Sync Speeds Ikelite DS125 and Nikon D300

Hi all,

just come back from 3 days diving off Pulau Redang, E. coast Malaysia with my new Ikelite housing for D300. Have always shot with Nikonos V and dedicated strobe, so this was a first for me - venturing into digital UW.

Question - Ikelite recommeded 1/60 sync for the D300 in i-TTL mode, using the DS125 strobe. I stuck with this and got a fair few good pics, but a lot of blurry motion in others (fish are known to move!). On land I sync at 1/250th with the D300 and my SB-800 speedlight. Will the Ikelite sync with 1/125 or 1/250 underwater? If so, that would help freeze motion quite a lot...obviously

Appreciate any comments

it should sync up to 1/320th

Scott

I use my D300 with twin DS-125 strobes at anywhere from 1/60 to 1/250s shutter speeds depending on the conditions (depth, etc.). I prefer to not have the shutter speed too fast as you end up with a black background (which is OK, if that's what you want).

I always shoot with the camera in manual mode and adjust both shutter speed and f/stop to suit the ambient lighting. I usually go for an f/stop to get the depth of field I want and then a shutter speed to give me a decent background.

Note that to get 1/320s, you have to set Custom e:1 to 1/320s (Auto FP)

I use my D300 with twin DS-125 strobes at anywhere from 1/60 to 1/250s shutter speeds depending on the conditions (depth, etc.). I prefer to not have the shutter speed too fast as you end up with a black background (which is OK, if that's what you want).

 

I always shoot with the camera in manual mode and adjust both shutter speed and f/stop to suit the ambient lighting. I usually go for an f/stop to get the depth of field I want and then a shutter speed to give me a decent background.

 

Note that to get 1/320s, you have to set Custom e:1 to 1/320s (Auto FP)

Thanks for the quick replies...I presumed the DS125 would sync at speeds higher than 1/60. Wonder why Ikelite don't mention this in their manual (for once in my life I actually RTFM - probably a mistake as I would have sync'd to 1/125 or 1/250 as default and then gone on from there, making manual adjustments as I went..but as I was buddied up in a large group intent on hurtling along the reef as fast as they could, I knew I'd have little time to linger and experiment).

Anyway, here's a little snap that worked...

Thanks for the quick replies...I presumed the DS125 would sync at speeds higher than 1/60. Wonder why Ikelite don't mention this in their manual (for once in my life I actually RTFM - probably a mistake as I would have sync'd to 1/125 or 1/250 as default and then gone on from there, making manual adjustments as I went..but as I was buddied up in a large group intent on hurtling along the reef as fast as they could, I knew I'd have little time to linger and experiment).

Where did you read about the recommendation for 1/60s? It isn't in the manual for either the D300 Housing or the DS-125.

The closest reference I can find is this:

Note: When Using a DS-200 Substrobe

In Custom Setting E1: flash sync speed setting use a shutter

speed of 1/125 of a second or slower.

which to me implies that for other strobes you can go to 1/250s.

I believe the Ikelite Housing comes with a "quickstart" guide that recommends f/8 and 1/60 as a good "starting point" for one's photography.

I believe the Ikelite Housing comes with a "quickstart" guide that recommends f/8 and 1/60 as a good "starting point" for one's photography.

Spot on! I'd briefly scanned the quickstart guide (but also had thumbed through the Ikelite Ds-125 user manual too) and the only ref I found was to 1/60 sync. Guess Ikelite presume we all shoot soft coral and nudibranch 1/60 for fishies doesn't seem to be optimal..but guess it depends on the size and skittishness.

Will be getting wet again in 2 weeks time, so should ahve chance to shoot with higher speeds and experiment with results. Have another issue that came up, but am posting that as seperate topic.

Thanks for all yr comments and advice.

this could be a leftover from the days that cameras had maximum syncs at 1/60 th or around that....

I'm assuming it is the quick start guide for the housing.

f/8 and 1/60 is not a bad starting point if you are shooting without strobes, although in shallow water in full Sun you would lead to overexposure at ISO 200. The f/16 rule says that in full Sun you'd use f/16 & 1/200s at ISO 200. You'll lose light with depth, but f/8 and 1/60 is some 4 stops over. I have personally used 1/60 and f/8 at a depth of 15m, so it is probably a bit slow/wide.

Now, when you are using a strobe as your primary source of light, the shutter speed is somewhat irrelevant, other than for balancing available light. At full power, the strobe burst lasts around 1/1000s and as you reduce the power, the duration is even shorter. That's enough to freeze the action of any moving fish. i.e. if it is "dark", 1/60 will work perfectly well for fish.

This shot was taken a 1/60s and f/16:

And I have quite a few others of fish taken at 1/60s.

I use my D300 with twin DS-125 strobes at anywhere from 1/60 to 1/250s shutter speeds depending on the conditions (depth, etc.). I prefer to not have the shutter speed too fast as you end up with a black background (which is OK, if that's what you want).

 

I always shoot with the camera in manual mode and adjust both shutter speed and f/stop to suit the ambient lighting. I usually go for an f/stop to get the depth of field I want and then a shutter speed to give me a decent background.

 

Note that to get 1/320s, you have to set Custom e:1 to 1/320s (Auto FP)

How do you adjust your shutter speeds, my D300 will only let me set the shutter sych speed then it uses that as the shutter speed, I am unable to change the shutter speed in manual using the command dial.

How do you adjust your shutter speeds, my D300 will only let me set the shutter sych speed then it uses that as the shutter speed, I am unable to change the shutter speed in manual using the command dial.

Set e1 to 1/250s and e2 to 1/60s and you should be able to select any shutter speed between 1/250s and 1/60s with the command dial.

e1 sets the sync (fastest) speed and e2 sets the slowest. Note that you can go even slower that 1/60s if you want. I suspect you have e1 and e2 both set to 1/60s which is stopping you from being able to change.