Strobe suggestions for C5050z?

[rhyme]

I've had a Olympus C5050Z for some time... always rented the YS-90DX strobes and worked great for me. Finally thinking of just picking up my own...

Looking for advice on what to get... Since my digital camera is "entry level", there's no TTL sync option (as far as I know) and I'm just looking for something that will provide reasonable quality. Price is a major driver.. I love taking photos underwater, but I just dont go diving enough each year to justify a major expense here. < $500 is a sweet spot for me.

I came across this one which seemed solid.

http://www.leisurepro.com/Prod/BOND...l&AdvSrchSortField=Relevance&SortDesc=0&Hit=1

I especially liked the fact that it seems pretty versatile in terms of knowing I'll be able to get it to work right with my C5050Z.

Any advice appreciated!

 

[oly5050user]

I've had a Olympus C5050Z for some time... always rented the YS-90DX strobes and worked great for me. Finally thinking of just picking up my own...

Looking for advice on what to get... Since my digital camera is "entry level", there's no TTL sync option (as far as I know) and I'm just looking for something that will provide reasonable quality. Price is a major driver.. I love taking photos underwater, but I just dont go diving enough each year to justify a major expense here. < $500 is a sweet spot for me.

I came across this one which seemed solid.

http://www.leisurepro.com/Prod/BOND...l&AdvSrchSortField=Relevance&SortDesc=0&Hit=1

I especially liked the fact that it seems pretty versatile in terms of knowing I'll be able to get it to work right with my C5050Z.

Any advice appreciated!

5050 is a great system to work with..does have ttl capabilities..camera features best used with an ikelite housing(if you can find one)has a hot shoe attachment for strobe.Use an ike strobe..See my images in my gallery,alot done with 5050 system.

 

[Gudge]

My wife has used both the Inon Z240 and D2000 with her 5050. The TTL strobe control via a fibre optic sync cord available on these strobes (called sTTL by Inon) works very well.

 

[Warren_L]

When I had my 5050 I used a set of INONs, D180 and a D2000. I don't think they make the D180 anymore, but you should be able to get a D2000. Both worked great, and are close to your price range.

 

[herman]

The Bonica would not be my choice. As best as I can tell, the controls are a simple varible resisitor which is going to make accurate (repeatable) setting difficult. Their web site does not give any specs but based on the statement "varible for F-stops from 2 to 4" it does not appear to be a very powerful strobe. Another problem is the lack of a fiber or cable control, without one of these, your are going to be forced to use the camera strobe without any kind of flash deflector which is going to make backscatter darn near impossible to avoid.
The 5050 is a quite capable camera, a strobe more equal to it's abilities would be a better choice. Save your coins and get a better strobe, the Inon D2000 would be a good choice.

 

[rhyme]

Thanks for all the posts..

So... the problem with TTL, it would appear, is that the housing I have, (PT-015), doesn't seem to support it.

Compared to a PT-020 housing - see :

http://i1.ebayimg.com/05/i/000/8e/31/1eaf_12.JPG

I don't have that metal connection on top, so I'm a bit confused. Am I missing something obvious here? Best I can tell, the PT-015 just doesnt support a TTL option... How would you connect the strobe to the camera itself? Adding to my confusion is that apparently, people with an INON D2000 and PT-015 use them together...

See: http://www.scubaboard.com/archive/index.php/t-100154.html

So I'm a little lost, maybe there's something basic about TTL that I just dont understand.

 

[Larry C]

The YS-110 is in your price range, and does both hardwire and optical ttl. The D-2000 is really nice as well, but you have to choose between the W with a hardwire and the S with optical link and S-ttl. Z-240 is pricier, but really strong and has it's own auto exposure system for optical or hardwire. You have to aim it directly at the subject to use it, though.

 

[rhyme]

Ok so YS-110... Quick Q:

http://www.leisurepro.com/Prod/Cate...e/DescSort_1/Filter_2=869/SSYS110P.html?Hit=1

If I understand how this setup works correctly... the fiber optic cable actually sits on the outside of the camera housing with some kind of strap?

It would seem that between the D2000 and the YS-110, were talking very similar quality / features... Is there anything truly distinguishable between the two?

 

[Larry C]

The YS-110 will work with the cameras hotshoe if you add a ttl converter (I use a Heinrichs/Weikamp on my SP-350, one of my dive buddies has a built in one on his Light & Motion C5050 housing). It will also do optical. The D2000S is optical only, the D2000W is hardwired and costs more. Inon has a really nice optical cord system that works with their AD lens mounting systems. If you check out Gilligan's posts, he uses an Inon on his C4000 with his own cord attachment set-up. A lot of people seem to just stick the fiberoptic cord on their diffuser with black tape to cover the built in flash and prevent backscatter. I've had mixed results with fiber-optic cords, which is why I went with the ttl converter and the YS-110. I think you can also get an Olympus/Nikonos converter cord that will let you fire either the Sea & Sea or Inon with manual adjustment.

 

[Gudge]

I don't have that metal connection on top, so I'm a bit confused. Am I missing something obvious here? Best I can tell, the PT-015 just doesnt support a TTL option... How would you connect the strobe to the camera itself? Adding to my confusion is that apparently, people with an INON D2000 and PT-015 use them together...

If you use an Inon Z240/D2000/D2000w/D2000s with the fibre optic sync cord you can have TTL via Inon's sTTL system. Here's an explanation and a movie showing how it works:

http://www.inonamerica.com/content/docs/STTL_D2000.pdf
http://www.inon.co.jp/product/strobe/d2000_pre.html

This thread has photos showing how it is connected:

http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=186719

Although the housing shown is an earlier model than the PT-015 the connection method is the same.