Silica gel packs in Ike housings?

I have a G9 and Z-240's and suspect that the high internal volume of the housing and the strobes Advanced Cancel Circuitry reducing flash output from the G9 will negate the problem of condensation and therefore any need for silica gel packs. Am I correct?

Thanks for your advice, Tim

Hi Tim,

I have the same setup. I think the high volume helps; however I did put in a small gel pack just in case.

As for the ACC, it depends on how you have set up your camera...

1 - If you are shooting manual on the camera, set the internal strobe to minimum. The ACC isn't used, but the internal discharge is minimized. The strobe is on External Auto or Manual.

2 - If you are shooting in the other modes on the camera, then you need the ACC if you are shooting Manual or External Auto. In this case, the I believe ACC works to minimize the output of the strobe by fooling the internal strobe, but in fact it is possible it is just doing what happens in 3 below...

3 - If you are shooting using s-TTL, then the strobe is mimicking the camera's flash. What is important here is that the internal flash isn't necessarily getting reduced, because if the exposure calls for a large dump of the external strobes, then the internal strobe must do a large dump to trigger this, etc. Generally, this isn't happening, but your battery usage and heat output is certainly higher than in 1.

I have a G9 and Z-240's and suspect that the high internal volume of the housing and the strobes Advanced Cancel Circuitry reducing flash output from the G9 will negate the problem of condensation and therefore any need for silica gel packs. Am I correct?

 

Thanks for your advice, Tim

Thanks for your thoughts. Does the ACC come on automatically in STTL, regardless of the position of the push-button? I think it only has to be selected in Auto and Manual.

Yeah, that was one of my favorite surprises about the Z-240 over the D-180 that I had. On the Z-240 there is a switch for it (the D-180 had a magnet -- ie, not switchable under water). But in any case, when switching to sTTL, it automatically expects a preflash -- which means I don't have to fumble with the ACC switch when going from semi-automatic + sTTL to full manual + manual or external auto.

I use the two custom settings on the camera pre-configured for ttl usage and manual usage -- so I have to throw just two switches (ok, a little more, because I have two strobes, and I also have to remember to move the ev dial ;-) )

Thanks for your thoughts. Does the ACC come on automatically in STTL, regardless of the position of the push-button? I think it only has to be selected in Auto and Manual.

Hi Timmora

Re silica Gell, i use a ike housing with another compact camera , and fogging is rarely a problem even though i dont set up in a A/C room . what i find is important though is keeping the housing out of the sun and heat on the dive boat, and cover with a towel

but just to be safe i have taped a silica gell pack on the RH side of the housing..

Regards

Matt

With respect to fogging, a lot depends on the air temp and humidity when the housing was last opened and the water temp. In New England where I dive, in the summer, the water temp below the thermocline is in the low to mid 40s but the air temp (and humidity) is higher and you will get condensation, even without using a strobe if you don't use a gel pack.

My G7 in an ike housing has fogged a couple of times, generally in humid weather. If I'm diving somewhere humid (here in the summer, or OS in the tropics), I'll throw a pack in just to be sure. It's not always possible to set up in a cooler or drier environment.

Upon saying that, it's only been locally that I have had fogging issues now that I think about it. It's most likely going from the hot, humid air to (slightly) cooler water.

My strobes are eTTL, so there's no extra heat coming out of there.

Ry.