Sea&Sea i-TTL converter III Test

I have had the oportunity to test dive the new Sea&Sea converter with nexus housed D200 and D2x cameras. There were no signs of corrosion on the housings or the converters.

With the D2x the converter performed flawlessly even a small pelagic translucent squid was well lit.

However, there was one severe problem. The converter did NOT work with the D200. The exposure kompensation on the controller influenced the output of the controller but the output remained the same through different apertures. Thus not changeing the flash output based on reflected light. Both converters were used with both cameras. We even swapped cameras into the two different housings, same conclusion: D2x works D200 doesn't.

The irony of this is that the Sea&sea converter is supposed to be compatible with the d200 but NOT the d2x.. go figure!

Anyone else with these results/problems? Could this be a firmware problem?

Cheers,

Espen

I tried version 2 of the converter with a Subal D2xs. Exposures were consistent but I found that exposure error was a function of subject distance so variable compensation was always required. Shooting any subject with a sufficiently powerful diopter and close distances caused a full dump so I had to leave my +2's on the boat. After 3 dives, the battery compartment had lost ALL of it's chrome plating and the device wouldn't turn on for the 4th dive. It did again once dry. Even though I had a backup, considering the poor performance of the device I decided to abandon it and switch to manual.

Having to constantly adjust exposure compensation for shooting distance kind of defeats the whole purpose of TTL. It's odd to get consistent exposure regardless of aperture only for that exposure to be consistently wrong with no setting to make it consistently right. Others on the boat were also shooting with the device and they were not experiencing my problems. None of them were shooting with a D2xs though.

Hi Espen!

is this TTL converter III compatible with Sea & Sea YS 250 pro strobe?

Thx you

Andree

I tried version 2 of the converter with a Subal D2xs. Exposures were consistent but I found that exposure error was a function of subject distance so variable compensation was always required. Shooting any subject with a sufficiently powerful diopter and close distances caused a full dump so I had to leave my +2's on the boat.

This is exactly what happened to the d200 camera.

I upgraded the firmware on my D2x yesterday and now it performs just as badly as the D200.

The converter doesn't work with the new firmware for the d200 and the d2x. GREAT job NIKON!!

If anyone has the 1.00 versions for either camera please drop me a line!

I'm trying to figure out if there are any componenets, diodes etc, between the bulkhead of a sea&sea housing and the camera, or if they are direct wired. If there isn't this is a problem for everyone not just us nexus guys.

Cheers,

Espen

Hi everyone,

New development. I reset the camera to an earlier firmware 1.01. This didn't help either at first. However assembling the rig for more tests this morning the darn thing worked like a charm. (go figure?) A friend will bring his d2x (firmware 2.0) over for tests in a few days to see if it was the firmware or if it was a cable glitch.

High on success I tried another ttl converter and that worked beutifully also with the d2x (firmware 1.01). Re-tried with the d200, still not working. If anyone has experience with the d200 and ttl converter in a Nexus housing I'll be very interested in your experience.

Also if someone has a DX-D200 sea&sea housing and can tell me weather the cable has a direct connection to the hotshoe or some sort of diodes in between it would be greatly appreciated!

I have attached some images of my rotating substrobe brackett and the attached converter. Note the long cable on my converter this is not standard but my own modification to make it possible to rotate the strobes in either direction. The standard cable is too short. Note that the new battery compartment is plastic, thus solving the positive ground problem on previous versions - so no electrolysis will occur.

Cheers,

Espen

Espen,

I like your rotating macro strobe mount - that is brilliant. I had a chance to play w/ one of the Seacam type ports made like this and thought it was pretty cool.

Cheers

James

Hi Espen,

I have the nikon D200 and Nexus housing with the Seas and Sea TTL converter III witn inon z240's, It works great, have not been game enought to try it with out the nylon earthing screw. Waiting to here if there is definatly no corrosion before i test.

Killed the TTL converter II with one dive due to having to use metal screw becuase i broke the nylon one.

One question Are you shure the TTL converter is not faulty as that could be the problem ?

One question Are you shure the TTL converter is not faulty as that could be the problem ?

Thanks Downunder!

I guess everything is possible, but then both have to be faulty and both still work with two tested D2x cameras. I'm guessing there is something wrong with the camera. I have tested the d200 camera with nikon dedicated strobes but found no anomalies there. I'd like to hear if others have had problems or if all are up and running. I'd like to know more before we'll have to entertain the idea of sending the camera to a repair facility.

Regarding the corrosion issue. I have had the converter on 4 dives (w/o nylon screw) with no sign of corrosion. I also melted a version II converter. Thus far however the fix seems to work. Kudos to Sea&sea!

V_kids,

I can't find any info about the use of the TTL converter and YS250 strobes. It does have some sort of TTL but I cant find out how this TTL works.

Thanks!

Espen

Hi,

I'm the guy with the troublesome D200... I still haven't worked it out, but I have emaild both Sea&Sea and Naturephoto Kanda, where we bought the stuff. Hopefully that will shed some light on the problem.

In the meantime, I started thinking... It seems the type II converter wordked well apart from the corrosion problems. I still have that one laying around. Maybe it would be an idea to take out the guts of it and mount it in the new type III housing? That may take care of all issues at once. Anyone tried that?

/Chris

The strobe YS-250pro comes with a pink sheet stating that NONE of the following are compatible:

#50104 TTL converter for nikon

#50106 TTL converter for canon

#50108 TTL II converter for nikon

#50112 TTL III converter for nikon

It also says that there will shortly be a ttl converter exclusively designed for ys-250 pro.

But yesterday night, after some drinks during a barbecue , a friend of mine tried a TTL III in my D200-105mm with two ys-250 pro and it worked well from f4 to f22. Having only problems below f4 because I think the strobes were not able to deliver such a small amount of light. As soon as we separated the strobes (so more power was needed to get a correct exposure) it would worked even below f4. I think that being underwater and using the provided diffuser should work fine... I hope we get to try soon.

One more thing: You don´t miss anything by resetting the D200 (pressing the green dotted buttons) and trying again, as I had a trouble with an iTTL subtronic and after doing that started to work well....

Espen,

To answer your question re: the Sea and Sea D200 housing, the hotshoe cable is wired directly to the housing bulkhead with no intervening diodes or resistors. I know this after a long session of trouble shooting... in the end I found an intermittent dry joint on the trigger pin in the 5-pin wired bulkhead, which was causing intermittent failure of the strobe to fire with an Ikelite ttl converter.

David,

Thanks it's definately worth a try. We are going to test the setup with a different D200 in a few days. That will determine if it will be sent away or not.

Craig,

Thanks! You've just ruled out any special problems with Nexus vs sea&sea. It least we now know it is either the camera or both converters. I'm afraid our tests later this week will prove to be camera related.

David&Craig if you dont mind. What firmware are you running on your cameras?

Thanks for the help!

Best wishes,

Espen

Hi Espen,

I have just returned from a month long trip shooting with a D2x (firm 2.0) in Aquatica housing, the Sea & Sea TTL II converter and 2 Inons Z-240.

I had to constantly adjust exposure compensation to make the TTL work.

Here is what I did:

From F5.6 and below, adjusted the TTL converter to -0.3 to -1 EV

Around F8 would leave at zero

From F11 and below, adjusted the TTL converter to +0.3 to +1 EV

At F22 and above adjusted the TTL converter to +1 EV, but many times I would get the impression that the strobes were not delivering the full dump, resulting in an underexposure photo. Then I switched to manual full power.

Once the compensation was set, the TTL would work well with different subjects and different distances.

I did not had any corrosion related problems, BUT

found the blue Sea&Sea o-rings very fragile, I lost 4 of them because of small cuts during the dive trip.

I have also a SB-800 in a Subal housing and it works great, no need to compensate, so I am assuming there are no diodes in my housing between the socket and the housing.

Best regards,

Marcelo Krause

Hi Marcelo,

Thanks for the feedback. I have to say that your experiences with the ttl converter sounds a little like the experience my friend has with his d200. I just can't explain that you get it to adjust for distance but not for aperture.

As long as my strobes are turned on first (set to TTL and Sttl), then the converter and finally the camera I get consistent results with varying aperture and distance. With two strobes, f2.8-f4 and very bright subject at very close range I find that the converter isn't able to react quickly enough. But since I mainly use F8 and up for my macro the converter works very well.

I find it very strange that you get correct exposure with varying distance but not varying aperture!? Can't explain that, except say that it isn't working as it should. A friend of mine will hopefully come by with his d2x and we'll have a go to see if it can be firmware related.

Am I remebering incorrect or did you also have a HW converter for your housing? How is that working?

Thanks for your comments!

Best regards,

Espen

My wife and I each have a D2x (firm1.1) in a SeaCam housing, the Sea & Sea TTL II converters and 2 Inons Z-240 for me and twin Sea & Sea DX 90 Auto's for her. I reported a few months ago on a 3 week trip to Indonesia with both rigs. No corrosion problems and as good as can be expected TTL on both macro and wide angle ballanced lighting. TTL is as everyone knows, is no magic bullet. Unfortunatly it is often fooled by varied reflectivity and open space. This is further complicated by 2 strobes , controlled by one exposure meter. The twins are often differing distances from the subject and are under one control. One can't expect to much from automatic exposure control. Even with these limitations, I found the Macro was usually dead on from F 16 - 32, and I never go beyound these limits. Wide angle also as good as can be expected between f 4 anb f 8.

I would suggest considering not updating the firmware, if you havn't, if you plan on using the TTL II Converter.

Malodiver

Hi Marcelo,

 

Thanks for the feedback. I have to say that your experiences with the ttl converter sounds a little like the experience my friend has with his d200. I just can't explain that you get it to adjust for distance but not for aperture.

As long as my strobes are turned on first (set to TTL and Sttl), then the converter and finally the camera I get consistent results with varying aperture and distance. With two strobes, f2.8-f4 and very bright subject at very close range I find that the converter isn't able to react quickly enough. But since I mainly use F8 and up for my macro the converter works very well.

I find it very strange that you get correct exposure with varying distance but not varying aperture!? Can't explain that, except say that it isn't working as it should. A friend of mine will hopefully come by with his d2x and we'll have a go to see if it can be firmware related.

Am I remebering incorrect or did you also have a HW converter for your housing? How is that working?

 

Thanks for your comments!

 

Best regards,

Espen

Hi Guys...

I'm not a expertise, but this TTL converter is not able to work just with Sea & Sea strobes?

regards

Hi Malodiver,

I will check the firmware issue when I have some time to spare. Busy theese days, and travelling again next week. But I will check it and post back when I know. The firm 2,0 should have improved AF and other features that would be nice.

Thanks!

Hi Augusto,

Hope everything is good in Rio!

The ttl converter will also work with some Inon strobes. ex z240.

Best wishes,

Espen

Hi there Espen,

I was wondering how the TTL converter is going with the corrosion issue with nexus housing, does the problem appear to be fixed with out the use of nylon screw etc now ?.

Hi there Espen,

 

I was wondering how the TTL converter is going with the corrosion issue with nexus housing, does the problem appear to be fixed with out the use of nylon screw etc now ?.

Yes, the problem is fixed. There has been no electrlysis nor do I think it possible with the new plastic cap isolating the converter powersource from the exteriour. I have had 10+ dives now. No problems with the Nexus, v3 hotshoe, i-ttl converter III, and Inon z240 strobes.

Cheers,

Espen

Just a quick update!

I can confirm that it is not he firmware that is the problem with the ittl converter. Thus the problems I had were related to a bad connection between the hotshoe and the bulkhead. The result was a constant powered burst. I would suggest everyone that have problems to first rule out any connection problems. However, I know that, for reasons I don't understand, there is a proportionate number of cameras that don't work with the Sea&sea converter.

I'll be of then to try and find some orcas... any questions will have to wait a couple of weeks.

Cheers,

Espen