Camera Envy

Hi Everyone! Just joined this forum. Seems like lots of knowlegable people here. Would love to hear some suggestions.

I am currently shooting an Olympus 3030 with a Light & Motion housing and a Nikon strobe. My set up is getting a little long in the tooth. (3.3 megapixel) I would like to upgrade. I think I nave figured out the camera and housing, but I would like some opinions about strobes & arms etc.

I am thinking of getting the Olympus E-410 with the PT-E03 housing. Seems like a reasonable set up for the price.

My question is what kind of strobe to use with this camera. Does anyone have some recommendations based on experience? Inon and Sea&Sea seem popular. Are there others? I would like TTL. currently I am shooting in manual. Is fiberoptic connection the way to go, or is there a wired connector?

Also what kind of strobe arms would you use? Do I need the olympus strobe flash connector, or is there an aftermarket connector set up? If anybody has this camera and housing, I would love to know what you have and how it is set up. I will probably start with one strobe, and maybe add a second later. Pictures would be great, too.

Lastly, where to buy the strobes and arms. Being in St. Louis, there aren't really any stores that sell this stuff, so I can't really look at it. I have found some online stores for the camera and housing, but not for strobes and arms etc.

Thanks in advance for your replies.

Robert

I just purchased the E-410. Phil Rudin with the handle tropical1 had done an exhaustive review. Search under the camera name. I too am undecided on the strobe. It appears Athena makes a nice aftermarket product (both a TTL converter for full auto and an optical connection which would allow for manual strobe operation). The TTL converter would allow you to use Sea&Sea strobes. The optical would allow you to connect just about any digital strobe. You might check out the Reef icon to the right of this page. Ryan has a pretty solid deal on housings, ports and accessories for this camera.

Cheers,

Having all Ikelite stuff (housing and strobes), and having never used a Heinrichs-Weikamp product, it would seem like one of their converters would allow you use of TTL. Based on their compatibility chart, the E-410 should even work with the hotshoe converter. Check out their website for more information on which strobes are compatible: http://www.heinrichsweikamp.net/blitz/index.htm

Thanks for the replies.

Right now, I am leaning towards the Inon strobes. I guess my question would be is there any advantage to getting some kind of converter and connecting the strobe directly, or do the optical connectors allow for TTL or sone other kind of automatic exposure control, and do they work just as well?

Thanks for the replies.

 

Right now, I am leaning towards the Inon strobes. I guess my question would be is there any advantage to getting some kind of converter and connecting the strobe directly, or do the optical connectors allow for TTL or sone other kind of automatic exposure control, and do they work just as well?

I think we are in the same situation... I initially would prefer to connect directly with cable instead of fiberoptics: less power consumption and in my experience, fiber cables are a litle bit weak.

But on the other hand, if fiber optis works well, less husle.

Since I have used all three Olympus DSLR housings over the last three years with wired strobes in manual, wired with a converter in TTL and now Inon Z-240 strobes with fiber optics in TTL with the E-410 and PT-E03 housing I can tell you that fiber optics are the clear winner for this housing.

First, I was able to get over 450 raw images in TTL using the pop-up flash to trigger the two external Z-240 strobes on the camera before the small battery gave me the LOW warning. I DID NOT USE LIVE VIEW for this test. The camera battery far out lasted the strobe battery life even using my macro lens and teleconverter which used the most power to auto focus.

Second, the exposures are the best I have obtained using TTL from any of the cameras, film or digital that I have used for U/W photography (over a fourty year period).

Third, less o-rings to deal with (I.E. five to be exact with two strobes) and no propriatary bulkheads to deal with. Less weight and so far no problems .

I shoot in TTL for macro and manual and TTL for W/A.

I have the Athena TTL converter for the camera/housing combo as a backup but after Ryan (reefphoto.com) lent me a pair Inon D-2000's to test the fiber optics I have become a convert, (you can teach an old dog new tricks). Within a week of my extensive testing I was back at Ryan's to turn in the D-2000's and buy a new pair of Inon Z-240's. I think fiber optics will be the way of the new world. Many tried to make fiber optics work for the Nikonos film cameras, so I was a bit skepital, but now pleasantly surprised by the outcome.

Apologies to Ryan if this cuts into his converter business, but I don't think I will ever own a housing again that does not allow for use with fiber optics.

P.S. waiting to see it SeaTool, Zillion or others will stepup with a housing for the new Olympus E-3.

Phil Rudin

Thanks Tropical1,

Your comments for me are definitive. Are you using inons fibercables or it doesn't matter?

By the way, now I'm decided for the Inon + fiber optics.... I'm wondering if it's usefull to keep my Epoeque 150DS as a twin flash to be connected in the same ring.

Even if I can't use it on TTL, I was thinking in putting it to reduce shadows: let's say always a low dump when using TTL on the Inon, and the right power when using both in manual.

Any comments?

Nachoman,

I use the Inon fiber optics and yes you may want to try the 150DS on low power to see how it works.

Phil

Since I have used all three Olympus DSLR housings over the last three years with wired strobes in manual, wired with a converter in TTL and now Inon Z-240 strobes with fiber optics in TTL with the E-410 and PT-E03 housing I can tell you that fiber optics are the clear winner for this housing.

 

First, I was able to get over 450 raw images in TTL using the pop-up flash to trigger the two external Z-240 strobes on the camera before the small battery gave me the LOW warning. I DID NOT USE LIVE VIEW for this test. The camera battery far out lasted the strobe battery life even using my macro lens and teleconverter which used the most power to auto focus.

 

Second, the exposures are the best I have obtained using TTL from any of the cameras, film or digital that I have used for U/W photography (over a fourty year period).

 

Third, less o-rings to deal with (I.E. five to be exact with two strobes) and no propriatary bulkheads to deal with. Less weight and so far no problems .

 

I shoot in TTL for macro and manual and TTL for W/A.

 

I have the Athena TTL converter for the camera/housing combo as a backup but after Ryan (reefphoto.com) lent me a pair Inon D-2000's to test the fiber optics I have become a convert, (you can teach an old dog new tricks). Within a week of my extensive testing I was back at Ryan's to turn in the D-2000's and buy a new pair of Inon Z-240's. I think fiber optics will be the way of the new world. Many tried to make fiber optics work for the Nikonos film cameras, so I was a bit skepital, but now pleasantly surprised by the outcome.

 

Apologies to Ryan if this cuts into his converter business, but I don't think I will ever own a housing again that does not allow for use with fiber optics.

 

P.S. waiting to see it SeaTool, Zillion or others will stepup with a housing for the new Olympus E-3.

 

Phil Rudin

Phil,

I’ve talked to you before regarding live view on the 410 for my wife. I have decided to get a 410 and will make the purchase when the 12-60 mm lens is available. Do you have any idea when that will be??

I have another question regarding TTL. Would an electronic TTL give quicker flash recycling time and longer camera battery life compared to fiber optic TTL? The camera battery would not have to power up the camera flash and the external strobes (Z240s) recycle faster than the 410 camera flash.

Elmer

Well, I just got my new gear based on recommendations here. I got the Inon Z-240 to go with my Olympus E-410 along with the optical cable. Now I just need to figure out how to work it. I think I get the settings on the strobe, but what settings should I use on the camera. I know I have to force the flash, but do you shoot in auto, program, manual, shutter or aperature priority. Also, there are some underwatter settings that you can use. What about those.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions, and sorry for the newbie question, but with my old rig I could only shoot in manual, and I am not used to this sTTL stuff.

Hi Robert,

For macro I use manual mode on the camera at ISO 100 and a shutter speed of around 1/160th at F/8 to F/22. The Inon strobe or strobes are then set to TTl on the left dial and to 2.8 on the right dial. check the histogram and reset if needed. The strobe needs to be close to the subject for macro of 1:4 or greater. For wide angle I use manual mode with the strobe set to M on the left dial and F/5.6 on the right dial. This would be using an ISO of 100 or 200. I start at 1/60th and F/5.6 at about three feet and adjust based on the histogram at around sixty feet in semi clear water, e.g. vis of 30 feet or more. Since I use two Inon Z-240 strobes power may vary but this will give you a starting point.

Phil Rudin

Hi Robert,

 

For macro I use manual mode on the camera at ISO 100 and a shutter speed of around 1/160th at F/8 to F/22. The Inon strobe or strobes are then set to TTl on the left dial and to 2.8 on the right dial. check the histogram and reset if needed. The strobe needs to be close to the subject for macro of 1:4 or greater. For wide angle I use manual mode with the strobe set to M on the left dial and F/5.6 on the right dial. This would be using an ISO of 100 or 200. I start at 1/60th and F/5.6 at about three feet and adjust based on the histogram at around sixty feet in semi clear water, e.g. vis of 30 feet or more. Since I use two Inon Z-240 strobes power may vary but this will give you a starting point.

 

Phil Rudin

Thanks for those suggestions, Phil. I will definitely try those out. I was hoping to be able to use the TTL and not have to do as much fiddling with manual settings. So I guess my question is if I have the strobe set on TTL and the dial set on 2.8 as you suggest, do I need to set the camera's ISO, aperature and shutter speed in manual mode, or can I use the auto or Program modes and set the camera set these for me. Or should I use the aperature or shutter priority modes. The camera also has a few special underwater modes. I wonder if these are worth exploring. Thanks again.

Robert

Hi Doc,

I have a similar setup. E-410, Inon Z240 except I slave it off a housed FL20. Like you, I like to fiddle with as little as possible so I usually set the Inon to s-ttl. However I've only done 1 dive so far with it. Generally I'm pretty pleased with the exposures. However I do keep my camera in manual mode when diving. I'll occasionally want to change the shutter speed and/or aperture. I've haven't taken any photos in auto or program modes.

Ok, I think I get it now. When the strobe is set in sTTL the strobe will control the exposure regardless of whether I am in manual, program, auto, or whatever. Right? I think my confusion about manual arose because with my old setup, I had to shoot in manual and adjust the aperature, shutterspeed and strobe output all manually, and get lucky in order to get the correct exposure.

With this Inon strobe I can shoot in manual and adjust my shutter speed and aperature, and the strobe will figure out the correct exposure. This will be so much easier! I can't wait to get in the water!

Bob

Yes that is correct, however if I explain it to you I'm bound to screw up the explanation. The Z240 reads the exposure from the camera's preflash, I think, so it knows how much light to output. Anyway, brighter minds than mine can chime in any time. What I know is that I set it to s-ttl and don't have to mess around with it. I shoot in RAW so I can always do slight adjustments in PS.