Left in the iTTL darkness

I'm baffled...

When using the strobe with the TTL settings, the shots come out like sample 1

Sample 1

EXIF info

S=1/60

iso=400

A=f11.0

flash fired

Strobe return light not detected

Auto mode 3

flash function present

no red eye reduction

When using the Manual setting as per Ike's circuitery, at "nominal" flash power the result is as in Sample 2.

Sample 2

So clearly the strobe can supply sufficient light <_< ...

I doublechecked the DS50 serial, but that's a 70K number, so according to Ike's info, it should be compatible.

The sync cable has the blue band on it, so that should be compatible.

I have the same results with two D70 bodies, one of which still had old FW on it.

I have had one or two shots come out right before, but have not been able to establish a pattern apart from the fact that those were the only shots I took that were exposed at 1/60s, all underexposed ones were 1/250s.

But now in the clear Bonaire waters, well, reasonably clear, shots at 1/60 are also dark.

The pics are raw files, processed in CS2 with camera settings applied, so no tweaking on them.

Has anybody got a clue?

Am I just better of forgetting about iTTL and start using manual settings now?

Or maybe I'm just plain old stupid and doing something wrong?

Thx for any ideas, I'm somewhat out of them...

PS

there are more pics over on my Webpage including ones with manual strobe settings that came out pretty well, the first ones using the strobe that I'm actually pretty satisfied about B)

Peter, sorry to hear about your troubles....you have some nice shots on your website, so you must be having a good time regardless?

Sounds like you have all the bases covered....do you have the strobe set to TTL? It must be set to TTL whether you are using TTL or manual on the housing.

If the TTL continues to not work, I would definitely start using manual strobe power settings....I would go back to 100 ISO....1/125 at f16 with the 60mm....set your strobe power to -1....the exposure should be very close as long as you are very close to your subject

Good Luck

Karl

I don't have TTL on my D70 housing so can't comment from experience. Shooting RAW with manual strobe is the way for me. I can see what I've shot on the camera screen and adjust the settings if need be. I can also make exposure changes during RAW processing if the exposure is a little off.

I am suspicious of the exif info

Strobe return light not detected

To me this suggests something is wrong either with the strobe to camera connection or with the settings on the strobe. It'd be interesting to see the exif data from someone who uses I-TTL successfully.

As for the shots at 1/60 you could be exposing with the avialable light what are the colours like?

I'd double check camera flash settings per the following.

http://www.ikelite.com/web_pages/gide_o5050.html

@ Karl,

Yes we had a great time, diving is sooo relaxed on Bonaire and the locals are just too friendly, judging by the hangovers I've had yet again.

Camera is configured to TTL, I change manual VS TTL on Ike's circuitery by pressing down the mode buttons.

@Ken,

that was what I was wondering about as well, the "not detected" makes me somewhat suspicious, so I would be gratefull to anybody out there that can doublecheck?

@Peter

I can certainly try next time, but the only real difference would be that I set the flash sync on the camera to "slow" and then I would still have to use manual settings, I mean, aperture and shutter speed will change relative to desired effect and distance to subject, won't it?

The good part of it is that after starting to use manual settings (also on the camera exposure and aperture) I finally started getting the shots the way I liked them, so I may now be well and truly hooked on shooting all manual

Do you have the switch in the black plastic portion inside switched to DS125 instead of DS50?

SD

nope set correctly to DS50

I've got a Canon, so I am not sure if the EXIF is different but the only strobe related detail I can get out of Adobe Bridge is:

Flash: Fired, compulsory mode

Have you done any test shots on land? I once found that the TTL did not work because I had some silicone grease and/or dirt on the sync chord connector. Once I cleaned this it worked a charm again.

Try a few test shots and see if the strobe quenches. Does the LED on the back of the strobe go out for about 5 seconds every time it is flashed? Try with different apature settings and see if the strobe changes. If not, It would seem that the strobe might be giving you full power flashes and would require a trip to Ike for a quick fix.