YS27DX not syncing up with E-410 with FL20 housed flash

[gary-ramey]

Help!!

How it should work - The YS27DX is a manual strobe. When I use it with my SP-350 it will output whatever light I dial in on the back. If I set if for full power and I'm too close it will promptly wash out the subject.

How its working with the E-410 and E-500 DSLRs - The strobe fires fine but it makes no impact on the photo whatsoever. I can increase power to full or simply to minimum and it doesn't change the photo at all. It has two settings, 1 slave and 1 pre-flash ignore setting. I've tried it on both but its suppose to be on the preflash ignore.

My guess is that the E-XXX series of cameras have more than one preflash and the camera isn't syncing with the YS27DX because the strobe can only ignore 1 preflash. Does anyone know how you adjust that within the camera? I've tried every setting the camera has and it appears the only one that works correctly is the manual mode. So without a major upgrade in strobes, I've lost the TTL I've grown accustomed to having with the SP-350. Furthermore, the housed FL-20 strobe will only produce a full dump in manual mode. Making the strobe pretty much useless to me.

Any suggestions appreciated...thanks,

 

[gert7to3]

The E-410 and E5-10 are nominally SLR cameras. They may likely have more limited shutter speed synch times than the SP-350. Maybe even as low as 1/125th of a second or less. So try shooting with some slower shutter speeds. Set up the camera, strobe and housing. Then shoot pictures at a mirror, where you can see if the flash synchs with the camera. If the flash goes off, but there is no image of it, that's a synch problem.

Your camera's built in flash pops up and works properly inside the housing? Or are you relying on the housed FL-20 strobe to trigger the YS27DX? In the [Mode] menu, in the first "tools" adjustment segment, I think the third one down, there is an autofocus illuminator near the bottom of the list. That can be turned off to eliminate the preflash.

 

[gary-ramey]

Thanks Gert. The camera syncs to 180 but all my tests were with the shutter speed at 100. Yes, I am trying to sync it off the FL-20 but it won't sync in ttl mode with the internal strobe either. I will only sync with the flash set to a manual setting.

My test set up was simple. I had a coffee cup on a desk. The YS27 was sitting about 2" to the right of the cup. I had the FL20 mounted directly on the camera and shot pictures of the cup. I could see the YS27 firing but in ttl mode on the FL20 and E-410 it made no impact on the outcome of the exposure. Even setting the YS to full power had no effect. As a matter of fact the exposure remained the same even when I turned off the strobe.
Now if I went to manual mode (dial on flash) with the FL20 and slave mode on the YS, everything synced up fine. The only problem is Olympus didn't plan on using software to adjust the FL20 inside the E410 like they did the SP-350. So the only thing the FL20 does in this mode is a full dump. So I don't even have a adequate workaround at the moment. BTW, I can also put the internal strobe into manual steps and sync the YS. The internal software allows you to step through several power settings using the built in strobe.

Here's what I think my choices are and I'd appreciate anyone's suggestions:

1. Buy another YS27DX, forget TTL and fire manual/slave mode from the internal strobe.

2. Sell the YS27DX and buy an Olympus UFL-01. The UFL-01 has a TTL mode that syncs up with the FL20 just fine but the guide number is half that of the YS27DX.

3. Buy an Inon D2000 or Z-240. Questions abound here. If I purchase 1 will I be able to use either the FL20 or YS27DX as my other strobe. I'm uncertain and I can't afford to buy two.

 

[DesertEagle]

I would put the YS-27 on eBay and buy an Inon strobe. Choice of optical TTL directly form the E-410 flash, wired synch, possible TTL if there's an adapter.

FYI my cheapo YS-60 and Heinrichs Weikamp adapte are working well in testing. I'll get to take it undewater next month in the Red Sea.

 

[randini]

I would put the YS-27 on eBay and buy an Inon strobe. Choice of optical TTL directly form the E-410 flash, wired synch, possible TTL if there's an adapter.

FYI my cheapo YS-60 and Heinrichs Weikamp adapte are working well in testing. I'll get to take it undewater next month in the Red Sea.

That's good to hear since I'm getting the same setup (it should arrive here in mid November). What camera are you using it with?

My apologies to OP for the threadjack. My noobishness precludes me from helping with your issue.

 

[gert7to3]

Have you checked with Olympus to see if they have any suggestions or a software update for your E-410? Remember how they had the AA battery firmware update for the SP-350?

EVOLT E-410 Software Downloads

How about selling the FL-20? Then get a TTL capable Inon or S&S strobe to use with your YS-27?

I have two YS-25's (a DX and an Auto) which work well with my SP-350. Manual flash is ok. It is true that there are times I just wish I could point the camera and have the strobe metered.

Did you check the autofocus illumination setting? The review I read says the E-410 uses the flash for this purpose and you can turn it off in the Mode menu.

 

[gary-ramey]

Hi Guys,
yes I've given thought to getting an Inon but the problem is I would need two of them or do you think the Inon's would work in conjunction with the FL20 or YS27DX? There's no way I can afford two of them.
Gert,
I spent about an hour with Olympus on the phone on Friday. We went through all the possibilities in configuration. It appears I'm kind of stuck changing strobes/setups. I've also checked the firmware and I'm uptodate. It looks as though I'll be in uncharted territory. I'll probably try and call Ryan's Reef Photo and see what their opinion is.

 

[gert7to3]

If you don't have that pre-flash deal, or if you could turn it off, then I don't see why it wouldn't work. Of course half your lighting system would be manual, that's the downside.

It sounds like the FL20 strobe is the problem here. See if you can get full control with any other TTL strobe, then go with that one. The YS-27 would be a fill flash. This is how I think things will pan out.

 

[gary-ramey]

Sorry for the brain gymnastics but I've learned more than I care too about preflash. Actually the YS27DX will not sync on the internal strobe of the E-410 either, unless the YS is set to manual and a manual output chosen in the software of the E410...ie 1/16. BTW (This is why if I had two of them and went completely manual I'd be fine other than not having ttl). If the software in the camera is set to auto or any other setting it misfires the YS27DX. The problem with the FL20, unlike the flash built-in the E410, is that there is no internal software adjustment in the firmware of the E410 designed to work with the FL20 (an Olympus oversight). So if you set the fl20 to manual and the strobe software to manual, you get a full dump of the FL20 as your only option. This syncs the YS27 fine in slave mode (if you can live with a full burst all the time). If you set the camera's internal strobe to auto, or fill flash modes the strobe fires but doesn't affect the exposure. If you have the same camera setting and the YS set to slave, your picture comes out dark because the flash fires during the preflash sequence and fools the camera into thinking there is more light that there really is.
Olympus stopped short of telling me that the preflash sequence is different in their DLSR's and their P&S models but that is truly the case. Wierd issue. I tested both the SP-350 and E-410 side by side on Friday and the SP-350 works just fine while the E-410 doesn't. In any case, I think I'm probably going to try the Inon strobe to see if it works out alright. However, I'm unsure the YS27 will sync off the Inon strobe so I'll give reef photo a call in the AM and have them test it.

 

[gary-ramey]

If you don't have that pre-flash deal, or if you could turn it off, then I don't see why it wouldn't work. Of course half your lighting system would be manual, that's the downside.

It sounds like the FL20 strobe is the problem here. See if you can get full control with any other TTL strobe, then go with that one. The YS-27 would be a fill flash. This is how I think things will pan out.

BTW...oddly enough the FL20 works just fine as a strobe by itself with the camera. Its the YS27 that will not act like a "fill flash" because it won't sync.