Seacam Seaflash 250

Just received our DEMA inventory from Seacam and my personal housing for my Canon EOS1DsMKII was included. You may remember from previous post I ordered this housing with an S6 synch port instead of standard Nikonos V. Seacam made me a custom Ikelite to S6 connector cord for my Ike DS125, and it is very elegant. So robust and easy to insert compared to NikV. This really should be the solution for all housings.

But, I have to admit I am also pretty blown away by the Seaflash 250 for Canon. TTL and rear curtain synch are now real options for Canon shooters. Requires S6 connector as the Canon TTL apparently needs the 6 wires, but once that is accomplished, it was just plug-and-play. Now I can use either strobe in the same synch socket. I'll have some Sea and Sea cords done too, so I can use Inon, Ikelite, or Seacam Seaflash with this housing.

The housing also includes a remote socket for triggering a polecam, but I had that on my old housing too. Used it just last week while teaching Shark Shootout in the Bahamas. Used it over the summer too with schooling fish that spooked at my approach. Set it up on UW tripod and triggered from a distance. Those clever enough, and motivated to shoot small things, will probably bring home head shots of garden eels

If any interested shooters are going to be at the DEMA show next week, I'll have the housing and flash at the Seacam booth. Please pardon the commmercial nature of the post, but I rarely get excited by new gear anymore. This is a pretty impressive new tool.

Hey Stephen

The little Diver Mag booth has been next to the Seacam booth so many times but I have been so busy doing my day job (getting to see all the other exhibitors) that I have never stopped to say hello. I will make a point of doing so this time! I am tall, old and this year I will be wearing short brown/grey hair, glasses, a small beard and a large moustache!

JB

Just received our DEMA inventory from Seacam and my personal housing for my Canon EOS1DsMKII was included. You may remember from previous post I ordered this housing with an S6 synch port instead of standard Nikonos V. Seacam made me a custom Ikelite to S6 connector cord for my Ike DS125, and it is very elegant. So robust and easy to insert compared to NikV. This really should be the solution for all housings.

 

But, I have to admit I am also pretty blown away by the Seaflash 250 for Canon. TTL and rear curtain synch are now real options for Canon shooters. Requires S6 connector as the Canon TTL apparently needs the 6 wires, but once that is accomplished, it was just plug-and-play. Now I can use either strobe in the same synch socket. I'll have some Sea and Sea cords done too, so I can use Inon, Ikelite, or Seacam Seaflash with this housing.

 

The housing also includes a remote socket for triggering a polecam, but I had that on my old housing too. Used it just last week while teaching Shark Shootout in the Bahamas. Used it over the summer too with schooling fish that spooked at my approach. Set it up on UW tripod and triggered from a distance. Those clever enough, and motivated to shoot small things, will probably bring home head shots of garden eels

 

If any interested shooters are going to be at the DEMA show next week, I'll have the housing and flash at the Seacam booth. Please pardon the commmercial nature of the post, but I rarely get excited by new gear anymore. This is a pretty impressive new tool.

I am using two of these strobes on my D2X for about a year now. They are really something else. I am very, very happy with then. I also spoke with the creator of the electronics during the Antibes festival. He really understands what he is doing.

I am using two of these strobes on my D2X for about a year now. They are really something else. I am very, very happy with then. I also spoke with the creator of the electronics during the Antibes festival. He really understands what he is doing.

Andre - Very nice to meet you at DEMA.

BTW ... I did a series of E-TTL tests topside with the new Seaflash 250 for Canon. It was sold and had to quickly transship to its owner, so was only here for a day. But I found in topside testing it was spot-on accurate with brackets from F-2.8 – F-11 on a target of average reflectance 4 feet distant. Exposures virtually identical, other than depth of field differences from the various apertures. At F-11 it was dumping 98% power according to the digital readout on the back of the strobe, and as you would expect, it was dark on F-16 and F-22 because it had already dumped all the power that was there.

At normal operating apertures in TTL, where the strobe is dumping 40 – 60% of its power, it is as fast as the other competitive strobes on the market. For E-TTL to really work, I assume the capacitors have to be optimally charged; and I think some other strobes will ready-light and fire well short of full capacity, with underexposure being the most common result. The digital readout seemed to impose a discipline, letting me know precisely how much power dumped and making it easy to keep the aperture within the working range of the strobe. In short, I see great promise for the technology.

it actually tells you a percentage of what fired!?!!

now that is cool...

I have no idea how much it will cost, but coming from Seacam, I just wish it was cheaper!

P.S.: Just checked on B&H and it is a mere $2,300 ($2,500 for the 6 pin version)

Andre - Very nice to meet you at DEMA.

It was nice to meet so many people at DEMA including you Stephen.

Yes Mike, it gives you the amount of power that is outputted. And Yes again, they are not cheap. But for me the Seacam strobes are the best on the market.

Hi Andre,

Are you using 2x 250TTL wired together with the D2x? Do they work fine in I-TTL?

Are you using any extra adapter for the camera (Matthias) or they connect directly to the camera?

Do you use the strobes for WA? Is it powerful and wide enough?

Thanks,

Marcelo Krause

Hi Marcelo,

I am not Andre, but as far as I know you can use two Seacam250 in I-TTL with the D2x, and you don't need any additional adapter. These are great strobes, I think the best out there right now. The only problem is their price.

Luiz

P.S.: Oh, and they are 250 watts, lots of power.

Hi Marcelo,

 

I am not Andre, but as far as I know you can use two Seacam250 in I-TTL with the D2x, and you don't need any additional adapter. Luiz

According to this document, from Stephen Frink

http://www.seacamusa.com/hotshoe-pins.shtml

I think 2x ittl strobes of any kind in pre 2005 nikon / seacam systems is an issue.

Maybe check with an authority to confirm.

darren

.... Is it powerful and wide enough?

Marcelo

The best specs I could find for the seaflash 250 is here on Stephen Fink's web site.

U/W Guide number 20

250 Wattt Seconds

120 degrees

darren

BTW Harald really needs a web master to help him keep the seacam site current. d

Thank you for all the info.

It really seems to be the best option for I-TTL at the moment. Too bad the cost is prohibitive for me.

Best regards,

Marcelo Krause