Best strobes for slaving ?

G'day All

I am looking for at least 4 UW strobes to use as slave units for some cave diving, they will be carried by the divers to light up the areas around them.

Can anyone tell me what make/model is the best for slaving.

I have a couple of Sea&Sea YS120' and a couple of Inon Z240's and unless they are pointed back directly at the on camera strobes they will not fire.

Looking for something way more sensitive than these.

This may not be an option for you but I've used an Ikelite TTL slave sensor (#4100.5) that fires a slave even when not pointed anywhere near the primary. Don't know how it would go over distance but I found it extremely sensitive at short range. The other thing is that they have a 50 cm lead, so the controller could be pointed at the primary and the slave in any other direction.

They're discontinued now and have been replaced by the EV controller, but if you could find some old ones around the traps you might be able to pick them up cheaply. Trouble is I think they'll only fire Ikelite DS strobes, so you'd need to beg/borrow/buy four of those also.

Just my (unproven) thoughts -

Once you have triggered the first hidden slave, its likely in most arrangements that the optical sensors on the Inons will be able to pick this up. So you only need to sort a primary slave strobe and sensor.

Hello if you have inon's, you do not need another strobe,

what you need is a Remote Slave unit, like this one;

http://www.heinrichsweikamp.net/#/en/rsu/

kind regards

RB

I have used the Ikelite DS200 with the EV controller 4100.6. I add an Ikelite 3 foot extension cord 4102.03 so the strobe can be mounted on the tanks and the controller is hand held by the diver to be sure it is pointing to the camera for the slave activation. There is also a 15 foot extension 4102.15 if you need the extra length. Not sure if the controller works with other manufacturers strobes. It has a switch to set for the model of Ikelite strobe you are using.

I am also using double Ikelite DS125s on my camera. It is amazing how much light the caves with absorb, so your will need lots and lots of bright light for the darker caves. I have used this setup in Florida and Mexico.

Kathryn

Hello if you have inon's, you do not need another strobe,

what you need is a Remote Slave unit, like this one;

http://www.heinrichsweikamp.net/#/en/rsu/

 

kind regards

 

RB

I have used the Ikelite DS200 with the EV controller 4100.6. I add an Ikelite 3 foot extension cord 4102.03 so the strobe can be mounted on the tanks and the controller is hand held by the diver to be sure it is pointing to the camera for the slave activation. There is also a 15 foot extension 4102.15 if you need the extra length. Not sure if the controller works with other manufacturers strobes.

Only works on ik's

read UwP57

Hello if you have inon's, you do not need another strobe,

what you need is a Remote Slave unit, like this one;

http://www.heinrichsweikamp.net/#/en/rsu/

 

kind regards

 

RB

I would highly recommend anyone buying that RSU to make sure they have a way to return it. I had a number of issues with mine

- gets "flooded" with light topside so its hard to test

- sometimes prevents the strobe from powering up

- sometimes prevents the strobe firing.

(These were all during topside tests ... I haven't bothered taking it underwater)

I would highly recommend the Ikelits with the Manual EV controller.

Simple and robust.

RSU should be fine in a dark cave, but I wouldn't use one again in open water because of Limeyx first point. My views on the RSU were softened slightly by the editor in UWP (with my consent).

If you are starting from scratch a pair of DS125/DS160 and Ike trigger is definitely the way to go.

Alex

Thanks to all, I am now kicking myself for selling off my two Ike 125's

Ahh well good time to upgrade to the 160's for the slave units by the sound of it.

Hey Chriso,

I have a couple of home made in the 80s remote sensors with wet connectors for old school Ikelite substrobes, and while the sensors are great, the strobes are starting to be unreliable. I did some research before the Nullarbor trip and a lot of people were complaining about the Heinrichs Weikamp RSUs when shooting with high levels of ambient light. I decided to invest anyway...

True to form, they were hard to test topside. In the caves however, I had no problems at all using them on both the Inon Z240s and the old school Ikelite substrobes. On a few dives, the Inons would go off multiple times from one master flash, but this didn't seem to cause any problems. Using a sync cable means you can tape them either to your diver (D ring, torch hand, etc) or to the back of the strobe - sensor points towards camera, strobe points away. I also find that in the brighter caves (white walls, small tunnels) beyond a certain amount of light you get enough bounce to set everything off, even using the built in sensors. I have yet to try the sensors in the ocean, but will hopefully have a go inside some wrecks this summer.

Using the Z240s off camera was great for the models - they're so small and easy to work with. When I'm feeling rich enough I'll get a couple more and be able to ditch the substrobes...

Cheers,

Liz

Thanks Liz

Looking at the photos from your last trip with Harry and Paul, I was trying to figure out what those old beasts where.

Ideally I am looking at 6 strobes 2 on camera then 2X2 strapped together so the diver can light multiple areas in the holes.

Might grab one of the RSUs anyway as they are not going to break the bank, then look at a couple more Z240's cause I do like shooting with them.

Soo many options.....

Cheers

Chriso

RSU should be fine in a dark cave, but I wouldn't use one again in open water because of Limeyx first point. My views on the RSU were softened slightly by the editor in UWP (with my consent).

 

If you are starting from scratch a pair of DS125/DS160 and Ike trigger is definitely the way to go.

 

Alex

Thanks Alex, I may try the RSU in the cave, but I got a pair of used Ikes in the end (hope I dont regret only getting the 50s)

For me, i just need something reliable since I dont get as many days (especially in the caves) diving as I would like.

if I can't test the RSU on land (and if it sometimes interferes with strobe operation, I just can't use it)

the RSU "cost" me any hope of getting some different types of photos of the caves into a recent project, as it worked just fine at home, but did not on site (in mexico so I had no easy ways to work around it)

Ike 50s would be a mistake. If you are using off camera strobes within the frame - then they need to be the widest guns possible - because they will be much closer to the subject than the strobe would normally be.

You can test the RSU inside - it will work fine inside a dark-ish room.

Alex

Ike 50s would be a mistake. If you are using off camera strobes within the frame - then they need to be the widest guns possible - because they will be much closer to the subject than the strobe would normally be.

 

You can test the RSU inside - it will work fine inside a dark-ish room.

 

Alex

Crap, well I am stuck with the 50s for now, so I will have to see how they work out before I can bite the bullet and upgrade.

The RSU sometimes works in the dark but not always.