Sunpak G-Flash Underwater Strobe

[SeaYoda]

Great pictures are you sure you did not use a $600 strobe (not including the arms) and not the less than $200 Sun Pak G-flash with the arm and tray included and has been around for the past ten years?

I am not really allowed to comment on this strobe or any other piece of equipment unless I own the exact same item, irrelevant of the fact that I own about a dozen U/W strobes and countless numbers of portable flashes and studio equipment.

Marine life seems to be drawn to more expensive $600 strobes I heard instances of fish actually coming up to divers and start posing for a picture, but only with $600 strobes!

And the fact that only the light from a $600 strobe can yield perfect exposures each and every time, heck I hear that a $600 strobe can also COMPOSE and FOCUS the picture for you! Unthinkable in a less than $200 strobe!

Only with a $600 strobe (or more) can you achieve a shadow less, even lighting from a single strobe! Light always travels in a straight path unless it is reflected off an object the $600 strobe defies the laws of physics and actually bends the light by placing magic reflectors around the subject!

You see you would need three Sun Pak G-flash (less than $200) strobes to equal one $600 strobe, hey maybe that’s the way they came up with that price!

One thing that I could never figure out is that my $50 TTL, auto, manual LAND strobe has the same if not more features than the $600 strobe ($150 U/W sync cord not included that’s another story) yet they have a vast discrepancy in price? I attribute this to the super duper space age PLASTIC used on the $600 strobe or the space age photon generator used only in $600 (or more) strobes.

Again great pictures from a less than $200 strobe, I guess you just got lucky.

:lol3:

 

[SeaYoda]

Here are some of my pics with the strobe:

 

[f3nikon]

I guess you got lucky too! Actually, your wallet seems to the luckiest one of all! Great Shooting!

 

[Larry C]

I saw an interesting thread somewhere (I think I saved it on my work computer) where some fellow in Britain stuck a land strobe in a dry box (cell phone, etc.) and built himself a workable unit with good features for about 75 bucks, mount and all. I think for simplicity, though, the Sunpak with a mount and all for under 200 dollars sounds great. I checked the specs on a strobe compare site, and the power is equal to the best of the 500-600 dollar name brand models. It only lags in features and speed. They didn't compare the light pattern on the Sunpak, but that and the timing were the critical features on the others. If it fires off the Oly flash, you have your choice of shutter start flash or shutter finish flash. I'm very tempted.

 

[vkalia]

Nice shots, jedi. And thanks for the nice words, FM3.

The Sunpak is astounding value - power that is similar to the Ike DS125s, IIRC. TTL would be nice and worth paying for, but if I am going to use a strobe manually, I'm never shelling out for anything more than the G-flash.

Hope to get that S70 back soon and start taking more photos!

Vandit

 

[gaudencio]

hi seayoda,
I am only a beginner in u/w photography, One question. Does the strobe flash simultaneously with the camera oly 5060wz. Should I cover my internal flash with a diffuser to trigger the strobe? or can i use also the internal strobe to have more light in my shots. sorry for these questions. hope you could help.

 

[bobf]

........
The Sunpak is astounding value - power that is similar to the Ike DS125s, IIRC.................
Vandit

I'd like to comment on the term "power".

The Sunpak G Flash strobe uses two AA batteries to provide "power" to illuminate a relatively small (compared to the DS 125) area of coverage. For example, think of "spotlight" vs "floodlight". The Sunpak beam more resembles a "spotlight" in coverage capabilities. The coverage and temperature (5500°K) of the light emitted by the strobe is suitable for macro work. Sunpak does not provide Watt-second data, or actual stored "energy" within its capacitor, ready for use, in published data available to us. Recycle time of 7.5-9 seconds is misleading somewhat imho because the time to recharge the capacitor refers to a previous full power strobe expenditure scenario. Full dumps of light are generally not required with macro photography using small digicams capable of stopping down only to f/8. In other words, one can expect quicker recycle times when fresh batteries are installed and during "normal" usage.

The Ikelite DS 125 utilizes a dedicated NiCAD battery pack that is capable of producing 110 Watt-seconds of energy stored it the strobe's capacitor. The NiCAD battery is capable of recharging the capacitor in one second if necessary to capture another image at full dump. The beam angle, or angle of coverage, is tested at 100°, suitable for wide angle and macro work. The DS 125 is tested at GN 32 underwater (ISO 100, ft). The guide number rating for the DS 125 is consistent throughout the beam angle within an f/stop of intensity. The warmer light (4800°K) is preferred for wide angle image captures by many pros.

In the posted image examples of the Sunpak G flash in use, you'll notice that the strobe is aimed directly at the target (fish). By doing so, the water column between the lens and the target is also illuminated, resulting in the illumination of particles in the water column referred to as "backscatter". These particles are more obvious when shot against a dark background. Notice that in the images the backscatter is not a prevalent against white sand.

To counter the capture of backscatter, I was taught to aim a strobe slightly behind the target, resulting in only the edge of the strobe's beam coming into contact with the target. This technique is commonly referred to as "painting with the edge of light". One challenge that Sunpak G flash users will face when attempting this technique is that the light falloff, or intensity of the light beam at the outer edges of the "cone" of the "spotlight" light falls off dramatically. That is where the size of the light beam and the consistency of intensity within the beam becomes beneficial. Strobes designed for underwater use generally address the need for the beam angle with curved strobe lens designs, multiple flash tubes within the strobe face, and/or large "reservoirs" (or capacitors) of "power" to rely upon. These features are not as necessary when shooting through air, which is 8 times less dense than water.

When capturing macro images, the photographer has the ability to aim his strobe directly at the target, without concern of backscatter showing up in the composition. Also, because there is less water between the target and photographer, and water filters out warm colors such as red, the temperature of the light is less important. This is my basis for commenting that the G flash is suitable for macro work.

One final difference between the two strobes that I feel is worthy of mention is the battery compartment design. If water infiltrates the battery compartment of the DS 125, the battery is affected but not the strobe. The G Flash does not compartmentalize in its design. If water gets by the G flash battery door, water will come in contact with the strobe circuitry

An attempt to discuss "Value" may rely more on subjectivity and perception.

For a head to head comparison of specs, you may wish to visit the strobe finder:
http://www.digitaldiver.net/strobes.php

regards,
b

 

[scubaaaronh]

Sea Yoda are you using the flash with a 5060? are you using the flash with a diffuser

 

[vkalia]

Bob, good points - yes, value does ultimately depend on subjective perception. And of course, better value does not always equal better product. If I look at sales revenue to cost of lenses, my trusty 100-400 fares much better than my 500/4. Better value - yes. Better - no.

My comment on power was based on a recollection somewhere that GN of the G-Flash is comparable to that of the Ike 125s. Dunno where I read it. I recall that there was some question at the time about how complete the information was.

Coverage is of course another important factor - and the reason why I'm probably going to get a couple of DS-125s when I house one of my DSLRs.

Cheers,
Vandit

 

[bobf]

Vandit,

Your recollection may be of tests performed in a pool (in other words, underwater=good) conducted by Gazzer. Gazzer concluded that the Epoque ES 150 DS, which may or may not be identical to the Sunpak G Flash (but I'd be willing to at least suggest they come off the same assembly line) was actually brighter at the center of its beam than a DS 125. But as I stated in my previous post, fall off of light intensity was much quicker. iow, the angle of the beam emitted was quite narrow. This becomes important when discussing a lenses field of view. The Sunpak will have a challenge illuminating the wide angle field of view of a typical point and shoot digicam without being forced to illuminate the particles in front of the lens. But again, when zooming in for macro work the Sunpak should perform capably.

I once did an experiment to help myself better understand the capabilities of my strobe, a DS 125. With some gray construction paper I cut out a form that resembled the beam angle it projected. With the aid of a protractor I traced out lines of 50° angles on either side of a three inch line (the width of the strobe head). This produced a beam ange of 100° (50+50). I then cut out the shape created and placed it in front of the strobe lens. This enabled me to get a better picture of what my strobe was capable of illuminating.

Check out the attached image for an example of my test: