Problems with S2/Sea & Sea Housing

Hi, I have a Fuji S2, and just got the Sea & Sea housing back (it originally arrived with a bent frame so the handle was interfering with one of the controls and I sent it back immediately, not realizing I would have more problems). In setting it up I have two problems and a question. I will post the question separately - here are the two problems (so far - I haven't yet checked every control, but it appears that I am going to have to):

1. The housing/camera won't fire the strobes. I have two Ikelite DS125 strobes hooked up to an RS and working fine. I took the sync cord and connected it to the new housing and the strobes beep when in TTL model - indicating an incorrect connection. I tried a single cord with one strobe - same results. Likewise with a Nikonos SB105 and single sync cord. (So that is a combination of three sync cords, two of which are working fine on other camera setups. And three strobes, all working fine with the other cameras.) However, when I put the DS125s in manual "Full" mode they don't beep and do fire. It appears that the port connectors are not functioning for TTL.

Are there both manual and TTL port connections? Is there any way I can tell which I have?

I have two port connections on the housing, and both appear to be failing.

2. The knob that controls the flash exposure compensation is making constant contact, so the top display panel on the camera constantly shows the exposure compensation value (no other settings) and any time the "main command dial" is turned it changes this value.

If the camera is mounted in the front of the housing only, the knob makes intermittent contact. But as soon as the back is put on the housing, it makes constant contact.

I'm very reluctant to try and adjust the positioning of the camera as there are SO MANY dials and knobs that have to make contact, I'm worried about affecting something else.

Has anyone "adjusted" any of these knobs, or is it best to send it back again (at a cost of over $40 and loss of another week)

Thanks for any and all advice and suggestions!

Hi Linda,

Start by looking at the wires inside the housing that go to the sync bulkheads.

A ribbon cable with 5 wires in it = TTL

A ribbon cable with 3 wires in it = Manual

That's how I can tell mine apart in my Aquatica S2 housing.

It sounds to me like one of the controls (is it a button or a lever??) is constantly pressing your flash +/- button on the top right of the camera - next to the shutter button. Can you see it?

From the photo on the Sea and Sea Japan website it looks like one of these:

http://www.seaandsea.co.jp/products/digita...ge/merit_01.jpg

The one with the lightning bolt - is the one that controls the flash +/-

Cheers

James

Thanks, James, I'll have to wait until I go home and look at the wires, but now I know what to look for. I will be able to tell, as they are exposed for a small space and I remember seeing different colors, but I don't know how many.

And yes, the shot of the controls is correct. It is the one with the flash and +/- that the knob is sitting on. It is a thin rod, going straight down, with a plastic tip on the end. You can't pull it back any further, or aim it another direction. In its "at rest" position it is sitting on the control - you can push it and it will push the control in further. But just the pressure it is exerting "at rest" is enough to keep that setting active on the display, and cause any bumps to the control knob to change that setting, neither of which are good. I can't see the settings for F-stop and aperture when this setting is on the display.

I guess I'm on hold until tonight when I can look at the number of wires, and also play with the control rod a bit more and see if I can do anything with it.

And as you mentioned earlier, I wonder what will happen at depth if there is so little clearance....

Thanks, Linda

If your camera is screwing down flush with the tray, you'll just need to adjust the button height.

This housing should come wired with 2 TTL bulkheads, unless you requested anything different.

I know you are using DS-125's. Your sync cords don't, by chance, have a blue band around them do they?

Strobes could rebell against use with enemy housing, but better guess might be quench wire of the housing is shorted to ground. Please ignore the enemy housing comment if my teasing is offensive. I have been known as being offensive, and my 17 year old claims I am very annoying...........

First, here is a shot of the wires - there are 5, so the bulkhead should be TTL. Ike, thanks for the response, no hurt feelings - but I tried a Nikonos SB105 also and it wouldn't even fire. And Ryan, no, there is no blue band around the sync cords. And I have tried 3 sync cords - a single Ikelite to Nikonos, a dual Ikelite to Nikonos and a single Nikonos to Nikonos (all of which work with other cameras). Can I tell if the quench wire is grounded improperly? All I can readily determine is that the wires go from the hot shoe to one bulkhead and from there to the other, so they should both be TTL.

Wow, sorry, that is a big picture but clearly shows 5 wires! Another question was what the hotshoe looked like ...... here it is, hopefully smaller.

Also, to Ryan, I don't see how I can adjust the height of the rod going down to the flash compensation control. There is no play in it to back it off. I can't retract it at all - it will push down further, to fully engage the control. I will have to try and play with the seating of the camera, but it may be academic if it has to go back for the strobe bulkheads to be fixed - they can fix both items.

One final thought - anyone know how to verify that the camera is shooting TTL with its internal strobe - I don't want S & S to say it is the camera's fault!

Thanks everyone for all the help.

Take photo at f2.8 into a mirror. You should get a little blip out of your popup flash.

Set camera at f22 and put the lens cap on. Fire it and you should get a much bigger flash from the camera.

I am stumped about your bulkhead problem Linda. At this point, you need to talk to a pro. I would suggest calling the dealer you bought it from, and if that doesn't work, find a Sea and Sea dealer that is nice and call them...:-)

I know that Andy Sallamon (sp?) shoots the S2 in the Sea and Sea housing - and he's a dealer. He's in California and I think you can find his website if you do a search.

Cheers

James

Last night I did prove that the TTL is working on the camera, so today I contacted the dealer I purchased the housing from. They were very helpful - asked me to send it back to them (they are paying for the shipment) and they will interface with Sea and Sea and get it fixed and insure it is all working before sending it back to me. So it is a further delay, but I have no choice as I can't fix the strobe problem.

So thanks, James and everyone else, for your help and advice. This appears to be a problem that will have to be fixed by the manufacturer.

Just in case this might help someone else, since it was new to me. Here is the second problem I was having with the Sea and Sea housing and it has been solved:

2. The knob that controls the flash exposure compensation is making constant contact, so the top display panel on the camera constantly shows the exposure compensation value (no other settings) and any time the "main command dial" is turned it changes this value.

If the camera is mounted in the front of the housing only, the knob makes intermittent contact. But as soon as the back is put on the housing, it makes constant contact.

It turns out that there are two buttons on top, the "Flash Exposure Compensation Button" and the "Exposure Compensation Button" that will lock DOWN. You push them down and do a quarter turn and they lock in position.

Now it makes sense ... otherwise these are two-handed operations since you need to hold down the button and turn the main command dial at the same time to the new setting. So being able to lock the button down means you can do that, then turn the dial, then release the button.

So one problem has been resolved, and maybe this will help someone else!