing a lot of wide angle work, you're going to need some length to minimize backscatter. As well, depending on the quality of water you're shooting in, you can get away with more or less length. For good quality tropical waters I generally go with about 1.5 to 2 ft extensions. At home where the viz is limited and there's more crap in the water, my arms reach about 3.5 ft each side (I use a set of two 16 inch ULCS buoyancy arms for each strobe)

With macro, length is not the big factor, but ease of adjustment and flexibility. I really bend the arms around when shooting macro to reposition as I shoot. Something flexible or easy to adjust would be appropriate. The locline stuff is good for that. Might not hold that well in strong current though.

 

[alcina]

1k on the strobe??? Yikes.

I have the Inon 240 and love it.

I still use my trusty (and inexpensive) loc line arms. The ULCS arms are very nice, but I can't justify the cost for myself. And I love being able to pop my arms off and stick the strobe head in a hole

 

[rhlee]

I have a 5" ULCS arm. I'm in the process of convincing myself to invest in another longer arm and joint to give me the extension I want for wide-angle. My local conditinos can also get pretty cruddy, so it would be useful to get the strobe further out. Anyway, good luck.

 

[bobf]

Arm selection is going to be somewhat dependent on conditions you're shooting, and what you're shooting as well as personal preference.
.................................

I'd like for those interested in the addition of an external strobe system to consider one more important function to add to the list of responsibilities for the strobe arm.

Buoyancy.

Warren mentioned it. I'd like to expand upon it.

Strobe arm length becomes the ideal platform and location imho to which buoyant material can be added (aftermarket if not incorporated into the original design) to help counteract any undesirable effects created by a negatively buoyant underwater camera rig. The benefit of choosing a long strobe arm is simple, it offers more area to attach buoyant material or incorporate buoyant design while maintaining the lowest possible profile.

Buoyant material is defined as any material that displaces water that weighs more that the dry weight of the chosen material itself. Another very important characteristic of the chosen material is that it should be able to withstand the pressure at which you will be diving. The deeper you dive, the increase in ambient pressure. If the chosen material cannot withstand the ambient pressure, it will compress. When compressed, as it compresses it will displace less water, diminishing its ability to offer lift.

The less your buoyant material weighs dry per cubic inch than the water you're diving in, the better. For reference, the approximate weight of salt water is 0.037 pounds per cubic inch.

Even better than adding to an existing system for those who do not yet have a current strobe arm system might be to choose a system that incorporates added buoyancy in the original design. The current ULCS buoyancy arm system (ulcs.com) design (a pair of arms for each strobe) that Warren mentioned displaces enough water to negate its own weight and that of the clamps required to connect each necessary component. For instance, a pair of 16" buoyancy arms and required components is reported to offer 5 ounces of lift benefit.......about the negative (underwater) weight of a DS 125. Obviously this is better buoyancy characteristics than offered by any of their otherwise high quality standard strobe arm systems. However ULCS is also on the verge of introducing a new line of buoyancy arms that are reported (pre-release) to increase the buoyancy benefit by 2.5 times over their original design. If it were me, and I was starting fresh, I'd wait until the new line is introduced.

StiX offers another off the shelf strobe arm system designed to address buoyancy. This newly introduced system utilizes an aluminum arm that can accept an assortment of buoyant floats reported to withstand pressure down to approximately 110 fsw. The versatility of the system offers the user the ability and option to counteract the negative weight of the housing and tray along with the negative weight of the strobe itself. By varying the amount of buoyant floats added to the arm system, anywhere from a neutral to slightly negative rig can be accomplished. For more information, follow these links:

review:

http://wetpixel.com/i.php/full/review-of-stix-buoyancy-arms-by-cor-bosman/

online discussion:

http://wetpixel.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=17347&hl=

If you currently have a strobe arm system and would like to use it as a platform to increase buoyancy of your underwater rig, imho that should be addressed in a separate thread............

hth,
b

 

[Hooked4Life]

Thanks Everyone.. I decided to go with the Inon Z-240. I am also looking at a WAL and Macro lenses. I know its a personal preference, but if I only could get 1 wet lens which would you pick?

Also how do you store the wet lenses while on a dive?

Thanks, Will

 

[Warren_L]

Keep in mind that a good WAL is probably going to be quite a bit more than a macro lens, as far as wet mount lenses are concerned. Again, it really depends on what kind of photography you're interested in primarily. For me, I would go WAL first. You in-camera macro may already do a pretty good job, so a wet mount macro lens may not add that much.

As for storing lenses, I would usually go with the WAL already on the camera. You can also get a lens caddy which generally mounts on the tray or strobe arm and can hold a lens for you.