Went Digital and what happened??

So many questions..

Any help is appreciated!!!!

I used to have a nikon n90s i a aquatica housing w/ a 20mm and 60mm (macro) setup w/ (2) SB105's and a ys60.....

Great photo both macro and wide....

Now I have a Fuji S2Pro in a IkeLite Housing (same strobes etc)

Here are my issues (long)

1. I use the Dual TTL cord for both 105's... When both flashes are set on ttl, macro's are super over exposed! I have to set 1 105 on 1/16th to get a decent shot.... I really was a good macro shooter, now I am not pleases with my work....

2. Wide Angle has gone to hell.... I am using the 20mm in the dome port... Even with both 105's on full, I am under exposed.... I only have one arm extension on each 105.. Is that possibly it??? I know I only have about 6 foot range with the strobes, but I see other's peoples work here and it looks great!!!

3. Pro's cons of the 60mm vs the 105mm??? (thinkig about getting the 105)

4. I was told by a video person my problem is white balance.... Fuji has numerous modes and two custom ones... Ideas??

5. Model lights??? The Ikelite doesnt have a top mount for a strobe.... The aquatica housing did and was great....

6. I have a 10.5 FishEye... Comments on using that??? I really want to get those great wide angle large fish shoots...

Thx SO much in advance

Scott

Hi Scott,

Welcome to the wonderful world of digital underwater photography!

I'd bet that your problems stem from using a wrong sync cord. You mention a "dual TTL" cord. If you kept the same cord as the one you had with your N90, it's likely to give erratic results such as those you're experiencing. I don't use your particular strobe, bu the correct sync cord should have a blue band on it, I think...

Your white balance should be fine. So long as you shoot with strobes, just leave it on Auto and your results should be good.

Regarding lenses, there's much regarding the 60mm v/s 105mm, which I won't reignite here. You can do a quick search on the forum to find out different opinions on this topic. As for the 10.5mm, it's a fine lens that should give you those stunning wide angle shots, but you have to get real close (don't you always have to anyway ), and be wary oif your strobe positioning.

All the best,

Mat

I went from N90 to S2 Pro quite seamlessly. (I now have several!)

The TTL sync protocol seems to be the same with both cameras but I have two bulkhead connections on my housing for two compatible flashguns. You seem to have a connection problem. Try it with single flashguns. Try a different synch cord. Many here will tell you to go Manual Flash.

What ISO have you set?

Set Auto White Balance to begin with.

The 60mm should give an angle-of-view nearly the same on the S2Pro as the 105 on N90. The 20mm become a useful standard lens.

Master shooting in RAW. (Func: H Menu: RAW). Convert with Photoshop CS (CS2). You will not look back. You can then makea lot of camera-setting decisions in comfort at home.

I have supplied some big files which seem very acceptable to magazines. (If only they did not tamper ith them!)

First, thank you!

Just came back from a dive a few min ago and had better results...

I got this sync cord from IkeLite... It does have a band on one of the flashes... So much different opions on white bal... I used the Shade today and it seemed batter.

Scott

Hi Scott,

 

Welcome to the wonderful world of digital underwater photography!

 

I'd bet that your problems stem from using a wrong sync cord.  You mention a "dual TTL" cord.  If you kept the same cord as the one you had with your N90, it's likely to give erratic results such as those you're experiencing.  I don't use your particular strobe, bu the correct sync cord should have a blue band on it, I think...

 

Your white balance should be fine.  So long as you shoot with strobes, just leave it on Auto and your results should be good.

 

Regarding lenses, there's much regarding the 60mm v/s 105mm, which I won't reignite here. You can do a quick search on the forum to find out different opinions on this topic.  As for the 10.5mm, it's a fine lens that should give you those stunning wide angle shots, but you have to get real close (don't you always have to anyway  ), and be wary oif your strobe positioning.

 

All the best,

Mat

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I have been using ISO 200 for the most part.... What is the best way to set the white Balace???

I do shoot only in raw. I agree 100%

So far the best flash results today were one in ttl and the other manual full or 1/2...

Can you tell me more about manual mode????

thx

Scott

I went from N90 to S2 Pro quite seamlessly. (I now have several!)

The TTL sync protocol seems to be the same with both cameras but I have two bulkhead connections on my housing for two compatible flashguns. You seem to have a connection problem. Try it with single flashguns. Try a different synch cord. Many here will tell you to go Manual Flash.

What ISO have you set?

Set Auto White Balance to begin with.

The 60mm should give an angle-of-view nearly the same on the S2Pro as the 105 on N90. The 20mm become a useful standard lens.

Master shooting in RAW. (Func: H Menu: RAW). Convert with Photoshop CS (CS2). You will not look back. You can then makea  lot of camera-setting decisions in comfort at home.

I have supplied some big files which seem very acceptable to magazines. (If only they did not tamper ith them!)

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Set the white balance to auto. You can change it later if you need to with the two sliders (colour temp and tint) of the RAW converter.

You will have to experiment with the manual settings. You can use the LCD monitor as a guide - although I find it not accurate enough when shooting jpgs in camera - but the exposure adjustment in the RAW converter will compensate. The LCD allows you to adjust the flash to get a good balance between the flash and ambient light.

If you need to know more, get a book like Martin Edge's latest.

Hi,

I used to have your exact same setup and got great results. With a few tweaks, you can too.

First off, no, you do NOT need a cord w/ a blue band on it. Use the normal Ike dual TTL cord. The one w/ the red band on it is the secondary flash and the other is the master. The master must be turned on for one or both to work. Try the TTL test. Put the lens cap on and take a shot. The strobes should fire in full power. Second, take off the cap and point both strobes at the lens opening. They should fire at VERY low power.

If not, you have a sync cord or internal hotshoe wiring problem to fix. Simple! Test will take you about 2 mins to find out.

Check that you don't have a lot of minus Flash +/- compenation set by accident.

Second, the 20mm is NOT a wide angle lens on the S2. You're having to move farther back to get the same shots (by 1.5x actually) and that's why your flashes aren't putting enough light into the shot. Try the 10.5 or the 15mm and you will be much happier.

Auto WB is fine. For macro it should be spot on and come out around 5000k

The Ikelite housing has a "cold shoe" mount on it where you can mount a light adapter. Call your dealer and tell him what you have and he/she will set you up. It's the strobe adapter that used to mount on top of the Nikonos V

Shoot in ISO 100 all the time unless you are over 80' deep on a dark day. Then try 200.

Start w/ the 60 because it will have a cropped field of view almost equivalent to what you're used to shooting w/ the 105 on your N90.

Have fun and good luck!

James

Don't know if you remember my name, but I bought your dome port a while back. I agree with everything James said, he hit it on all points. Be sure to do the ttl test. Those sync cords are a major weak link. One thing that you didn't mention and no one asked is what mode are you shooting the camera in? I would use it in manual mode with the strobes in TTL. That way you can set the f-stop to work with the strobe to subject distance and power output requirements of your strobe. This info is on your little sticker on the strobe. TTL will only work if your f-stop is in the ballpark. If you are trying to use P mode all bets are off.

The 10.5 is a great lens, but unless your fish are really big or there are tons of them it is too wide for "great wide angle large fish shots". Take a look at my website. Most of the wide-angle reef scenes were shot with the 10.5. With the digital crop factor, the 60 is a much more versatile lens than the 105. Most macro shots on my site we done with the 60mm. Let us know if you got it figured out.