Heinrich converter & ikelite ds strobes?

I'm wondering if anyone has tried using the heinrich converter, (either optical or wired), to get TTL on a camera which Ikelite has no TTL solution for, (not even optical TTL slave)...

If you put a camera in an ike housing, and hook up a heinrich converter, to the ike sych cord bulkhead, does it seem likely that you could get TTL for cameras which ike itself cannot?

Thanks,

Don

I'm wondering if anyone has tried using the heinrich converter, (either optical or wired), to get TTL on a camera which Ikelite has no TTL solution for, (not even optical TTL slave)...

 

If you put a camera in an ike housing, and hook up a heinrich converter, to the ike sych cord bulkhead, does it seem likely that you could get TTL for cameras which ike itself cannot?

 

Thanks,

Don

That might work depending on camera. But it will not work with any of Ikelites strobes. Their electronics are not fast enough for the protocol used in the Heinrich converter. You can find out at Heinrics site what cameras and what strobes are compatible.

Cheers,

Espen

Hi Don,

i asked myself last week the same question

here is a list with the supported strobes

HeinrichsWeikamp strobelist

........But it will not work with any of Ikelites strobes. Their electronics are not fast enough for the protocol used in the Heinrich converter. You can find out at Heinrics site what cameras and what strobes are compatible.

not sure of the validity of that statement..............

According to the heinrichsweikamp compatible strobe list, DS 50, DS 125, and DS 200 strobes will work with most dSLR and digital compact cameras when attached to HW converters.

hth,

b

I'm running 2*DS-50 and a DS-125 on iTTL through the H&W converter with no problems. I also just got my DS-50s back from Ike for repairs and io and behold: They both do "native" iTTL through a TTL slave. Even the commander mode seems to work with my D70s.

timo

I'm running 2*DS-50 and a DS-125 on iTTL through the H&W converter with no problems. I also just got my DS-50s back from Ike for repairs and io and behold: They both do "native" iTTL through a TTL slave. Even the commander mode seems to work with my D70s.

 

timo

Yep, You're both right, I was a bit fast on the reply and took for granted everyone use the newer Nikon Slr's B)

What I meant to say was (talking about the i-ttl converter) the D70 has the old type protocol witch will work with the Ikes. When the D2x was released Nikon changed the protocol and the Ikes unfortunately couldn't keep up with the short time between the preflash and mainflash ( I was told by Heinrich). This doesn't explain why Ike manges this on his housings though...

Subsequently all later Nikon models do not work with the Ikes. Faster strobes like INon Hartenberger and Subtronic do this very well though.

M-ttl will work though, but that just a fancy way to manually control output, not a automatic flash system.

To ansver the original question it would help a lot if we knew what model camera you are using.

Cheers,

Espen

Hey Espen. You used to be a regular around here. Well, I guess I haven't been around like I used to either. Anyway, good to see your posts again.

Yes, this is for a sony V3. I was hoping to use a G7 about now, but the lack of RAW is a showstopper for me. So, I'd love to get TTL working with the V3.

Alas, on heinrich's site, it is untested... Though he does have a hardwired version for sony, like the iTTL and eTTL for Nikon and Canon.

However, since the ike optical TTL slave will not work with the sony, I fear the worst...

Don

However, since the ike optical TTL slave will not work with the sony, I fear the worst...

 

Don

Now I'm slightly confused???

I always assumed the TTL slave is just that, a slave that "reads" the oputput of the master flash optically and then repeats that electronically to the other without much intelligence in between? I.e. When the master fires, fire the slave and when master quenches, quenche the slave. Repeat as many times as needed.

Therefore, my assumotion - verified by a very limited set of tests using various Nikon gear - has been that this part should be protocol independent. Happy to be proved wrong, though???

Of course, if the electronics in the TTL slave are too slow for the Sony protocol, I would understand....

timo

Now I'm slightly confused???

 

Of course, if the electronics in the TTL slave are too slow for the Sony protocol, I would understand....

timo

Hi Don,

That could be the time interval between the preflash and mainflash being to close.

But untested with the Heinrich's we don't know if it will actually work.

Cheers,

Espen :-)

I always assumed the TTL slave is just that, a slave that "reads" the oputput of the master flash optically and then repeats that electronically to the other without much intelligence in between? I.e. When the master fires, fire the slave and when master quenches, quenche the slave. Repeat as many times as needed.

If you look through the ikelite section on digicam housings, and look at the column labeled "Use Digital Slave Sensor", you will see that it says it does not work with most of the p&s digicams in the last few years... Whether the preflash is too short, or the timing between pre and main is too short, I know not.

I have the ttl slave, and can confirm that it does not work with the sony V3.

OK,

Thanks for the clarifications. Never tried with a digicam other than a Canon G2 or something like it.

timo

Hi,

I've tested my D70+Heinrich i-TTL converter+Ds50. Here are my conclusions:

It does not work on i-TTL mode. <_< And yes, the flash is tiggered, but it is on full power only and it does not iluminate the photo, ie, it does flash before the photo is taken. May be something to do with pre-flash... So it is not working at all.

This system works on M-TTL, ie, you can control power output with the EV control from 0.0EV (Full) down to -5.0EV (1/32 DS50 power). It's better than the old days you had DS50 always Full power and control exposure by aperture settings...

Hope it has been usefull,

Carlos Morais

Hi,

 

I've tested my D70+Heinrich i-TTL converter+Ds50. Here are my conclusions:

 

It does not work on i-TTL mode. <_< And yes, the flash is tiggered, but it is on full power only and it does not iluminate the photo, ie, it does flash before the photo is taken. May be something to do with pre-flash... So it is not working at all.

 

This system works on M-TTL, ie, you can control power output with the EV control from 0.0EV (Full) down to -5.0EV (1/32 DS50 power). It's better than the old days you had DS50 always Full power and control exposure by aperture settings...

 

Hope it has been usefull,

Carlos Morais

Not all Ikelite DS strobes are pre-flash capable. I bought a couple of DS-50s intending to use them with a D70 and Heinrich converter, but found this too late. The following is from the Ikelite web site.

NOTE:

DS-50 and DS-125 SubStrobes produced before September, 2004 communicate with the camera as per old Nikonos protocol. These audible ready and confidence signals interfere with required communication for new eTTL and iTTL digital cameras. The newest cameras also require the latest IGBT strobe circuits to perform the required rapid turning on and off. * Updated strobes still operate fine with all installations including Nikonos.

DS-50 SubStrobes with Serial Number below 63,850 can NOT be updated to operate correctly with the latest eTTL conversion circuitry. DS-50 SubStrobes with Serial Number between 63,850 and 69,999 require a $100 update to operate with the latest TTL conversion circuitry. *

DS-125 SubStrobes with Serial Number below 2,500 can NOT be updated to operate with the latest eTTL conversion circuitry. DS-125 SubStrobes with Serial Number between 2,500 and 4.999 require a $100 update to operate with the latest eTTL conversion circuitry. *

The D70 and Heinrichs does full iTTL with S&S YS-90 Autos, but not with YS-120 Duos (although my YS-120s are older units and apparently are not pre-flash capable).

Dave

Well, I am totally blown away by the heinrich's optical digital adapter.

Even when used with one of the very first, early, non-upgradeable DS-50 strobes, it can do TTL with preflash, on my sony V3, when nothing else I've tried could do it.

The ike optical slave could not do it.

The S&S YS110 with fiber optic trigger could not do it.

But the heinrich's DA can! Woo Hoo! This thing rocks.

This means that with two ds-125s (ser 08730 and 9728) and a heinrich converter, ittl can be used with a subal ND20 housing?

zook

I don't know. You'll have to look up the serial numbers on Ike's site. And does your camera even require pre-flash?

I found out, that my system with the OLD DS-50 and heinrich DA, does not, in fact, do pre-flash TTL, (as it should not!), but that the sony V3 camera was so smart, when it detected no pre-flash return, that it varies the flash duration, based on ISO, distance, and f-stop, applying the guide number rule in reverse, to come close to working...

Close enough to fool me, into thinking it was doing TTL.

Now waiting for a newer strobe.

This means that with two ds-125s (ser 08730 and 9728) and a heinrich converter, ittl can be used with a subal ND20 housing?

 

zook

Did you ever get an answer to this question zook? I'm in the same boat as you.

nahh, not yet... (just returned from the red sea

Did you ever get an answer to this question zook? I'm in the same boat as you.