Bulkhead preferences on my new housing

I've got a new Seacam housing on order for my 1DsMKII, and since I was starting from scratch with the various options, I took this as an opportunity to get bulkheads that will serve me now and in the future. To that end I ordered:

1. Remote port, left side lower, for polecam work

2. S6, left side upper

3. Nikonos 5-pin, right side

Reasons being:

Remote port is obvious. I don't do a lot of polecam work or tripod mounted triggering from a distance, but such opportunities come up now and then and I might as well have the housing ready for them.

S6 is a more reliable connection than N5. We had a long thread about that a while back and I was hoping the strobe manufacturers would be more proactive and offer us S6 cords so we could opt for S6 bulkheads. I am ordering Ikelite to S6 and Inon (Sea and Sea) to S6 cords from Seacam at the same time. It would be great if these cords could be ordered directly from Ikelite and Sea and Sea for any S6 configured housing.

The S6 also allows for TTL with Canon, and for me, far more significantly, rear curtain synch with housed Canon speedlights or Seacam Seaflash 250.

If there are other strobes that will allow rear curtain synch with Canon MKII series cameras, I'd love to know about them.

The N5 on the right is just to have redundancy with the plethora of cords I already have, and to keep the housing adaptable to something I might have to rent or borrow in the field.

I mention this because I truly believe S6 is the bulkhead we should be embracing, to better enable strobe technology with digital cameras in the future.

Hi Stephen,

That is fantastic. Any link you can off regarding the S6 bulkhead? I am on the waiting list for the new L&M D200 housing, pretty pricey, but it offers the same technology (as similar as the D200 will allow) and I'd like to investigate the S6 option further with Ike and L&M.

Thanks for your info.

Sounds like a great setup, Stephen! I'm looking into adding an S6 port to my Seacam housing, too. Is your plan to use Y cords for dual strobes (assuming the strobes you use at a given time both have the same type of connections), or to use single cords, and just have enough different cords to be able to accomodate whatever connections the strobes do have? My thought was to have the same two ports on the housing as you describe (one 5-pin and one S6), and use a Y cord for EACH, so I can still use two strobes if I'm using strobes with either type of connector...

Currently I run 2 x 1DS housings from Seacam. Both are configured with twin S6 sockets - wired to the hot shoe connector by Seacam and with all but the two 'main' contacts from the hotshoe removed to allow manual triggering only.

I have also fitted a Nikonos 5 type socket into the 'remote release' hole (used for the Polecam) and hardwired a PC connector (half a Nikon SC11 which has a thread enabling it to screw to the camera body so that it cannot become detatched) inside which fits into the Canon's PC socket (above the firewire connetion).

My reasoning is that I can run any of my strobes via the S6 connections (2 use S6 and/or Nikonos 5 sockets on the strobes, 2 use Nikonos 5 sockets on them) as I have both S6 - S6 and S6 - N5 leads. The Nikonos 5 socket on the housing can be used for other strobes with Nikons 5 leads and I am working on a Pocket Wizard trigger via a 10m cord too - this socket is voltage protected as it goes into the camera via the camera's PC strobe connection.

I am currently trying to see if I could run power in and firewire out using an S6 connection but firewire is length limited I believe so this may not be as useful as hoped.

Sounds like a great setup, Stephen!  I'm looking into adding an S6 port to my Seacam housing, too.  Is your plan to use Y cords for dual strobes (assuming the strobes you use at a given time both have the same type of connections), or to use single cords, and just have enough different cords to be able to accomodate whatever connections the strobes do have?  My thought was to have the same two ports on the housing as you describe (one 5-pin and one S6), and use a Y cord for EACH, so I can still use two strobes if I'm using strobes with either type of connector...

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Bruce - I doubt I'll use double synch cords, as I prefer the ergonmics of a single cord. But, that probably means 2 Ike to S6 and two Inon (Sea and Sea) to S6, which unfortunately is pretty expensive when purchased in Euros, at current excange rate, from Seacam. It would be nice if Ikelite and Sea and Sea supported S6, just as they do Nikonos V, as it would make replacement cords far more affordable. Actually, if S6 cords were easily available at a righteous price, I'd have S6 on both sides of my housing and be glad to walk away from Nikonos V connections forever.

Hi Stephen,

 

That is fantastic.  Any link you can off regarding the S6 bulkhead?  I am on the waiting list for the new L&M D200 housing, pretty pricey, but it offers the same technology (as similar as the D200 will allow) and I'd like to investigate the S6 option further with Ike and L&M.

 

Thanks for your info.

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Joe - Light and Motion can no doubt add an S6 female bulkhead to your housing, assuming your Ikelite strobe cords had the compatible male end. However, I don't think Nikon requires the 6 wires for TTL, and for sure not for rear curtain synch. Those two issues are Canon eccentricities, so your conventional N5 connector should be fine. The S6 will be more robust, but will be unlikely to add greater functionality to your Nikon housing.

Stephen,

Have you investigated replacing the bulkhead on the strobe units? This would give you S6 connections on both ends. Might be easier with an Ike if the hole diameter requirement is the same. One might need to add a 'bulkhead' to an Inon - something like the metal cap/cover that goes on the connector threads but with an S6 fitting in the center.

Tom

Stephen,

Have you investigated replacing the bulkhead on the strobe units? This would give you S6 connections on both ends. Might be easier with an Ike if the hole diameter requirement is the same. One might need to add a 'bulkhead' to an Inon - something like the metal cap/cover that goes on the connector threads but with an S6 fitting in the center.

Tom

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Tom - I don't know that I've ever had problems at the strobe end, for sure not with Ike or Inon. Now ... my old SB105s with their constantly frozen synch cords and covers (from dissimilar aluminum on cord and stainless steel on strobe) were another matter, I sent plenty of those out for service over the years.

I have two S6 connectors on my Seacam D2X housing to connect to two Seacam 250 Digital strobes.

I could I ever have lived with the "old" Nikonos connector. N6 is so much more robust.

I have two S6 connectors on my Seacam D2X housing to connect to two Seacam 250 Digital strobes.

 

I could I ever have lived with the "old" Nikonos connector. N6 is so much more robust.

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How do you like the Seacam 250 Digital strobes for your D2X? They are very popular in Europe, apparently, but I haven't spoken to anyone who has significant time in the water with one yet.

We are told the Canon version is very near completion.

I had some problems since I was one of the fist who was usin them. But Seacam allways solved all my issues.

They are fantastic. The master strobe completely controls the slave via a digital communication line. In wide angle I put the master on manual; slave on Automatic. The manual setting of the master is the automatically set on the slave. On TTL, which I only use on macro, both are on TTL on the cold bulb. Works fantastic and very reliable. I just had a software upgrade on the strobes. That made TTL even better and exposure compensation is working very well now.

I have used these in Mexico, Mozambique and Antarctica now. I won the wide angle category at Celebrate the Sea with these strobes. I have taken many, many shots with them. I cannot think of a better strobe on the market right now.

Wide angle coverage is more than enough to cover my 10.5 mm fisheye.

I have had failure at the strobe end cord-connector interface with the old Subsea Mk150 (way back when), which I was able to fix in the field by re-terminating the cord. My concern is that the cords used by Seacam, Sea&Sea, and Ike may not be exactly the same so mixing and matching connectors could be a problem, e.g., cord diameter. I will be curious to see you custom cords when you get them.

Tom

Tom - I don't know that I've ever had problems at the strobe end, for sure not with Ike or Inon.  Now ... my old SB105s with their constantly frozen synch cords and covers (from dissimilar aluminum on cord and stainless steel on strobe) were another matter, I sent plenty of those out for service over the years.

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I will be curious to see you custom cords when you get them.

i have 2 s6 bulkheads on my seacam housing. as i use inon strobes i had seacam create s6 to inon/sea&sea cords for me. basically i provided them with the strobe connector and they connected to their cable using their wiring. for all intents and purposes they look like all the other seacam cords. i'll post a photo tonight when i get back home.

/paul

I also have two S6->Nikonos cables. That way I can still use my Subal SB800 housing on my d2x.

I have had failure at the strobe end cord-connector interface with the old Subsea Mk150 (way back when), which I was able to fix in the field by re-terminating the cord. My concern is that the cords used by Seacam, Sea&Sea, and Ike may not be exactly the same so mixing and matching connectors could be a problem, e.g., cord diameter.  I will be curious to see you custom cords when you get them.

  Tom

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Subsea MK150s broke for every reason known to man, and when they did work we had to adjust the F-stop according to the recycle time. Slower recycle meant wider aperture. Plus $50 disposable batteries that you'd get maybe 20 rolls of film out of, back then in 1974 dollars! Damn nice reflector though.

I don't think the world can truly appreciate how nice the new Ikelite NiMH batteries for the DS125 are until they spend a few years shooting with 510 volt batteries in a Subsea MK150 ... right Tom?

Stephen,

Roger that! <_< I ended up using rechargable 510 volt batteries instead. Very nice reflector indeed and very wide with adjustment though the GN was not too great -I used two of the beasts too!

Tom

Subsea MK150s broke for every reason known to man, and when they did work we had to adjust the F-stop according to the recycle time.  Slower recycle meant wider aperture.  Plus $50 disposable batteries that you'd get maybe 20 rolls of film out of, back then in 1974 dollars!  Damn nice reflector though.

 

I don't think the world can truly appreciate how nice the new Ikelite NiMH batteries for the DS125 are until they spend a few years shooting with 510 volt batteries in a Subsea MK150 ... right Tom?

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It might be of interest to know that Seacam, Subal and, I think Sealux, use the same thread for fitting their flash sockets into their housings. I suspect other Euro manufacturers do too! The sockets are not identical (Subal use a very small cross-section 'O' ring in comparison to Seacam's so the corresponding groove in the base of the socket differs) but I have used Seacam sockets on a Subal in the past. So interchangability of sockets is possible based on a common fitting hole diameter and thread. If manufacturers could be encouraged to standardise and use this hole/thread (or at leaast provide a 'spare' capped hole like this) it would make good sense - at least on 'high-end' housings which have a potentially longer and more demanding life than the more cost conscious housings.

A good engineer would then have the option to fit a selection of sockets and wire them appropriately.

Last comment, although expensive, I see no reason why adapter connector could not be made up using two sockets and a tube threaded appropriate at either end - this sort of adapter could provide the ability to change flash units very fast if one fails and others are not of similar fitting.