Thought you might find this interesting…I have just begun experimenting with a Sony DSC-P5 and Ikelite DS-50 in combination.
So far I have had it in the pool for an hour, which convinced me that it is essential to block off the internal camera flash. The pool water was cloudy and produced a result just like the classic backscatter shots you see in the textbooks, because the internal flash faces straight ahead. There were unacceptable levels of backscatter for any shot over about 1 foot. Thanks to INUZUKA.m and others I realized it would be very easy to fix. In fact even easier than I thought, I just taped black cardboard over the flash itself (so it could go inside the housing). I took pictures above water in a dark-ish room with the flash on (but taped) to convince myself that I had essentially eliminated any light output from the flash.
Next thing I wanted to convince myself of was that the slave would still fire with this arrangement – it did – the sensor is extremely sensitive even on Minimum. Then I wanted to convice myself that the DS-50 in combination with this camera was indeed handling the TTL exposure. It definitely IS. I have posted some samples below. The last 4 shots show this
1. DS-50 in TTL mode, internal flash on but taped off
Looks great!
2. Strobe OFF, internal flash on but taped off
Good, no light from flash.. should eliminate the backscatter
3. Strobe in Manual mode, internal flash on but taped off
Way overexposed! Proves the TTL is working
4. Strobe OFF, internal flash untaped
For reference
Thanks Ikelite. The strobe works great with this camera.
This weekend I’ll be in the Bahamas trying this rig out for real.
Cheers all
