TTL slave sensor or manual controller?

[Swordfish]

Hi,

Which would you recommend for my 5050z/PT-015 (and coming Ikelite DS-125), the TTL slave sensor or the manual controller? I heard TTL works fine with macro shots but not with certain wide angle shots. Do you think TTL is something that I can live without given the manual controller's wider range of power?

Thanks a lot.

Regards,
Swordfish/Norman

 

[chippy]

I reckon TTL, as you can always switch over to manual if need be.......but I might be wrong

I use the TTL slave with my DS50, and it works fine, but as it's not particularly powerful it's a bit limited with wide angle shots unless it's just for illuminating the foreground.

 

[chippy]

Doh, sorry, posted my reply twice.

 

[ReyeR]

With the DS125, TTL sensor and the C5050 you'll be able to shoot in TTL and manual (4 steps - full, 1/2, 1/4 and 1/8; each step = 1 f-stop). The steps are a bit coarse but useable. TTL will not work in all situations - for example if the subject is too reflective or light absorbant it will end up fooling your camera and give you an incorrect exposure. The trick is to know when TTL will fail and use manual instead.

With the manual sensor you'll be able to shoot in 10 steps of half-stop increments.

My experience with the TTL sensor: TTL works fine and it was a great starting point for me. It was a bit fiddly at first to get right (aiming the sensor, flash comp. adjustment and pre-flash switch) but it works well once you have it setup. Where TTL would fail I would just use one of the 4 manual settings. As I got better and more familiar with my rig I found myself shooting more and more in manual - the reason was not TTL failing but the speed with which I could shoot in manual: with the C5050 in slave flash (level 1) and the awesome recycling speed of the DS125 you can practically shoot a picture a second. What was frustrating for me was not TTL failing but having to wait 3-6 seconds for the camera's flash to recycle in TTL.

 

[ssra30]

I agreed with ReyeR. I also use DS125 strobe, but with C4040.
Initially I used all most exclusively TTL while I still am trying to get more familiar with the rest of the camera setting but as I get into more and more manual mode for the camera rather than P or aparture priority mode, I start to rely more on manual setting for the strobe as well. I think now I am contemplating getting a manual sensor since I will be able to fine tune the lighting better.
Overall, I think TTL is nice when you start off with but eventually you probably will use more manual mode. For me, this happens after about 50 dives with my camera setup.