Attaching a softbox to Inon Z240 and other qs

Hi,

I'm doing the old 'photo babies underwater in a pool' thing again. Last time went will with 3 z-240's, one camera-mounted, with two others at about 45 degrees placed either side of camera and higher than the subject. Got some very good shots but I feel I may benefit from moving one strobe onto poolside to shoot down into subject, which I would fire with long sync cord. How do they fire in air as opposed to water? Would this be ok? I reckon a softbox would help enormously, but really dont want to use a mains-powered light so would use one of my Inons. Question - how do i fit a softbox onto it? Are they universal, or will i need to modify?

If i did this it would leave me with 2 lights, so am thinking one still mounted on-camera for fill, again fired thru a cord, and the third at about 45 degrees again just dipping in the pool enough to slave optically. Would a reflector on the 'unlit' side help balance light and remove shadows?

Any thoughts on this set-up would be most welcome!

Thank you

Hi Mr. Muck and welcome back.

I use cheap softboxes that come with a "universal" speedring. Meaning the speedring has 4 thumpscrews that you tighten to "clamp" it onto the strobe. Most softboxes are made to work with a speedring specific to your topside strobe model, so those won't work underwater. Here's what the speedring looks like:

http://www.reefpix.org/wpg2?g2_itemId=18487

And here's what it looks like attached to a flash:

http://www.reefpix.org/wpg2?g2_itemId=1861...8f1eade005c3450

I used an Inon Z220 as an out of the water hair-light and it fired pretty reliably but you have to make sure the slave sensor can "see" one of the other flashes that is going off, or reflected flash light from the subject (baby).

Cheers

James

[snip]

I used an Inon Z220 as an out of the water hair-light and it fired pretty reliably but you have to make sure the slave sensor can "see" one of the other flashes that is going off, or reflected flash light from the subject (baby).

 

Cheers

James

I guess one should not get too enthusiastically involved in shooting and over heat strobes designed to work underwater and thus have the water as a heat sink. Or maybe, I spent too many years designing for the worst case scenario and just can't stop worrying.

Bob

Thanks Bob - I usually add that disclaimer too - but forgot this time.

Cheers

James

Thanks Bob - I usually add that disclaimer too - but forgot this time.

 

Cheers

James

Thank you so much for your input. So am I best to steer clear of using the Inon topside then? I dont really want to have to be worrying about my strobe overheating - I have enough to worry about with the shooting! Maybe I should just stick to having submerged lighting for now?

Hmmmmm. Food for thought!

I used it a lot above water and mine did fine. It's one of those judgment calls I suppose. If you're worried, you can mist it with a spray bottle or something similar to help keep it cool.

Cheers

James

Thank you so much for your input. So am I best to steer clear of using the Inon topside then? I dont really want to have to be worrying about my strobe overheating - I have enough to worry about with the shooting! Maybe I should just stick to having submerged lighting for now?

 

Hmmmmm. Food for thought!

You must be the judge of how to use your equipment. I test in air, my Z-240s prior to each dive trip for sTTL, full 1/2, etc. When I first got these strobes, I tested them for coverage (light fall off). The Inons recycle very fast. I will make a few shots and then put my hand on each strobe to sense how warm they are. I only added my initial comment as a friendly reminder not to over heat the equipment.

Bob

June Clever to Ward, "You were a little hard on the Beaver last night".

Thank you so much for your input. So am I best to steer clear of using the Inon topside then? I dont really want to have to be worrying about my strobe overheating - I have enough to worry about with the shooting! Maybe I should just stick to having submerged lighting for now?

 

Hmmmmm. Food for thought!

While trying some multi strobe experiments topside I tried using one of my Inon Z240's as a fill light (using the optical trigger). Most shots were done with it at 1/2 or lower manual power. Maybe up to 5 bursts at a time (memory's a bit rusty) and maybe single full power shots. No overheating issues that I noticed (this was indoors in an aircon room). YMMV...

Actually it's about time for us to do the baby in the water photos in the next couple of months, so might have to give this a try...

While trying some multi strobe experiments topside I tried using one of my Inon Z240's as a fill light (using the optical trigger). Most shots were done with it at 1/2 or lower manual power. Maybe up to 5 bursts at a time (memory's a bit rusty) and maybe single full power shots. No overheating issues that I noticed (this was indoors in an aircon room). YMMV...

 

Actually it's about time for us to do the baby in the water photos in the next couple of months, so might have to give this a try...

Well good luck! I would be using the strobe on poolside with air temp about 32 degrees c - not quite aircon! Please let us know how it went!