Ike DS125's - They Wrock!

Hi Gang,

I'm just back from San Diego where I got to go diving at the Coronado Islands w/ the boat Lois Ann. Eric Cheng and two of my friends from Scripps were also able to make the trip and we had a blast!

I decided to "upgrade" my lighting to a matched set of Ike DS125's which I hadn't used before this trip.

I only need three words to describe my experience: These strobes wrock!!!!!

We were shooting extremely fast action (getting buzzed by boisterous sealions) and the fast recycle time of 1 second was vital to get the shots I wanted.The water was 60deg. but that didn't slow the strobes down either.

With a full charge I was able to get in 3 45 minute dives without having to recharge!! I shot an average of 50 shots per dive - most of the time set at full power. My 1 gig microdrive holds 72 RAW files and and I filled it completely on the sealion dive.

The small size of the strobes was great for diving in surge. At the first and third site we were at, there was some BIG swell pounding us around.

As usual, I have no business association w/ Ikelite, your mileage may vary, past performance is no guarentee of future results, consult your physician before trying any new strobe, yada yada yada...

Signed one VERY happy customer,

James Wiseman

PS - I forgot to add, I had no flooding problem with the strobes, despite bashing them into rocks from the 6' surge, bashing them into Eric a coupla times (sorry Eric!), and get this - they even got bit by sealions a couple of times - I $**t you not.

Yes, they can be as much or more fun to dive with as sharks.

Did any try to mouth your head? They seem to like the bubbles coming from the hood.

Wow, dual DS-125s, and I thought one was expensive. I too agree that the batter power is very adequate. I never came close to running out of charge last week in the Caymans, even on 4-dives a day. The included charger was more than adequate since I could recharge overnight.

I was having some problems synching with my point and shoot canon digital elf on pre-flash. See my post below. Do you have any suggestions?

Thanks

Chris

I bought a 125 when they first came out. After one days diving I bought 2 more as soon as they were avalible. Clearly the best strobes I've ever bought. Excellent for macro and WA. Mine have been bitten by Sea Lions many times. No problems, no floods. Only charge once a day. :ph34r:

Why do sealions bite them so much? Is it the sound, or the color??? Something triggers their curiosity and just like a toddler, it goes straight into the mouth...

Cheers

James

James,

Welcome to the 125 world, it's a nice, happy place. I only wish Ike would sell them in sets.

2 DS 125 +dual cord & rapid charger

Young Sea Lions are very curious. They will mouth a grab anything. You will be swimming through the kelp and feel a tug on your fin. When you look back there will be nothing there. Eventually you will catch a Sea Lion or Harbor Seal doing it. Best place to see lots of Sea Lions is Anacapa or Santa Barbara Islands. Both have rookeries and I have been at times been surrounded by hundreds of them zooming to within inches of my face mask. :ph34r:

Hi James,

I'm looking into these strobes, Can you tell me if you were using them on D-TTL or manuel settings?

I'm hopefully upgrading to the Nikon D100 but there a very few stobes out there that shoot D-TTL.

I wish Hartenberger stobes could shoot Digi, there recycle time of 0.2 second for 250 watts, and 1 seconds for there 625 watts.

Thanks

Craig.

No DTTL with any strobe except Nikon DX strobes with the D100. Ike is supposedly working on it. With the ability to have instant review I find I don't need TTL. Several companies say they will house the DX80 and give you DTTL.

Hi James,

 

I'm looking into these strobes, Can you tell me if you were using them on D-TTL or manuel settings?

I'm hopefully upgrading to the Nikon D100 but there a very few stobes out there that shoot D-TTL.

 

I wish Hartenberger stobes could shoot Digi, there recycle time of 0.2 second for 250 watts, and 1 seconds for there 625 watts.

 

Thanks

Craig.

You can use the Hartenberger's with the D100, just in manual. Prepare for some serious sticker shock, though.

You'ld really look good with a pair of the 625's! That and a Nexus with the 70-180. I wonder if anyone has housed the 400 f2.8?

Sea lions are excellent fun to dive with - I've done it twice with Australian and New Zealand sea lions but didn't have my camera setup then. You chew through your air though...

Maybe it's time for another visit to Montague Island now that I've got my camera setup...

You guys are going to have a hard time getting Ike to warrantee those strobes. You'd better recant your stories!

I don't think any execs from Nikon read this forum, so I'm not worried

Having ran out of money (the bank manager said no, the wife just hit me). I had stop stop my purchases at the DS50 have splashed the cash for the S2, housing and Nikon 60mm.

But i am now looking to add a better strobe. Will the DS125 work well in conjunction with the DS50?

SubStrobe DS-50 combines fine with the DS-125 if you have a note from your wife giving permission.............

Thats what I did before I could afford a second.. Worked very well.

not sure if i should start this in another thread really but it follows on from my posting above.

When i bought the DS50 i really didn't have much of a clue about how i should attach the little beastie to the housing so i just ended up buying a cheap ike arm. Not sure of the model number etc but it has a clamp thing at the base and two rod like arms.

I have to say i have found it a bit of a pain. I like to be able to break down the equipment quickly on the boat so i can store in in a protective box during transit to and from the dive site.

Now i am also going to be adding the DS125

so what i am looking for is a recommendation on just how i should change my setup. Which arms would you recommend that give me the desired stability and are easy to take on and off.

OK, now you've done it! Ike will be back here in 10 minutes I'm sure...:-)

Eric and I use the Ultralight arms. They are super-sweet but also super pricey. Ultralight also makes a special "hotshoe adapter" that you can mount on the top of your S2 housing for a modelling light. I got one and I LOVE it.

Here's a photo of the housing w/ the Ultralight arms folded in for transport:

And out for wideangle use:

HTH

James

Nice looking kit. I never realised that the DS125 is as small as it is.

Ok, so back to the stupid questions. How to i get the DS125 to TTL sync with my existing DS50 on the S2 and when i use them for macro work what would be the best arrangement for the stobes.

DS125 top and down with the DS50 to the side?