G9, Canon Housing and a Z240 questions!

Hi All,

Got a couple of quick questions regarding the above. I have a G9, Canon housing and a Inon Z240. I was wondering how the best way to connect the optical cable to the housing is? Ive read various posts about this but havent ever managed to get a resolution.

The strobe has come with 2 diffusers, the .5 and the 1.5, any advice on which would be best to use and also which colour (red\blue) plasic insert to go in front of the focus light? I used to have a d2000 with an ixus and I got more pleasing results with the blue diffuser it came with. Would I be better to get a blue one for my z240?

Am I right in saying that its best to turn the flash right down in the camera settings (as this will be blocked anyway) and allow the strobe to make its own mind up, I plan to use the s-ttl setting initially as its a new setup for me having upgraded from something more basic.

Thanks

Hi All,

 

Got a couple of quick questions regarding the above. I have a G9, Canon housing and a Inon Z240. I was wondering how the best way to connect the optical cable to the housing is? Ive read various posts about this but havent ever managed to get a resolution.

 

The strobe has come with 2 diffusers, the .5 and the 1.5, any advice on which would be best to use and also which colour (red\blue) plasic insert to go in front of the focus light? I used to have a d2000 with an ixus and I got more pleasing results with the blue diffuser it came with. Would I be better to get a blue one for my z240?

 

Am I right in saying that its best to turn the flash right down in the camera settings (as this will be blocked anyway) and allow the strobe to make its own mind up, I plan to use the s-ttl setting initially as its a new setup for me having upgraded from something more basic.

 

Thanks

Hi ... I don't know what the "official" INON solution is ... but Sea & Sea makes a velcro-based mask that has a nice pass through port for a FO dongle ... the part number is Sea & Sea Strobe Mask Set #SS-50109.

Here's what it looks likes on the G9 housing

I have the same setup with 2 Z240's.

I purchased the inon optical cable shown in the link below for each of my Z-240's

http://www.fun-in.com.tw/catalog/product_i...products_id=239

Whether this is better, worse, etc. I cannot say. Only been able to pool test it and it all works well enough so far.

Ocean trip in Feb for real life testing.

I used the mask setup jeremy described on several canon housing before with a YS-25 and that always worked well.

In pool testing, I have the camera flash turned all the way down. Tried s-ttl, manual settings and all seem to work well enough with it this way.

Cannot answer your blue filter question as I have not tried one.

I have tried both the 0.5 and 1.5 diffuser with s-ttl and could not see any difference - which is not suprising for a pool test. There was more than enough strobe power to light everything with either diffuser.

I have always been frustrated by my poor aiming with a single strobe - too inconsistent - so I spent the extra to have 2 strobes. I plan to use the -.5 diffuser on one and the 1.5 diffuser on the other in an attempt to keep the light from being too flat. I seems to work in the pool but we will get the real test in Feb.

You might consider local pool testing with your setup and see how you like it at different settings.

My local dive shop pool has various 'fish' for dropping in and photo'ing. Its not nearly as good as an ocean test but it beats looking the gear sit on the shelf, wishing you were using it.

ALSO, my setup is negative bouyant so I added STIX floats to get it more neutral. A pool test can tell you about yours. I tried the LARGE size stix floats and needed the XL.

hope that helps a little

Dave

Hi guys,

thanks for the response, ive seen the Sea&sea mask set used before but wasnt sure how effective it was. I will look to investigate that although I was hoping for something a little less intrusive on the housing - I used to have an AD mount Base on my old setup and the optical cable attached to that so there was no sticky attachments to the housing. I was wondering if anyone has modified their diffuser for the housing in any way to attach the optical cable?

It would definatly be beneficial for me to do some pool tests, I will have to visit my local diving centre and see what they offer. Im looking to book a week in Egypt - Marsa Alam in June so need to have it sorted by then!

thanks again,

Mark

Mark,

INON has something called the "Clear Photo System" ... I just read about it as I am researching new strobe options ... been using Sea & Sea to date.

"Clear Photo System" Compatible

For point and shoot digicams, or other systems with clear housings and internal strobes,"Clear Photo System" (Patent Pending) reduces backscatter caused by light coming from the camera's internal strobe illuminating suspended particles in front of the lens, enabling clearer, higher quality images.

First, place a "Clear Photo Filter" over the camera's internal flash. This filter blocks visible light, only allowing non-visible wavelengths to pass though. Accordingly, there is no visible light to illuminate the particles in front of the lens. The non-visible light is picked up by a fiber optic cable and relayed to the strobe, triggering a flash output. Clear Photo Film is included with INON "Optical D Cable/Cap Sets" available for various camera/housing systems.

Hi Jeremy,

Thanks for the post, that looks like just what im looking for then. If im understanding this correctly it means all I need to do is use some of this film in front of my flash and then attach the fibre cable somehow in front of the housing!

Just need to find a UK stockist of this which isnt going to charge a bomb - especially bearing in mind I already have the cable!

Cheers,

Mark

Hi Jeremy,

 

Thanks for the post, that looks like just what im looking for then. If im understanding this correctly it means all I need to do is use some of this film in front of my flash and then attach the fibre cable somehow in front of the housing!

 

Just need to find a UK stockist of this which isnt going to charge a bomb - especially bearing in mind I already have the cable!

 

Cheers,

Mark

Hi Mark,

Your stop for INON IR film in the UK is with Ocean Optics. Another way is to use IR filter which is available very cheaply from gun shops. Its used to convert hunting lamps into IR illuminators for night vision sights. Though I have chosen not to use this approach to either block forward throw of the G9's flash or mount INON FO caps.

HTH, Tim

Hi Tim,

Thanks for the info, I will give them a shout. Out of interest - how do you connect your optical cables to your housing?

Thanks,

Mark

For you G9 folks out there.

I walked in to my local Circuit City (Austin, TX) yesterday. They had the G9 listed at $309.

Things were crazy in there so couldn't find an employee to ask about it. So, I don't know if that was the floor model or if they had any more.

Just FYI.

Hi Tim,

 

Thanks for the info, I will give them a shout. Out of interest - how do you connect your optical cables to your housing?

 

Thanks,

Mark

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Hi Tim,

Is that using the Inon cable attachemnt holder? Ive emailed Yuzo at uwdigitalcamera.com and he has given me a quote, its a real shame that the exchange rate has gone so poor recently. Ive emailed the two UK stockists that I know of for INON gear, camerasunderwater and Ocean Optics, cameras underwater are significantly more than Yuzo is even with the poor exchange rate so it looks like im probably going to order from him!

Thanks for your help, I just need to get a holiday booked now and to decide if I want to get a blue diffuser to use? Does anyone here prefer the blue to the clear diffuser?

Cheers,

Mark

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Mark,

Sorry I hadn't read your first post properly and had incorrectly assumed you were using an Ike housing... Maybe the IR film will be a good idea or you can screen the G9's flash with alu foil inside the housing or black insulating tape

One of the INON cap holders will work when attached to the Canon diffuser but I don't know which one. The W9 is the one to get for the Ike housing / diffuser. Yuzo's courier charges are high for such a small item so I'd recommend getting him to ship it air mail in a jiffy bag for only 300 yen. He did this for me recently when I needed another for my son's rig and it arrived only 2-3 days later without attracting HMRC or Parcel Farce customs clearance charges.

IMO scrap the Z-240 focus light diffusers as if you are using the focus light you are not 'edge lighting' the subject and therefore encouraging backscatter. Its better to use an independent focus lamp mounted on an Ikelite focus lamp cradle which fits into a 1" ball system like the ULCS arms. I use a 1 watt LED Aquatec 'Aquastar' and I mount an opaque 35mm film tub over the lamp to diffuse the beam. Ebay is a good source of these for £25-30, but check that the battery cover o-ring is the correct size. I found that when I recently purchased a few more of these lamps, the fitted o-rings where too small and needed to be replaced with the supplied spare.

Cameras Underwater are a reseller for Ocean Optics who are the exclusive UK distributer for INON products. I have found Ocean Optics have a far more flexible approach to customer service than CU... Thinking aloud, I'm sure I have some of the INON IR film somewhere. If you PM your details I'll look it out an stick it in an envelope.

Hope this helps, Tim

Hey guys,

This might be the wrong place to post, but it was the the closest I could get to my question:

I'm buying my first underwater system and was thinking of the G9 since pretty much everyone of you own or recommend one.

The Ikelite housing seems to be a good choice since I also want a TTL strobe and a wide angle lense. But what wide angle lens and strobe? is the DS200 from ikelite a good choice? and what about the olympus ptwc-01 for wide angle?

I will be using the system most in Norway, where the water is pretty dark and green.

Thanks

Hi All,

As an update to my query about the blue diffusers for the z240 the offical word from Inon is that its not required for the G9. Its designed for the smaller Canon P&S's.

Thanks for all the responses, I have now ordered the Inon cable attachment for my housing diffuser!

Cheers,

Mark

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Did you make that flash diffuser? If you bought it where?

Thanks Ron