Inon Z240 w/ Aquatica 20D housing - not working

Hi all -

First, my apologies for not using the Search function, as I know this topic has been discussed before, but I am on a painfully slow internet connection (took me 45+ minutes to just get to this bit) and doing a search and reading the articles would take me days at this speed.

My problem: I have a pair of Inon Z240 strobes to go with my Aquatica housing for the 20D (with Heinrichs TTL board installed), and the blasted things will not work. The manuals are in Japanese, so that doesnt help.

As I only have 1 sync cable right now, I am trying to run only 1 strobe.

What I have done: I have capped what appears to be the slave sensor. Then I've tried shooting with various combinations of the settings on the strobe - main mode set to STTL, AUTO, M and FULL; I have also tried this with the bottom right button pushed down as well as up. Nada. I have even tried installing the insulator cap in the housing strobe post. Also no effect. Tried left and right posts on the housing body. Still zilch.

The one thing I cannot figure out is this magnet business. What magnet? The package didnt come with one. If it is already installed, where is it?

Can anyone please walk me through the steps on how to set the flash up? As connecting to this forum is very slow, an email to vkalia <at> diveindia <dot> com would be even better.

I've already emailed Inon, Yuzo and Inon America for an English manual, but I cannot wait to get in there and start shooting (I missed a spectacular shot yesterday - was being funnelled by several hundred barracuda.. *weep*). Any help will be greatly appreciated and I'll name a cat after you.

Cheers and thanks in advance,

Vandit

Addendum - on some settings (such as S-TTL), the pre-flash is indeed going off when I half-press the shutter. However, the flash does not fire when I press the shutter to take the photo.

And of course it has been 3 days since my emails to Inon and Inon America, and neither has deigned to reply. Lovely customer service.

Vandit

Hello,

Yes, we (INON America) received your email on Nov. 15.

Since you are in India we forwarded your email to the manufacturer, Inon Japan, because we only handle North, Central & South America.

We have not tested the Z-240 with your housing/converter/camera configuration and so do not know the correct settings. However, we have seen that Aquatica housings fitted with standard Nikonos type sync connector(s) are completely compatible. In your configuration the converter is the variable. Therefore I recommend you consult with Aquatica and the converter manufacturer for guidance.

Best regards,

-Mark Rupert

Inon America, Inc.

P.S. I would appreciate it if you would post the appropriate settings here so we can add it to our compatibility chart.

Addendum - on some settings (such as S-TTL), the pre-flash is indeed going off when I half-press the shutter. However, the flash does not fire when I press the shutter to take the photo.

 

And of course it has been 3 days since my emails to Inon and Inon America, and neither has deigned to reply. Lovely customer service.

 

Vandit

Hi Vandit,

The quick start sheet on the Inon USA website seems to be a mishmash of old and new instructions. It mentions the old "install the magnet" and doesn't cover TTL operation at all. I don't have the Z240, but I believe it does not have magnet switch system like the older strobes. It has been replaced with the switch bottom right that you mention. That should be pushed in so that there is no cancellation of preflash.

Craig uses the strobe with the very similar Sea&Sea TTL adapter, and I think for TTL he has it in STTL mode. The optical malarkey gets disabled once you plug in the electronic cable.

I assume your cables are correctly wired for Nikonos TTL. If not then that could be your problem. What cables are you using?

Try posting a couple of pictures of your setup. People will then have a bit more to go on.

Hope that helps,

Martyn

Meanwhile, you should train yourself to work in manual, pick up a subject about 1.5 meter, put the strobes in full power and move your aperture up or down to correct for over or under exposure( start at f8), getting savvy with manual is important, since anyway I have yet to see a TTL system work properly and steadily when doing wide angle photos. Hope you resolve the issue since obviously the TTL would/will be great for macro.

regards

Hi Vandit,

I own two Z240s that are triggered via a Heinrichs-weinkamp converter. My settings are as followed:

main button: 'M (-0.5-->-6)' or 'FULL'

When used in 'M' i adjust the output with the upper right button according to the white scale

The lower right button (formally 'magnet' which is actually still inside i think) is pushed (position 1) in both operation modes.

I have an english manual but it's too complicated for me to understand so i figured this out by trial an error on my kitchen table.

One difference might be that my TTL converter is for Nikon and not for Canon, but i suppose that the functionality should be the same.

There's one thing that pops up in my mind while writing this: in what order do you switch on your setup? The guide of my iTTL converter tells me to switch on the strobes first and wait for a minute or so (or less). After this switch the strobes off and then switch on the camera on. After the camera is switched on you should switch on the strobes again. In principle this should only be necessary after you replaced the battery of the converter if i'm correct.

hopefully it's going to work, otherwise i should contact mathiass heinrich himself, he should be able to help you out.

cheers, Udo

P.S.:

getting savvy with manual is important, since anyway I have yet to see a TTL system work properly and steadily when doing wide angle photos. Hope you resolve the issue since obviously the TTL would/will be great for macro.

For me, the TTL functions perfect both for WA and Macro, no complains at all! i shoot my D200 in Manual.

Hi all -

Thanks for the replies.

I tried the camera with the setting described - button pushed down, main strobe dial set to STTL. Preflash - yes. Flash - still no.

Martyn - I am using the one cable that works with the Z240 - I got it from Yuzo along with the Z240, and he's confirmed that it is the correct cable.

Udo, I didnt get a circuitry manual from Aquatica, so I had no idea there was a sequence to be followed in switching the setup on. I slap on the hotshoe connector with the camera on (but sometimes in SLEEP mode), and then turn on the strobe after that. I'll try the method you mentioned.

Mark - I understand your limitations re. area of service, but Inon basically sent me a reply saying "we dont have PDF and we cannot send you a paper copy - contact dealer". And dealer being in Japan, he doesnt have access to an English PDF. So me, being stuck in India without a local dealer and having gone through great effort to buy your product over other equally excellent products from Ikelite and others, am basically told to go pound. That's simply lovely. I run a dive center and get lots of people interested in underwater photography here, and you can be sure that Inon will get a review that is commensurate with the level of customer friendliness that they are displaying towards me.

Vi'zart - yep, I do know how to use the flash in manual. Have been using an S70 with manual strobe for a while and have done ok with it. I also know Canon's quirky approach to their TTL flash system fairly well (I do a fair bit of multiflash work for bird photography), so I was looking forward to having the option of using either as need be.

Extremely frustrated,

Vandit

Hi Vandit,

I should have mentioned that my strobes DO NOT fire correct when used with STTL, STTL low or AUTO. Only M or Full work correct.

cheers, udo

Try the elimination process, find a Nikonos V with a fresh battery or a 35mm Nikon housing and camera , open the back, lift the pressure plate and put a piece of white paper the size of a film over the shutter, close it up and advance to frame no #1 (TTL wont work until frame #1) then take a picture at 2.8 of something +/- 50cm away (wall, flower...) you should see a small burst of light, then take another while entirely covering the lens (lens cap or hand), you should have a strong burst of light and a complete discharge of the capacitor (slow recycling). doing this confirm that A: the strobes are working in TTL, B: your cables are O.K.

If you have positive result with the above test, then most likely it's the Heinrich board who has a wiring / power source problem. try contacting Heinrich for a fix and /or the wiring diagragm.

Good luck, that kind of irritation can make your life hell

Hi Jean Bruneau -

Thanks for the elimination idea. Unfortunately, being in the Andaman Islands, access to a Nikonos is not really possible.

I have another cable coming for the second flash, so I'll give that a shot to eliminate one other potential problem. Matthias has also been prompt enough to send me a circuit diagram, so I'm going to test that as well. Hopefully, one of those will solve the problem.

Otherwise, back to Blake the housing will go.... *sigh*

Vandit

Vandit,

You say you are getting a flash when you half press the shutter? That sounds like the AF assist signal is firing it somehow.

Here is Matthias' Manual for the eTTL board:

ettl_en.pdf

I hope it's of some use at some point.

Martyn

Hi Vandit,

I should have mentioned that my strobes DO NOT fire correct when used with STTL, STTL low or AUTO. Only M or Full work correct.

 

cheers, udo

Mine seem to work fine in AUTO as well as M and FULL.

Does NOT work in STTL.

(D200, Hugyfot, 2xInon Z240).

/christian

Ok, after a lot of testing with a voltmeter, I've isolated the issues:

1/ The main problem appears to be in the board or in one of the connections soldered onto it. I disconnected the TTL board and direct-wired the connector to the bulkhead, and it seems to be working ok now. I'm sending the board to Matthias for replacement and have the joyful task of trying to resolder everything when the replacement arrives.

2/ There was a second problem with the GND connection on one of the bulkheads being not attached, due to a broken pin. That wasnt the cause of the problem, but would have become an issue later when I connected both strobes.

So now I am sticking to shooting in straight-up manual. A few followup questions, as I still am waiting for an English manual from Yuzo:

1/ For manual flash, I simply set the main knob to M and then adjust using the EV compensation dial, right? This is where I am a bit nonplussed. I would have assumed a dial with a scale reading of full power, 1/2, 1/4 and so on. Instead, I see a dial marked in f-stops. I assume that somewhere in that dial must be a max power, and a min power. Anyone know what those positions are? 9 o'clock, 12 o'clock, etc?

2/ Is it possible to use the strobe's AUTO mode when connecting to the camera using the sync cable?

The hard part for me is going to be shooting with 2 strobes manually. What do the punters here do - set one to slave mode, or adjust the output of both manually?

I see my future - lots of time at 5m fooling around with the camera.

Vandit

Ok, after a lot of testing with a voltmeter, I've isolated the issues:

 

1/ The main problem appears to be in the board or in one of the connections soldered onto it. I disconnected the TTL board and direct-wired the connector to the bulkhead, and it seems to be working ok now. I'm sending the board to Matthias for replacement and have the joyful task of trying to resolder everything when the replacement arrives.

 

2/ There was a second problem with the GND connection on one of the bulkheads being not attached, due to a broken pin. That wasnt the cause of the problem, but would have become an issue later when I connected both strobes.

 

So now I am sticking to shooting in straight-up manual. A few followup questions, as I still am waiting for an English manual from Yuzo:

 

1/ For manual flash, I simply set the main knob to M and then adjust using the EV compensation dial, right? This is where I am a bit nonplussed. I would have assumed a dial with a scale reading of full power, 1/2, 1/4 and so on. Instead, I see a dial marked in f-stops. I assume that somewhere in that dial must be a max power, and a min power. Anyone know what those positions are? 9 o'clock, 12 o'clock, etc?

 

2/ Is it possible to use the strobe's AUTO mode when connecting to the camera using the sync cable?

 

The hard part for me is going to be shooting with 2 strobes manually. What do the punters here do - set one to slave mode, or adjust the output of both manually?

 

I see my future - lots of time at 5m fooling around with the camera.

 

Vandit

a quick start for the z240 can be found here:

http://inonamerica.com/content/docs/Z-240%...tartLT60812.pdf

hth

and btw shooting manual is really not too difficult to get used to

i slave one strobe off of the other, sometimes putting it in ttl mode so that it will replicate the lighting of my main strobe to get even lighting, sometimes setting its power manually to something lower than the main strobe to fill in shaded areas....

have fun

/paul

Mine seem to work fine in AUTO as well as M and FULL.

Does NOT work in STTL.

 

(D200, Hugyfot, 2xInon Z240).

 

/christian

Hi,

I'm using the Inons with two z240s and the seasea converter with my d2x..

I have fantastic TTL in macro. I set the first dial to the first position and the second dial to TTL. That puts my histogram smack in the middle. If I have small white blown out parts in the picture I compensate by turning the ev-controller down. It reduces the position of the histogram a bit, but usually not enough so I have turned the cameras ev-control down to -1 and set the converter up to +1. That way I can rapidly set the converter down 2 apertures. I very rarely need to use this function but in the few cases... it works beutifully. Though I didn't mind using manual too much, it's great to have ttl control approaching what I have with my film cameras. In wide I go manual, allways have - but I find that the exposure is less variable here... than in macro.

The Z240s

The magnet switch is pushed in. This switch has to be set in before you turn on power or it will not work with the converter. I also have noticed that you have to switch on and off the camera converter and flashes for everything to work properly. I usually do camera, converter, flash...

A friend of mine uses the Heinrich converter, he too had some problems but they were related to the flash being turned on before the magswitch was is the locked position.

Hope things work out!

Cheers,

Espen