sony P1 strobe questions

i'd like some suggestions on a strobe set up for my sony-P1 (no pre-flash). outside of the water i use a sony f707, in manual mode.

my primary requirements are:

1) works with a digital system (sony now, something else later)

2) upgradeable -- if i put my big camera in a housing, or get another that this will still be a useful part of my kit.

3) for now i will be shooting in carribean waters, more close ups than anything. could i get a smaller flash, that could become a 2nd flash later?

i've seen several options -- ikelite, sea and sea being the main ones. any suggestions? any personal results? thanks in advance.

With a camera setup where you can't use a sync cord, you are pretty limited at this time. Fortunately, there are a few strobes to choose from:

Ikelite DS 125 or DS 50: Both of these strubes use a digital sensor that "watches" the camera's internal flash and mimics it.

Sea and Sea YS90DX: This stobe uses a fiber optic cable to transmit light from the camera's internal flash to the slave sensor on the strobe.

Either of these strobes can be used if you "upgrade" later and both can also be used w/ a sync cord.

I hope this helps,

James Wiseman

thanks james,

and i was just reading about your marine biology course -- i'd be interested to know if you count on doing another one.

for the size of the flash (there's a big and a small in both cases) is bigger always better? or are there situations where smaller is preferable?

thanks again

I am getting a Ikelite housing for my 707 this week *fingers crossed* with a DS 125. I was thinking about getting a DS 50 for the second strobe but someone told me that the color temp needs to be the same. The 50 and 125 are not according to Ikelites website. So I am not sure what I will do for the second one, most likely wait until I can afford another 125. If you have the slave sensor they should work with any future TTL housing....I think??

The DS125 ins't too big and recycles much quicker than the 50. You would be better off with two 125s. In the long run you will wish you paid the extra money. Also it would be easier to achieve whatever lighting ratio you want with two identical strobes and a choice of four power settings.:cool:

Thanks, I was driving around today and started thinking that I forgot to mention the recycle time diffrence. The 125 is great with it being almost as fast as the camera...

Got an e-mail from Ike today. My camera and housing should be here tomorrow.

That means the pool tomorrow night with the openwater class and the lake on Saturday to work out any bugs and then it's off to Port Hardey for the good stuff.

[Edited on 4-10-2002 by underexposed]

thanks for all the information