Does the INON Z-240 work with Canon ?

Hi there,

The INON Z-240 recently caught my eye, because it is so small and its specs are impressive. Being a Canon user I have always been cautious with amphibious (i.e. dedicated underwater-) strobes.

When I put my gear together I opted for a housed EX-550, unfortunately in a housing that has no controls on the outside - in the end you can only shoot E-TTL and that's it. Being stuck on a single manual setting for an entire dive is just too frustrating, so I have begun to look elsewhere.

I have an S-6 connector, which should suit this strobe, but how well does its electronics work with Canon (currently 300D, possibly 20D/30D in the future) ?

Am I right to assume that all underwater strobes are still Nikon-only, because Canon keeps their TTL protocols secret ? Or has this situation changed.

Any comments on the Z-240 are much appreciated.

Thanks

Fred

Hi Fred,

The Inon strobes work well with Canon. I used 2 Z220's with my 1DmkII. I removed the pins in the housing hotshoe, leaving only the center or "fire" pin. The 240 is very new, so I don't think it's supported by Heinrich's who makes a TTL "converter" circuit. Keep checking his website though as it's a possibility.

Cheers

James

... I removed the pins in the housing hotshoe, leaving only the center or "fire" pin.  ...

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Is that feasable for macro ? I found TTL to be really helpful when you shoot macro with a solid background (whip coral shrimps excluded :-)

I am looking for an adjustable strobe for wideangle use. Maybe you could share some of your experience with the Z-220's

Thanks

You're welcome.

No, I never shoot anything on full auto. Camera on M for macro, strobes usually at -1 or -2 power setting. Depends on subject distance.

All of the macro in my bali gallery at http://www.reefpix.org/gallery/underwater was shot w/ dual Z200's

For wide angle shooting, I usually shoot reef scenes on M and an f-stop between f5.6 and f11. If I'm shooting close focus, then usually f11 at ISO 100 is possible. The Inon's don't have a huge amount of power for use w/ an ISO 100 camera so you need to aim them very carefully.

Cheers

James

Thanks James, I got my post muddled up and meant to say "full Manual", but you answered my question anyway

I am just a little apprehensive getting the exposure right when shooting macro. So far I've always set my camera on "M" with 1/100 - 1/200 sec @ f11-f16 and then I let the TTL do its magic.

So far it has worked with almost any combination of exposure/aperture I set the camera to. Only when I got really, really close with the strobe (the 550EX) I had to go up to f22 to let in less light.

My EXIF data from macro shoots is quite boring to look at - they are all the same. All variance in distance/ambient light have been compensated by TTL.

I guess I won't have it that easy with the INON.

It would be great to leave the big housing tube for the 550EX at home and pack 2 INON's in the same space instead. Plus get the benefit of full maunal override underwater (required for wideangle, for macro I have been fine with TTL as I said).

Cheers

Fred

PS.: I liked your Bali gallery, I used to work there and take students for try dives on the Liberty. Showed them ghost pipefish etc, but most didn't know what I was pointing at

Nice photos!