What will a STOBE do for me?

[Chad_Ordelheide]

Hello All,
I have a Canon A80 and have enjoyed taking pictures! I am debating getting a strobe but I'm not quite sure what to expect from it!!
Secondly, as asked by many many people... Any suggestiong on equipment if I have the Canon Housing would be appreciated. Especially from those who have the same configuration. Thanks alot for reading the thread!!

Happy Diving from Guam


If you want to critique a few more pics. I believe the below link has a few of my pictures.
http://www.scubaboard.com/gallery/showgallery.php/ppuser/24722/cat/500

 

[alcina]

A strobe is a great investment if you enjoy underwater photography! A quick list of what it will do for you (with practice!):

1) decrease backscatter
2) allow creative lighting
3) increase the variety of environments you can shoot in
4) increase the variety of subjects/scenes you can capture
5) increase your control over the final image - set mood, control background, highlight important subject matter etc
6) allow use of additional lenses (macro, wide angle) beyond ambient light

I would head for the Inon strobes. Ikelite would also be high on my list. I have used both (currently use the Inon 220s) and love them. For where I am, Inon was cheaper. They also use AA batteries and this made a difference to me; some Ike strobes use a proprietary battery which is great, but can be hard to find fast if one goes down. Expect to pay more for the strobe than you did for the camera, housing and memory! IMHO do not scimp on a strobe...buy one that can grow with you, the extra dollars now mean not having to replace the dumb thing when you outgrow the basic functions (which a lot of people can do pretty quickly).

For me, I like to have manual control of my lighting. ttl and psuedo-ttl are great in some circumstances and many current strobes do a very good job. But there are times when you are going to want to control things completely and the more manual steps there are, the more control you have. You'll still be able to use the "auto" functions when you don't need/want to mess with manual.

I have used the Inon with my Canon A series cameras and love the results. I have also used my old Ike (pre digital) strobes with these cameras with excellent results. The new Ike strobes for digital cameras are very good and are the way to go if you head to that brand. Check out the strobe finder to start the process of finding the right strobe for you.

You don't need an external strobe to achieve fantastic results...have a look at calypsonick's gallery - all done with internal strobe only. If you stick with internal you simply need to get out there and practice to find what works for your camera...wait, that is the same thing you'll have to do with an external, too

 

[boca diver]

I'm basically in the same boat. However, I have recognized the need for a strobe and the want for additional lenses. I have made two recent posts, one about the equipment needed: tray, arm, strobe,etc. I also posted a thread on Sea & Sea vs Inon D-2000. The D-2000 replaced the D-180, this is what I originally had in mind, and is probably the route I'm going to take.

The replies to my posts share a good amount of information on how to get started with the A80 and housing.

Also, from what I've researched $750+ is what it's gonna take for you to get into a decent setup.

~BD

 

[limeyx]

I'm basically in the same boat. However, I have recognized the need for a strobe and the want for additional lenses. I have made two recent posts, one about the equipment needed: tray, arm, strobe,etc. I also posted a thread on Sea & Sea vs Inon D-2000. The D-2000 replaced the D-180, this is what I originally had in mind, and is probably the route I'm going to take.

The replies to my posts share a good amount of information on how to get started with the A80 and housing.

Also, from what I've researched $750+ is what it's gonna take for you to get into a decent setup.

~BD

I have the INON D-2000 and it's pretty cool. The pics look good even with my basic camera.

Excluding housing, I spent about $950 including fiber optic cable, but I got the (optional) Z-arm which would cut $200 off if you don't get it.

I think the fiber optic solution is better than the IKE slave-mode but for a good camera with a real sync cable I am not sure, as I've not looked into that.

If you send me your email, I can send some pics taken with the D-2000 (but I don't have any with just the camera to compare)

 

[Chad_Ordelheide]

I have the INON D-2000 and it's pretty cool. The pics look good even with my basic camera.

Excluding housing, I spent about $950 including fiber optic cable, but I got the (optional) Z-arm which would cut $200 off if you don't get it.

I think the fiber optic solution is better than the IKE slave-mode but for a good camera with a real sync cable I am not sure, as I've not looked into that.

If you send me your email, I can send some pics taken with the D-2000 (but I don't have any with just the camera to compare)

Why don't you upload some of those pictures to the site's gallery? I would like to see them too.

 

[limeyx]

Why don't you upload some of those pictures to the site's gallery? I would like to see them too.

OK -- uploading. Take a look.

Most are shot at around 40 feet (although the torpedo ray was down at 75 or so -- wish I had a better shot of him).

I have only used the camera twice and am still playing with the setup. Due to a limitation of the housing (it's the only one available for my camera), I cannot use the viewfinder. So I was playing with either "guessing" or using the display -- neither of which is perfect.

These were all taken off of catalina Island, LA.

For these pics I actually had the strobe above the camera in the middle. Next trip I am gonna move it off to the left and see if it cleans them up any.

 

[limeyx]

OK -- uploading. Take a look.

Most are shot at around 40 feet (although the torpedo ray was down at 75 or so -- wish I had a better shot of him).

I have only used the camera twice and am still playing with the setup. Due to a limitation of the housing (it's the only one available for my camera), I cannot use the viewfinder. So I was playing with either "guessing" or using the display -- neither of which is perfect.

These were all taken off of catalina Island, LA.

For these pics I actually had the strobe above the camera in the middle. Next trip I am gonna move it off to the left and see if it cleans them up any.

All pics were taken with 2.1MP Digital Elph S300 on manual mode using fiber optic connection to the strobe

 

[sprain]

A strobe is a great investment if you enjoy underwater photography! A quick list of what it will do for you (with practice!):

1) decrease backscatter
2) allow creative lighting
3) increase the variety of environments you can shoot in
4) increase the variety of subjects/scenes you can capture
5) increase your control over the final image - set mood, control background, highlight important subject matter etc
6) allow use of additional lenses (macro, wide angle) beyond ambient light

I would head for the Inon strobes. Ikelite would also be high on my list. I have used both (currently use the Inon 220s) and love them. For where I am, Inon was cheaper. They also use AA batteries and this made a difference to me; some Ike strobes use a proprietary battery which is great, but can be hard to find fast if one goes down. Expect to pay more for the strobe than you did for the camera, housing and memory! IMHO do not scimp on a strobe...buy one that can grow with you, the extra dollars now mean not having to replace the dumb thing when you outgrow the basic functions (which a lot of people can do pretty quickly).

For me, I like to have manual control of my lighting. ttl and psuedo-ttl are great in some circumstances and many current strobes do a very good job. But there are times when you are going to want to control things completely and the more manual steps there are, the more control you have. You'll still be able to use the "auto" functions when you don't need/want to mess with manual.

I have used the Inon with my Canon A series cameras and love the results. I have also used my old Ike (pre digital) strobes with these cameras with excellent results. The new Ike strobes for digital cameras are very good and are the way to go if you head to that brand. Check out the strobe finder to start the process of finding the right strobe for you.

You don't need an external strobe to achieve fantastic results...have a look at calypsonick's gallery - all done with internal strobe only. If you stick with internal you simply need to get out there and practice to find what works for your camera...wait, that is the same thing you'll have to do with an external, too

I agree...don't scrimp on the strobe. A good one will really grow on you. Have outgrown my SunPak, and a good(?) thing it got fried so it's time to get a new one!