Inon D-180 Update :-)

Hi all,

since so many people have been kind enough to have answered some of my questions ( and MARK R has provided INVALUABLE translations), I thought I would fill you in on my "progress" with the Inon D-180 strobe etc.

Put the whole shebang together today...Canon S45, Canon Housing, Inon D-180 Strobe, optical Synch cord, Ultralight arm and base and the Inon UCL 330 macro lens.

Also used the old transparency film over the internal flash trick to try to stop internal flare with the lens.

Took multiple shots around the house (! Dogs think I've gone really strange :freak: ) at multiple apertures and focal lengths etc... results?

Excellent/consistent exposure using the AUTO setting on the strobe. Only problem was with a dominant white background which - as expected - caused the strobe to drop its output too far..easily compensated for and immendiatly detectable with digital . Less problem with a black background. Good focus thanks to the "spot" light on the strobe enhancing contrast. NO sign of any internal flare even at shorter focal lengths. 100% activation of stobe in synch with my camera. Even at 1500 th sec. (woops just realised the camera resets speed to 1/250th with flash if you set it higher..)

I know that I could use the Inon tapes over the flash - but as I have only a few thought I would give the tranmsparency film trick a go ...will use the Inon tape when next I dive....

Off to Papua New Guinea end of the month....will post results when I get back...I think I like this system B)

Regards

Tack

Canberra

Australia

Excellent/consistent exposure using the AUTO setting on the strobe

Tack, I thought the D180 was a manual strobe.

- does this mean you can use the D180 with the S45 in TTL mode (ie

camera decides the flash output/duration)

- if so, what shooting mode are you using (P, Av, Tv and M)?

- and have you got the pre-flash (flash adjust) on or off (auto or manual)?

Hi ReyeR,

THe D-180 has an AUTO capability. It has what used to be called a remote sensor....i.e. inbuilt light meter that is TTL - the strobes lens that is

You have to tell it what aperture you have set ( I use Aperture priority....) and it then meters the flash and quenches when it has received "enough" reflected light.

The S-45 flash is simply used to trigger the strobe and is effectivly ( idealy) completely blocked by a shade there-by preventing direct back scatter. The strobe is pre-flash aware ( but can bet set for a camera with No preflash - or if the pre-flash is turned off) so synching with the camera is not a problem.

Accordingly, if I am using Aperture mode I set it to F8 (say), set the S-45 flash to MINIMAL output ( saves batteries/recycle time and does not contribute to exposure anyway) and set the D-180 to F8 as well.

Then point and shoot

There are also 4 different manual levels of strobe output if you wish.

Can be used with the S45 manual mode to - but that doesn't use a pre-flash, so you have to "tell" the D-180 there will be no pre-flash - you put a magnet in a slot on the back - easier above water . Will still meter your shot/adjust strobe output if you tell it what aperture you are going to use though.

Please note that the idea of a remote sensor is NOT new and there is a possible problem as the reflectance is measured at the strobe head not the camera itself so there could be potential for exposure errors....Love that digital instant feedback

NB this is all a little new to me as I have only had the strobe for a couple of days BUT I believe that all this is correct!

HTH

Tack B)

Gotcha Tack. Thanks for the details. Forgot about the sensor on the D180 - similar to the S&S YS90 Auto.

Looks like you've got it figured out pretty good. The only suggestion I have is maybe shoot in M rather than A as you're relying on the camera to set the shutter speed in the latter - which can be slow. As the shutter speed will not affect your strobe exposure you can use it to control the ambient light in your shot - slower for blue water, faster for black. 1/125 is usually a good place to start. Besides, if you're not using the TTL capability of the camera at all then isn't it better just to use the lowest setting with the 'flash adjust' set to manual (slave) which should recycle faster than even the lowest flash intensity setting when 'flash adjust' is set to auto (TTL)? Just my 2c.

as the reflectance is measured at the strobe head not the camera itself so there could be potential for exposure errors....Love that digital instant feedback

Beside you can always 'fool' the strobe by selecting a higher or lower f-stop on the strobe.

Have a blast in PNG. We want to see some pics of pygmy seahorses (pressure's on now )