thinking about the sp350

[matva]

hi,

i'm thinking about getting one of these (sp350) with an ikelite housing and strobe. Can someone explain to me what TTL is, what i can do with this camera (can i do both macro and far away shots) and what the advantage of buying a Wide angle and macro lense is. ALso, i'd like to buy the housing and strobe used. I don't care for ebay, but maybe there are some forums that i can look at?

thanks

 

[Larry C]

ttl is through the lens light sensing. The camera determines the flash strength needed based on the available light to the sensor and sends a signal to the flash based on that. The strobe automatically fires at that level, supposedly giving perfect light required for the aperture and shutter speed and the ambient light.
It is doubtful you'll find a used housing for this camera as the camera has only been on the market about 6 months, but there are plenty of used strobes on ebay. Just make sure the strobe is the right type for the system you plan to use, as even in a particular brand and basic model of strobe there might be three versions based on the type of signal the strobe will receive to fire it, or if it is designed for single or dual strobe systems. For posts on what people are using with this camera, there is an extensive SP-350 thread based on the experiences of several users. If you are planning on using an Ikelite housing and strobe, I would suggest checking their website and contacting them for more info.
The camera does very nice macros, and any camera is limited in the distance you can take pictures from underwater because of available light. Generally the strobe will light about 5-7 feet, and the light will diminish with distance. Using a wide angle lens allows getting a larger subject into the picture from the required close distance. A macro lens will allow a larger, more detailed picture of a very small subject without being 1/4" away where light availability and focus might be difficult at best. You can get very nice pictures without either if you practice, but they will be limited to what fits in your picture at the distance you shoot it, and how close you can get to the subject.

 

[DesertEagle]

A used Ikelite housing for the SP-350? Probably not. It's too new. My advice is to get a new housing and a used strobe. If you get an Ikelite housing, definitely get one of their strobes. It's a circuitry thing.

As far as wide angle lens- this is closest to what your eyes see. When you want to paint a picture of everything in front of you, the wide angle lens is it.

 

[oly5050user]

hi,

i'm thinking about getting one of these (sp350) with an ikelite housing and strobe. Can someone explain to me what TTL is, what i can do with this camera (can i do both macro and far away shots) and what the advantage of buying a Wide angle and macro lense is. ALso, i'd like to buy the housing and strobe used. I don't care for ebay, but maybe there are some forums that i can look at?

thanks

ike housing is way to go..will need a ds125 or ds 50 from ike for ttl features to work..ttl is a system the camera uses for correct exposure control when using a ttl strobe.when camera fires and has enought light for proper exposure it communicates to strobe to shut down strobe so there is no overexposure.Has nothing to do with ambient light.You can lighten or make darker the background by increasing shutter speed,start with a shutter speed of 125 and go to 200 or even 350 for black background,subject usually stays properly exposed if in range of strobe(distance and power).. Works very cool with sp350 and a sync cord to housing/camera hot shoe..w/a lens lets you work closer to subject and thereby have less water between you and subject/advantage is more color and less particulate matter causing backscatter.can also do some cool things with perspective in composing images such as using a technique called "close focus wide angle".I use this trick with alot of images..

 

[Larry C]

when camera fires and has enought light for proper exposure it communicates to strobe to shut down strobe so there is no overexposure.Has nothing to do with ambient light.

So what you're telling me is that the strobe will fire the same at 10 ft.depth in bright sunlight as it does at 100 ft. in dark water, and the ttl will only use the aperture and shutter speed? Then what would be the point of ttl?

 

[oly5050user]

when camera fires and has enought light for proper exposure it communicates to strobe to shut down strobe so there is no overexposure.Has nothing to do with ambient light.

So what you're telling me is that the strobe will fire the same at 10 ft.depth in bright sunlight as it does at 100 ft. in dark water, and the ttl will only use the aperture and shutter speed? Then what would be the point of ttl?

it measures the light reflecting off the surface of the subject..if you have the camera on automatic that controls the exposure controls of the camera but the strobe still shuts down/lessens power once enough light is recognized..try this..use the camera on M and shoot a image 8" from lens and notice how little light the strobe puts out..now hold subject 3' away and notice how much brighter the strobe is..ttl controls the amount of energy the strobe puts out..ttl does not control aperture or shutter speed,you do ,ttl only decreases the strobe output to what is needed off of the reflective subject..This is why you can get a proper exposure on a subject with ttl and have a black background with faster shutter speeds .Look at my gallery for examples..Some images there also have setting used..

 

[Larry C]

All this is correct. All I'm saying is that the light reflected off the subject includes ambient light, and the ttl will compensate for it with less flash when the subject is already well lit.

 

[oly5050user]

the strobe will overpower ambient light every time so this is why ttl works with stobe reflection off subject not available light...if it worked off of available/ambient light you will not be able to do tricks like make the background darker or black than the foreground subject..having the strobe and available light on a subject is not a accumalitive thing..one is brighter than the other(strobe) and the ttl compensates for it.

 

[Larry C]

Not being an expert on the subject, I will defer and continue to observe and experiment. I still have my doubts, but thats fodder for another thread. This poor guy's camera choice issue has been muddled enough!
On that, ttl's great but there are a lot of excellent slave strobes out there as well. I think you'll enjoy the camera regardless. Make a choice on camera and housing that you can afford and will give you the most future upside.