Nemrod

22 hours ago, Troporobo said:

I’ve been looking at Kraken lights and have decided on the 1800 WSR. It has wide, spot, and red lights, is dimmable, and uses a USB-C rechargeable battery. So it’s not simple and ticks none of your boxes! But it seems to be a good combination of focus light and secondary dive light.

I have the older Kraken 1500 and I like it still. I like that it has a mode that momentarily shuts off the focus light when the strobes fire. But, it from time to time requires me to beat on it for it to work. I found that the little battery spring was flat. I fixed that. Then, oddly, after many dives and despite a good rinse down, I found severe corrosion, as in pieces missing, under the saddle clamp where it abuts the forward light section, happened in one day of diving. I used emory paper and black paint to repair and so far, so good. But it is evident that I will need a new one sooner than latter.

L&M may have thrown in the towel too soon :(.

Mine will flash red blue at start up sometimes and then sometimes not, on the same battery or even a new battery. When I sent my housing in for service after five years (more or less) I mentioned this phenomena, and they could not replicate and all checked out normal. So, I go on a dive trip, and guess what ------. I just ignore it now and change my batteries on a regular basis. Thus avoiding the scary steady red!

I remove my main housing O-ring with each opening and lube it and clean the sealing surfaces. Early on with my then new Nauticam housing I had the steady red light and got confused thinking it meant water inside. I quickly dumped vacuum and opened the housing. Of course, some drops of water went inside just as you describe. I was near Reef Photo so took it there straight away and they cleaned and checked everything over for free. Then I refreshed my read of the OM ;).

I sometimes get the alternating lights when I turn the system on. Usually after a number of dives in a very humid place. Beats me but once pumped the green light stays steady.

I flooded my FIX/S90 and found a tiny piece of black hair wrapped on the case O-ring. Since my wife has short brown hair and mine is some sort of not black hair it was not mine or hers. Where it came from who knows, perhaps the room service ladies. My fault for changing batteries in a hurry and in a dimly lit area. DAN sponsored insurance covered.

I got to use David's NA-R50 camera rigged with my old single D2000 and my Nauticam WWL-1 (not B). Any question that the WWL-1 with the foam collar will not fit, it does perfectly. I am mightily impressed with this little rig. For a nearly compact camera size outfit using water contact optics, it is very capable and svelte in the water and should be travel friendly.

Sorry for not being more photogenic myself but the NA-R50 is quite cumly. (photo by DHaas)

I keep a couple of microfiber cloths in a baggie or dry pocket in the bag. I will pat the water compact optic down after a dunk in the rinse tank. I try to keep my camera in a Sam's Club bag between dives. I usually bring a bag of microfiber cloths with me on each trip and use them up over the duration.

I have not really had any problems with permeant water spots but what peeves me is a Nauticam housing getting all of the white spots. I try to pat it dry after rinsing. But I am there to dive, not maintain photo equipment so to some extent my water contact optics, ports and cameras must be capable of living in the real world of hard knocks. But still, I like my stuff to look new.

The above pertains to between dives when transported by boat, Jeep, camel or Isuzu or flip flops. Rinse tanks for between dive dunks are not even available at some or many locations. Once back to base, I soak the camera and run water over all of the controls exercising them and the optics. Then wipe it down with micro cloths and gently blow dry with an electric rechargeable blow gun.

On 4/8/2025 at 1:42 AM, Barmaglot said:

It doesn't. On my A6700/UWT combination, going above 1/160s automatically engages HSS (the appropriate symbol is shown on screen), which requires the strobes to also be in HSS mode, or they will fire out of sync and not expose the image at all. With a simple SeaFrogs trigger, HSS mode is not engaged, and it syncs at up to 1/250s - the narrow black band on top of the image appears at 1/320s. No tricks are needed to exceed the shutter speed.

Sorry, I should have included the board is set to 0 position.

I am sorry I have caused an argument. The sTTL mode when selected overrides the "bastard" switch /ACC cancel switch. The switch does nothing in sTTL (ACC) mode. When the strobe mode is selected to Manual mode the now active ACC switch must be properly selected for pre-flash or no pre-flash expected. The ACC switch does not select between two types of sTTL, one ACC and one not, but both utilizing the pre-flash for exposure control when the strobe is in sTTL mode. 

1 hour ago, Chris Ross said:

What INON does and it doesn't explain this very well is that it gives a somewhat brighter pre-flash so that the camera sees this and turns down the main flash as it thinks the subject is closer.  When the strobe fires for the main flash the ACC adjusts for a longer pulse than what the strobe on the camera delivers to get the right exposure.  ACC stands for  Advanced Cancel Circuit.

 

This may seem strange, but they do this so that the on camera strobe uses less battery power as it turned down for the main flash.  This is largely around dealing with compact cameras without manual mode  on their built in flash and small batteries which pretty much don't exist any more, even the TG-6 offers manual flash.  So effectively they don't have a pre-flash cancel.  If you push the button in on TTL it still works but you don't get the battery savings and the strobe exactly mimics the duration of both flashes.

 

The ACC button (aka bastard button) is required as the strobe will treat the single manual pulse as a pre-flash and won't fire the main flash as it doesn't receive the second signal.  The strobe fires when this happens and syncs properly but the exposure is way too low and seems to be about equivalent to about 2 on the power dial.

 

Just speculating that they may not include ACC on the new strobe and have just gone to a regular pre-flash cancel setup so the strobe doesn't fire on the pre-flash.

 

On the question of TTL, all digitals require pre-flash as far as I know as they need something to set flash power.   In the bad old days film cameras had TTL that shut off when they registered enough light reflecting off the film surface.  Apparently doesn't work reliably on digital sensors. 

Thank you for that explanation. I never could see that with several compacts I have tried with my  Inon strobes. 

 I had a film SLR that had off the film real time flash exposure, or at least I was thinking it did. But digital as you say, I cannot think of any. All digital use a pre-flash approach to TTL strobe exposure.

I think, as you suggest, that the two positions on the mode dial are possibly then ACC-sTTL/sTTL and thus no longer a need for the switch and again explains why there are a correspondingly two Manual modes?

2 hours ago, Dave_Hicks said:

Well, that's wrong.

 

Even the screen shot you shared instructs that you need to Push in the button to Position 1 when using Manual strobe power control on a non-preflash camera. Except for Olympus shooters, pretty much everyone is using Manual mode with these strobes.

I agree, I do not think I said any different. I was discussing the sTTL mode of the strobe. Of course, yes, if the strobe is selected to Manual mode then the pre-flash/no pre-flash switch becomes effectively active.

An Inon strobe defaults to pre-flash regardless of the magnet or the switch. That switch does nothing as long as sTTL is selected on the mode dial. I suppose there are cameras that have real time TTL strobe exposure with no pre-flash. That is interesting that there are two TTL and two M modes?

2 hours ago, TimG said:

 

If you do you are not going to get hit with that curse: ".... if only I'd bought the [fill in something you REALLY wanted to buy here but "compromised" and now regret it]...."

True. The Retra are bigger, heavier and likely more $$. I am not sure how useful HSS is but I would like that option if only to play with but perhaps not a requirement.  And I am an APS-C, M4:3, 1 inch type picture taker. No way I will ever go FF. Not UW or surface shooting. And I have 20 plus years old Inon strobes that still work. I was looking at the Weefine but reports are that some are flooding on first use. I figure Inon is good to go for reliability, the Retra, well, I have no idea but it seems they are a responsive company and would be able to support the strobes with service if and when needed. Which is a problem with Inon, service if needed in North America.

Regarding the pre-flash button/knob, I would prefer that to a confusing learning mode that needs to be learned again every time the strobe is powered up or switching modes.

There is hope then. It looks good with some useful improvements. I do not see HSS so I guess that was too much to wish for. I am probably in for a set since I am a long time Inon user and speak Inon. However, I may just have to go take out a loan or a second mortgage or something and get some Retras though they are way overkill for my skill level. 

I like the extended knobs, the multiple selections for the modeling light and it appears the case has been extended to the rear in that tapered area. I wonder if there will also be a new full size D model, perhaps a D240? Maybe not looking in the right place but I do not see an e-sync available, optical only? 

One thing I learned and it may not apply to other Alpha cameras with the UWT board (maybe only to mine?) is how to trick the camera to give me a little faster shutter sync. What I do, when I know I am setting up for a sun ball photo is to turn WL to Off and then set shutter speed to maximum 1/160. Then turn WL to On and the shutter speed will default to 1/200. It is not sticky so as soon as the camera is turned off if WL is On when the camera comes back on the shutter speed will drop to 1/125. With WL to On I cannot choose 1/160, to shoot at 1/160 I must turn WL to Off. And again, once set to 1/160 if I turn WL to On, the shutter will go from 1/160 to 1/200. With WL on the available shutter speeds are 1/125-1/200-1/250 and so on. If I select 1/250 the strobe no longer fires and if I go back down I must go all the way down to 1/125 to get strobe again with 1/125 being maximum sync speed available until I again select WL to Off. Did I mention that as much as I like my camera rig, I also hate it. 

11 minutes ago, Barmaglot said:

That's already accomplished by the flash compensation menu in the camera and, on most strobes, the power knob. 

That I understand but on the camera that requires going into the menu and pushing buttons and if working two strobes that requires two adjustments rather than using a master controller on the trigger. It was just wishful thinking considering it costs $650 what would be another $100 to have a power dial on the converter. Just looking towards the future day I might jump to another system what I might would want other than not wanting another Sony Alpha.

Here is one thing I noticed in terms of why profiles are needed vs the on board flash (of the 6400 or similar).  While trying to figure out why I have random fail to sync over the last five years I tried multiple different strobes and board switch settings. I found that if I use the Z240 setting with my D2000 or S2000 the photos would be under exposed. Same settings, using a Z240 the photos were more correctly exposed. Does the duration of the board LED pulse(s) change with the profile switch selector? When using different strobe optically triggered by the integral flash, we naturally make the adjustments that I found needed to use non-supported strobes or the incorrect profile intentionally selected on the board.

Since my board(s) were purchased before the S220 I have found that using the S2000 profile works fine but tends to be slightly over exposed compared to my old D2000 and (borrowed) S2000 strobes. Adjustments need to be made either by ISO or within the camera flash exposure +/- to correct. 

If the OP were to purchase the new external TTL trigger what does he gain vs the older in housing board type? What is the advantage he would see?

For me and my NA6400, when I want to shoot TTL I use the camera integral flash which works perfect, not an option for the A6700. When I want to shoot manual strobe, I use the UWT board and just accept that random photos will not sync, of course those are the ones with the shark or the whale or attack submarine, whatever never again opportunity occurs, but whatever😡. It is what it is. But never again a Sony, just saying. Not even sure I can blame the fail to sync randomly on Sony but I suspect that is where the issue is.

What would be cool, for the external TTL trigger, what if it had a +/- dial on it?

Thanks, now I understand, I think. Thanks. 

Interesting. The difference between 1/160 and 1/250 is surprising. Is that possibly due to ambient light when you did the test? I would have thought that all of the flash pulses would still be contained within an interval of 1/250 second? 

I think I have a basic understanding of how HSS works, maybe not ;). My question, with the same strobe power setting and in manual mode, does the strobe exposure effectively attenuate more and more as the shutter speed is increased or is the attenuation the same. Say we go from 1/200 max X-sync speed to HSS at 1/250 and 1/500 and then to 1/1000?

2 hours ago, Lewis88 said:

I added the usb-c bulkhead to my A6400 Housing setup. Works great. I charge from a battery bank between dives, and I don't need to break the vacuum to change a battery (or break down my kit if using my fisheye which is front mount). 

 

If I'm diving the same lens the next day, I'll leave the housing sealed overnight and charge from the wall. 

Which adapter cable did you use please?

BTW, the Nauticam aux battery originally would go to sleep. This was revised with a new connector that has some sort of chip (?) in it. Regardless, both of my booster batteries will run continuously charging the onboard battery and allow me to make up to four dives with little restriction. Usually during the fourth dive the booster becomes depleted and the camera goes to the onboard battery still fully charged. I know this because the camera starts to go to sleep rather than run continuous. 

I have made a third booster using this unit. The cover has to be removed. I have not used in underwater yet but it appears to function:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07JZCZSH9?ref=cm_sw_r_cso_sms_apin_dp_20AH8208SPJRT07YJC7F&ref_=cm_sw_r_cso_sms_apin_dp_20AH8208SPJRT07YJC7F&social_share=cm_sw_r_cso_sms_apin_dp_20AH8208SPJRT07YJC7F

On 3/28/2025 at 12:53 AM, Barmaglot said:

Inon doesn't publish the watt-second rating for their strobes, but Z-240 was measured to use 52 joules per full-power flash, and it's rated for 240 full-power flashes on regular Eneloop batteries, whereas S-220 is rated for 380 full-power flashes on the same, which gives a watt-second rating of about 33. WFS07 is rated, by the manufacturer, at 60 watt-seconds.

You have me convinced and the strobe table listed in this forum agrees. But per that chart it has twice the UW weight also of the S220. The reliability is unproven and it is a manual only strobe and for me I shoot TTL a lot. And on the subject of reliability. With my Nikonos II I shot flash bulbs circa 1973. With my Nikonos III I shot Oceanic strobes for a decade or more before finishing with Nikon strobes and used both into the digital era trying to make them work with an Oly 5050 and then buying the set of D2000 strobes circa 2005. So that is 20 years on one set of strobes (and hopefully they have life yet). In other words, reliability is important to me because reliability equates to longevity. I do not have the expendable income to jump cameras, housings and strobes every year.

These Weefine strobes could be great but I would like to see a year or two of use in the market before buying a set because they are not inexpensive strobes and they are from China, not Japan. Inon I would buy now if it existed. The video light, phooey, I would rather a modeling/focus light and HSS and/or sTTL. Of course, if I could have all for the same price, sure why not. But I do not even know how to make either of my camera systems do video, not a high priority. If I want video I just shoot it on a GoPro, maybe. 

21 hours ago, Barmaglot said:

Circular tube strobes tend to have a better beam spread without diffusers than straight tube ones, which leads to a lower GN rating, but better overall usability. For instance, Ikelite DS160s are rated at GN24, but you wouldn't dispute the massive difference in capability between them and S220s - they are, in fact, more powerful than GN33 Z330s. 

I think you underestimate the S220. Before I bought the S220s as a filler set until something comes along that is better and that I can afford, I had borrowed a set of Z240 strobes. This is because one of my ancient D2000 strobes had a malfunction (after being dropped one time too many) so a friend who was going home earlier than me lent me his Z240s. I am shooting nearly the same settings overall with the S220 strobes that I was with the borrowed Z2409 set and both are considerably stronger than my old D2000 set.

The Weefine does look like a nice strobe, not saying it does not. I do not shoot video at all but still, I suppose the video light is a good addition as a back up light during night dives. Circular or not, that is a big jump from 17 to 22 regardless of the flash tube and it is not as if the S220 has a narrow beam exactly itself and the S220 really does not need a diffuser due to the dome lens. Maybe Weefine will offer a new strobe model with a little more power without becoming huge in both size and $ range. It is kinda expensive already without being proven reliability in the market.

8 hours ago, Barmaglot said:

I was just on a liveaboard with a diver who moved to a pair of Weefine WFS07s after one of his YS-D1s died. They're quite compact and have good power - here is one next to my Retra Pro and a YS-D3:

 

 

I'm not very convinced by its method of closing the battery compartment though - the entire back panel is a separate unit that is clamped into place by a threaded annular piece of plastic, with about a dozen contact pads facilitating communications. On the upside, it keeps the fairly small back panel from getting cluttered by a battery compartment lid, which is normally just so much dead space, but on the downside, the sealing surface is quite big, and hidden from inspection by the clamping ring. On the gripping hand, the Li-ion cells provide enough charge for several days of diving, so you're not opening that lid too often. 

The Weefine is an interesting strobe but it is GN 17 vs my current S220s at GN22 (for whatever those numbers are useful or not) and it is kind of expensive for an unproven brand. I guess I can give Inon a little more time and if nothing comes out from them or elsewhere I guess it will be some DS3 Duo strobes. Neutral in the water, GN33 and relatively compact. And somewhat affordable. 

The problem with most of the strobes you mention @Architeuthis is that they are much different in buoyancy and size in the water and more $$$$$ with the exception of the YSD3 which like you I am dubious of them due to the poor reliability of the previous generation. The HF1 is just huge, heavy and negative in the water. For those of us shooting mid size rigs they seem awfully large in comparison to the camera/housing.

I have an older D2000 (of a set of two purchased new around 2005?), which has the On/Off switch problem after being dropped. It has been at a well known repair place for nearly a year. I give up on it and got some S220 strobes to fill the gap until Inon releases the new ZXXX or I decide upon something else.

Is there any hope for this strobe in my remaining lifetime? 

I sure hope Inon is not going out of business? It has always been difficult getting repairs for Inon gear but the upside was that it never broke, thus never needed repairs, mostly. 

2 hours ago, Chris Ross said:

I believe the WWL-1 is m67 attachment while the WWL-1B has a built in Nauticam boyonet.

Thanks, I had forgotten that. My WWL-1 has a Nauticam bayonet mount. I think it was added on, do not remember. It should zip right on the Z50 I would think.