Usable Distance S-2000 Strobe

[Peter Bomberg]

I am replacing my camera arm's and wondering how long they should be if I assume the ratio is length = distance from subject.

I use dual inon S-2000's, so my question for those of you using the S-2000's what in your experience is a realistic maximum distance to the subject for wide angle photography?

My original thought was 2ft long arms but I want your opinions.

 

[Nemrod]

I am not sure I understand what the length of the arms has to do with the working distance of strobe to subject? I have Inon D-2000 strobes which are only slightly stronger than the S-2000, mostly a wider field of coverage. Depending upon water clarity and ambient light available I usually try to shoot no further than five feet. I use either 8 inches arms, one per side plus Z-joint and clamps, or an 8 inches and a 4 inches plus Z-joint and clamps.

James

 

[Peter Bomberg]

Thanks @Nemrod, in many places such as https://www.backscatter.com/reviews/post/Strobe-Placement-and-8-Easy-Tips-for-Lighting-with-Your-Subjects they essentially recommend a 1:1 ratio of strobe from lens and lens to subject i.e strobes are 2 ft if 2 ft to subject to minimize backscatter.

I am not sure what the realistic usable distance for the S-2000 is, I suspect 3-5 ft but wanted to find out what the consensus is, I can easily make my arms 2 ft but after that it's more challenging so if the general feeling is 2ft arms are enough I am off to the races.

 

[Nemrod]

Thanks @Nemrod, in many places such as https://www.backscatter.com/reviews/post/Strobe-Placement-and-8-Easy-Tips-for-Lighting-with-Your-Subjects they essentially recommend a 1:1 ratio of strobe from lens and lens to subject i.e strobes are 2 ft if 2 ft to subject to minimize backscatter.

I am not sure what the realistic usable distance for the S-2000 is, I suspect 3-5 ft but wanted to find out what the consensus is, I can easily make my arms 2 ft but after that it's more challenging so if the general feeling is 2ft arms are enough I am off to the races.

If you wash your strobes out, angle them out, you can get by with shorter arms. I would hate to have to deal with anything longer than two feet per side as measured from the lens center. A 4 inches and an 8 inches arm per side with clamps will put your strobes out around two feet from the lens at full extension.

James

 

[Peter Bomberg]

@Nemrod, I think your right, I can easily adjust a 2ft arm, longer than that and I cant reach easily.

 

[Peter Bomberg]

Actually I measured and I can likely go as far as 4ft so I guess the question is still, what is the usable distance for an inon S-2000, and how much benefit do I have of the extra arm lengt.

2ft is a certainty but should I go to 3 or even 4?

 

[dhaas]

My opinion is length out to the sides isn't as critical as strobe to subject distance. With a pair of S2000 units I used for almost 4 years I'd try and shoot 4' or closer. Maybe 5' if boosting my ISO and also boosting the strobe output.

I've always shot using S-TTL and you can go POSITIVE increasing the calculated output up to FULL power on the S2000. Either use the little triangular top center switch moving it towards "A" or "lie" through your camera's + / - FLASH EV output which the strobe will try and duplicate. Adjusting your camera's built in flash comes at a power consumption of your camera's built in flash though.

I have mostly shot with 12" flex arms and Z-mounts mounted on the outer end of a 12" tray. Also with smaller 6" flex arms moving the strobes closer to the camera (flared out a bit) and both seemed to work.

My mantra always has been "when you think you're close move another foot closer"

Finally, being a super lazy photographer I recently sold both Inon S2000 and bought a single NEW INON Z330 . It is wonderful......More power, a wide beam with or without the included diffuser and seems to recycle faster even in S-TTL.

In November I dived in Ginnie Springs Florida with Takuya Torii INON's Global Manager who loaned me one. A few instructions on my style of shooting and I knew it was the strobe for me.

A main reason to keep it simple is I have thousands of images after decades of diving including the last 20 years of digital shooting. For me less gear to travel with and simply enjoy diving was key in that decision. I shot many wonderful pictures with a big SLR housed system using one strobe.

Today's compact cameras (I used a Canon G7X II model for these) can produce photos most diving photographers I think would be happy with. Simple connect systems with less fuss, travel hassle and increased cost.

Just one old guy's opinion

 

[Peter Bomberg]

@dhaas, first great pictures on the one with the diver by the wall what setting are you using UW WB and UW wide mode?

Second I am sooo with you lighter is better (that is why dual S2000's rather than my old D200) and a compact setup that all fits into a small carry on and weighs very little.

So your general is 4-5 feet to the subject, seems about right and if I calculate properly you have 2+ feet arms (arm + tray) I have ordered new locline as by accident I got 1/2 and needed 3/4 so I will experiment but 24 should be fairly easy. It will also give me the length to pull in all the way when shooting into a sponge or crevice (I currently cant get the video lights in close enough).

 

[dhaas]

Peter,

I tend to shoot 1'-4'. The WA shots were using a simple "pop on" Fantasea BigEye F Series "Air lens" which simply restores the Canon G7X II camera's 24mm equivalent focal length UNDERWATER. I can pop it on (it floats) and pop it off my Fantasea housing to shoot closer fish photos or macro.

There are various other WA "wet" lenses allowing even wider views and my choice is a glance between size, weight and cost.

For ISO I try and shoot between the lowest 125 to 200. Maybe 250 - 320 - 400 early in the day or late if ambient light is low.

Shutter speed 1/125 or higher (my 1" sensor compact camera can shoot synched flash up to 1/2000!)

Aperture maybe f5.6 for a general f-stop. The close ups I might close down to f6.3 - 8 maximum. At F8 on a compact 1" sensor camera it's something like f22 on a big SLR (not sure.) This can introduce DIFFRACTION (blurring around edges) with very little additional depth of field going to such a higher f-stop number.

I've found putting the AF (AutoFocus) point on what you want the prime focus to be is more important than depth of field but that's me and my style of shooting.

Finally, being as I mentioned a super lazy photographer I shoot a fair amount of ambient light images these days.

White balancing in camera or using a Magic Filter (M A G I C - F I L T E R S) allows you to dive even easier Granted this is more for wide angle or medium framing shooting. It requires learning to evaluate what light is present versus shooting with a strobe(s).

The ambient light images look "different". Some always will prefer the brightly lit crispness of strobe lit photos but it can be another tool that's fun to try.

There's nothing more wonderful than diving with just your housing and observing where and how available light is illuminating the underwater world!

Traveling with less gear means being able to afford diving more often at least for me

Full disclosure; I am a Fantasea dealer and actually use the equipment I sell.

For housings and WA plus Super Macro lenses email me directly: davidhaas4596@gmail.com

David Haas
Haas Photography Inc.

 

[Interceptor121]

You can't determine the maximum reach independent of the aperture and gain used (ISO)

This strobe can do at best f/16 with diffusers at 1 meter at ISO 100 anything else you need to consider inverse square law.

To cover 1 meter you need 2 meters between the strobe, you need to take out the tray and divide by 2

In my case my tray is 30 cm so if I had this strobe I would only need 35 cm each side that is 13" even two 5" segment are enough.

The main influence on your reach is your camera crop factor. If you have a compact camera and you are shooting at f/4 you have 4 stops till f/16 so you can look at 2 meters distance for example which would give you 200-30=170 / 2 85 = 33 inches 1 12 and 1 16 segment

In practical terms it is rare to see people that have arms longer than 8 + 12 inches segment