beginner set up

so i've been reading this forum for a while now and am considering purchasing a strobe. i have a canon S1 IS with a WP-DC20 housing.

the set up i've been looking at is:

M67 Mount Base DC20

Grip Base DIII

INON DS2000S

Optical D Cable/Cap W3 set

when you put all this together it's about $715 US. convert that into canadian and add applicable taxes and it's all getting a bit outta my price range. i only dive about 2 weeks of the year so this really is just a hobby.

i was hoping maybe someone could recommend a set up that's a little cheaper than this. i'm a little confused about which strobes need slaves and which are ok with a sync cable for my housing.

also if anyone could recommend any canadian dealers that would be great. (am in vancouver)

Hi Mr. or Ms. Puss and Welcome to Wetpixel.

Since your housing doesn't have a bulkhead connection for an electronic sync cord, the only type of strobe you can use is the slave type.

The sync cord for this type of setup is just a fiber optic cable to efficiently transmit the light from you camera's internal flash to the slave sensor on your strobe.

The Inon is a good choice and I'm sure you'll like the grip base and mount (I have one too). I agree that the setup is a bit pricey - you may want to also consider some other offerings, such as the Sea and Sea YS25 or an Ikelite DS50.

Cheers

James

I have a YS25 and cant really recommend it because it figures out exposure with its own sensor it can be a real pain to get exactly the exposure you want, particularly if you're trying to angle the strobe away from the subject as is recommended to avoid backscatter.

If I could do it over Id probably get the DS50 with a manual controller, or preferably an Inon where you get a choice of both manual and fibre optic as needed (I think?).

Otara