Canon EOS 10D and 300D

I am thinking about buying one of this cameras, and now i´d like to know if they are able to work with TTL strobes. If the answer is yes i´d like to know wich brands are suitable for it.

Otherwise i´d like to know if there is any dSLR camera able to work in TTL mode.

If the answers are not for both questions i´d like to know why are they not able to work in TTL.

Thank you very much for you answers, and greetings from Spain.

Escalar

Escalar,

The short answer is no, the Canons you mention don't work with TTL. The only current dSLR that does is the Fuji S2 Pro. The reason that neither the 10D, 300D, or D100 is because they use either e-TTL or d-TTL depending on brand, and no strobe manufacturer has a strobe that works with either protocol.

Hope this helps...

Tom

What about a regular (not u/w) Canon/Nikon flash in a housing?

Is there such an option?

You could certainly do that. I think UK Germany makes a housing for the Canon 550EX flash. In this case though, I believe you need special bulkheads on whatever housing you use. I'm pretty sure someone, maybe Alex, has the Nikon version of this, but I'm not sure anyone here has tried the Canon version. It's certainly worth a shot, although it's a bit more expensive than a good dedicated UW strobe. If I remember correctly, the UK Germany housing for the 550EX was about $350, the 550EX itself is about $320, and then you have to factor in getting the correct bulkheads put into a housing.

Truth is, if you get a strobe with a manual controller to adjust the amount of output from the strobe, like the Ikelite DS-125, you won't miss TTL too much. At least that's what everyone who doesn't have TTL seems to want to believe (myself included).

You could certainly do that.  I think UK Germany makes a housing for the Canon 550EX flash.  In this case though, I believe you need special bulkheads on whatever housing you use.  I'm pretty sure someone, maybe Alex, has the Nikon version of this, but I'm not sure anyone here has tried the Canon version.  It's certainly worth a shot, although it's a bit more expensive than a good dedicated UW strobe.  If I remember correctly, the UK Germany housing for the 550EX was about $350, the 550EX itself is about $320, and then you have to factor in getting the correct bulkheads put into a housing. 

 

Truth is, if you get a strobe with a manual controller to adjust the amount of output from the strobe, like the Ikelite DS-125, you won't miss TTL too much.  At least that's what everyone who doesn't have TTL seems to want to believe (myself included). 

Regarding the dedicated strobe housings for both E-TTL (Canon) and D-TTL (Nikon), Seacam makes housings for both manufacturer's speedlights. I know Subal does for the Nikon speedlights as well, but don't know about whether they offer a Canon speedlight housing. In the Seacam line, these strobe housings are called a "Systemflash".

Over the years we have sold plenty of Systemflashes to shooters who migrated from film and figured they needed TTL on their digital systems. No special bulkheads are required as they operate with the standard Nikonos 5-pin connectors. They do work well for fish and macro, although I think most amphibious strobes tend to be more ergonomic underwater.

However, the beam angle is not really sufficient for wide angle, and since TTL is a marginal technology for wide angle subjects anyway, the housed topside strobe is not a great choice for wide coverage.

So, that leaves shooters using the Systemflash for fish and macro, and a submersible strobe for wide angle. So long as you really want TTL and don't mind traveling with duplicate systems, that's OK. Of course the Fuji S2 offers the best of both worlds ... TTL with conventional submersible strobes. With the immediate review from the LCD we find fewer shooters depending on TTL like they used to, and embracing submersible strobes for all their shooting.

Of course the Fuji S2 offers the best of both worlds ... TTL with conventional submersible strobes. 

Stephen,

Does Seacam make a housing for the Fuji S2. The UPS man just arrived with my S2.

Hi Lionfish,

I'm not Stephen, but I heard that they will have the Seacam S2 housing on display at DEMA. They have it listed on their website already:

http://www.stephenfrink.com/seacam/prices/

So what do you think of the S2 so far? Time to hit the books! :-)

Cheers

James

Thanks for the link James. I just did the math - housing + viewfinder + ports = $6000+ - makes a Subal seem inexpensive by comparison. It looks like a fine piece of craftsmanship but a little - no make that a lot - out of my price-range. It looks like I'll give Blake at Aquatica a call.

So far I've installed the batteries and a CF card and snapped off a few pics around the house. It seems like a great camera. One question, why does the manual make no mention of Compact Flash cards, it only refers to Smartmedia or Microdrive as being compatable. I own several CF cards and I put one in and it seems to work OK. What gives with that

Fuji has a deal with SmartMedia and with the Microdrive folks. CF cards are not "officially supported" but most work fine. Beware though as SOME do not work. So ask around before you buy a card.

Cheers

James

Lionfish says:

Thanks for the link James. I just did the math - housing + viewfinder + ports = $6000+ - makes a Subal seem inexpensive by comparison.

Steve replies: I'm not saying Seacam is inexpensive mind you, but you have to compare apples-to-apples. If you take the S180 or S45 viewfinder out of the equation and substitute a Pro viewfinder (like you might find on a different brand of housing) you'd shave $1400 off your estimate. Which is still a lot more than I paid for my first car, but maybe not quite so drastic compared to some of the others.

You could certainly do that. I think UK Germany makes a housing for the Canon 550EX flash. In this case though, I believe you need special bulkheads on whatever housing you use. I'm pretty sure someone, maybe Alex, has the Nikon version of this, but I'm not sure anyone here has tried the Canon version. It's certainly worth a shot, although it's a bit more expensive than a good dedicated UW strobe. If I remember correctly, the UK Germany housing for the 550EX was about $350, the 550EX itself is about $320, and then you have to factor in getting the correct bulkheads put into a housing.

 

Truth is, if you get a strobe with a manual controller to adjust the amount of output from the strobe, like the Ikelite DS-125, you won't miss TTL too much. At least that's what everyone who doesn't have TTL seems to want to believe (myself included).

For Canon Systemstrobes you require S6 plugs. For Nikon System Strobes the Nikonos V are enough. The reason is that Canon uses 6 pins and Nikon only 5 pins for full E-TTL functionality.

Companies which provide strobe housings in Europe are currently SEALUX, SUBAL, UK-GERMANY. UK-GERMANY is the only one I know which currently offers housings for the Canon strobes. But SEALUX and JONAH have just announced housings too. also I expect SUBAL to complete their line-up of strobe housings by offering Canon soon.

The UK-GERMANY housing costs 398 EUR incl. 16% VAT. So for the Americans it's 343 EUR -> means 377 USD (assuming exchange rate of 1.10 EUR/USD)

For Canon Systemstrobes you require S6 plugs. For Nikon System Strobes the Nikonos V are enough. The reason is that Canon uses 6 pins and Nikon only 5 pins for full E-TTL functionality.

Andi -

I'm fairly certain that the Canon E-TTL system uses 5 pins. My understanding was that the 6th pin in the S6 plug was typically used to control a modeling light. So, in theory, we should be able to wire up a E-TTL system using the Nikonos plug, or using a modified Ike socket, which also has 5-pins (but two of the pins are normally bridged together with a resistor).

Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Hehe,... I hate being right, but your DEMA report shows that Canon E-TTL requires 6 pins just like i said. Canon utilizes all of the 6 pins. It's tricky to find out, because when you look at the hot-shoe you see only 5 pins. One pin is the ground of the hot-show itself. Those Canon bastards hide their stuff well

Andi - you are right! I meant to come back earlier to post that.

However, the 6th pin is supposedly only for signaling the modeling/auto-focus light to fire, but the connection will not work without it.

Andi -

I spoke at length with Harald of Seacam (who designs their housings), and it's not as simple as 5-pin vs. 6-pin for Canon E-TTL. He has gotten the connection working with 5 pins, but the 6 pins on the hotshoe connector itself must be connected. But that doesn't mean that it has to leave the housing, so a 5-pin cable will work.

There is a lot more to the TTL/E-TTL story that I want to write about, but I'm too tired right now. I'll start a new thread tomorrow.