Settings for 7D and Z240

I have one major problem left though. On night dives it was really hard to do any major adjustments of the strobes as I did not have any light to shine on the back of the strobe. After 4 dives a day in two weeks I more or less knew the controls by heart and managed more or less to get things correct.

A trick that I learned from a cave diver: strap a Peli-light or a UK Q4 to your right shoulder harness so tha it shines diagonally across your chest, gauges... and camera.

Tim

Well the Inon strobes can be a pain.

I have had some similar experience. Manual seems to work best.

Have u experience issues where the strobes fire to aid the camera focus and then when u actually take the photo there’s no power left in the strobe ( no flash).

Any idea how to cancel the "pre strobe"?

/Mats

Have u experience issues where the strobes fire to aid the camera focus and then when u actually take the photo there’s no power left in the strobe ( no flash).

Any idea how to cancel the "pre strobe"?

Go to the Custom Function III:Autofocus/Drive menu on the camera and set Function 11, AF-assist beam firing to "1:Disable"

Thanks!

I have a PhD in ecology. I teach mathematical modelling of ecological systems on university level. I run a reasearch project on anemonefish. I consider myself reasonably good at solving logical problems. Enter in my life a system change from 5Dm2 in an Ikelite housing with Ikelite strobes to 7D with Nauticam and Z240 strobes with Inon manuals and I am on the intellectual level of an earth worm!. The Ike strobe manual would need to be about three sentences:

 

1. Connect strobes to housing.

2. For ttl, use buttons for exposure compensation.

3. For manual, use buttons for exposure compensation.

 

The Z240 has two (2!!!) manuals including gazillions of sentences. And the same guy that writes my tax forms and Ikea´s manuals has for some reason once again been hired to write a manual. To me, it is on the level of sanskrit! I simply do not get it. I can not find the part where it says "When using Ettl2 and wanting the strobe to do s-ttl (which btw seems to be pretty cool according to the manual) set the strobe to x, y and z and use the xxxxxxx for exposure compensation. Same thing with manual (and how complicated should that be!!!!). I do however get that the strobe compensation in some settings work by increasing strobe levels turning a knob clockwise, and in some settings increase strobe levels by turning the same knob counter clockwise. Sounds like a great idea with such a construction after two weeks of 5 hour diving/day!

 

So I need help. 7D users, how have you set up your strobe? I have after a full days reading and trying a suggestion:

 

For s-ttl: Set the camera flash to E-ttl2 and the strobe to s-ttl. Set the compensation knop at 12 o´clock. Do not engage the ACC-knob. Use the compensation knob on the strobe for minor strobe compensation (minor!!). Use camera flash compensation for major compensations.

 

For manual: Set the camera flash to manual. Dial down to 1/128th power. Set strobe to manual. Engage ACC-knob. Use the compensation knob for compensation. However, for some reason, full dump is not allowed here. For full dump, set strobe to full and engage ACC-knob.

 

So, 7D and optically connected Z240 users. I need help! Please give me your experiences. Which settings do you use?

 

Best regards

 

Bent

Tjena Bent!

I am very interested to hear your thoughts on your new set up. I have a 7D and am looking at buying a Nauticam housing soon. And I am also quite keen to know more about the Inon Z240s also, I have only ever used Ikelite strobes, yes they are quite easy to get along with! But I am hearing good things about Inon peformance and that they are nice and lightweight. How are you finding them so far and your housing?? And what sort of price am I looking at for 2 complete strobes?

Tack sa mycket!

McLovin

I used my z240's for the first time on a night dive at the end of May and also discovered that I couldn't see the numbers on the dial. I ended up having to move my strobes in front of my focus light to see the dial which became annoying and not that convenient. I did see at least one person on the boat with the dials Alex refers to but I can imagine moving my strobes in different positions and then still not knowing what number the dial is actually pointed to.

I would think that after market glow in the dark stickers similar to what is used on watch dials might be a way to solve this. I have no idea if those are easy or not to make but I'm throwing the idea out there in case someone wants to have a crack and making them

Hi

I am really happy with the new set up. As I changed everything at the same time, I do not know the relative merits of each component. The 7D and EF 100/2,8 IS seems way quicker and better in getting focus than my former 5DM2 and the old EF 100. The optical connections to the strobes work everytime, while I really had problems with getting the hot shoe connector to stay connected in the Ike housing. The Z240ies, despite being extraordinarily complicated if every option is used, is actually very easy to use manually, and has more power settings than my former DS 125s Ikes used in manual. The Nauticam housing is really well made, with controls easily accessible from the handles. The port lock is just great and ports are very well made. I had a problem with one of the controls, but Nauticam sent me replacement parts and an instruction, so that worked out as well. Furthermore, and very important for me, the whole system weighs a lot less than my former system, so I can more or less get it in the aircraft as handluggage when travelling (or rather have significantly fewer parts in my pockets!). I have had a few rust spots on a couple of steel parts which I am not really superhappy about, but Nauticam seems to be aware of the issue and as far as I know will replace those parts. The bottom line is that I would absolutely buy both the 7D and the Nauticam housing again if I for some reason had to replace my system.

regards

Bent

Tjena Bent!

 

I am very interested to hear your thoughts on your new set up. I have a 7D and am looking at buying a Nauticam housing soon. And I am also quite keen to know more about the Inon Z240s also, I have only ever used Ikelite strobes, yes they are quite easy to get along with! But I am hearing good things about Inon peformance and that they are nice and lightweight. How are you finding them so far and your housing?? And what sort of price am I looking at for 2 complete strobes?

 

Tack sa mycket!

 

McLovin

Hi

 

I am really happy with the new set up. As I changed everything at the same time, I do not know the relative merits of each component. The 7D and EF 100/2,8 IS seems way quicker and better in getting focus than my former 5DM2 and the old EF 100. The optical connections to the strobes work everytime, while I really had problems with getting the hot shoe connector to stay connected in the Ike housing. The Z240ies, despite being extraordinarily complicated if every option is used, is actually very easy to use manually, and has more power settings than my former DS 125s Ikes used in manual. The Nauticam housing is really well made, with controls easily accessible from the handles. The port lock is just great and ports are very well made. I had a problem with one of the controls, but Nauticam sent me replacement parts and an instruction, so that worked out as well. Furthermore, and very important for me, the whole system weighs a lot less than my former system, so I can more or less get it in the aircraft as handluggage when travelling (or rather have significantly fewer parts in my pockets!). I have had a few rust spots on a couple of steel parts which I am not really superhappy about, but Nauticam seems to be aware of the issue and as far as I know will replace those parts. The bottom line is that I would absolutely buy both the 7D and the Nauticam housing again if I for some reason had to replace my system.

 

regards

 

Bent

I also have the Nauticam housing for my 7D and like you Bent, I also had rust on the steel clips as well as a little discoloration on the housing itself. I contacted Nauticam and as you said, they are aware of these issues. They offered fix the discoloration issue and to replace the clips for free. I sent the housing back and it's with them now. So far, I've been extremely happy with their responsiveness to the issue. They said I should have the housing back in a couple of weeks.

Sounds like everyone is pretty impressed with the set up from Nauticam. I have read a few reviews now and I think I will go for it, along with the Z240s, being lightweight is really the icing on the cake for me.

Just have to keep an eye on that rust issue! At least it sounds like you guys are getting a prompt service...

Cheers and happy diving!

McLovin

I also have 2 Inon flashes, with a TTL converter. In this topic the preflash was mentioned.

I you should in TTL, can you see the Inon Flash making a preflash (so you know it is shooting in TTL)

Regards,

Martijn

Hello,

Great post. I have a Hugyfot 7D with some Halcyon dual 50w video lights and am looking at a strobe setup for still shots. When I purchased the housing, I opted for two 5-pin Nikonos ports (i.e., no need for a splitter) with the inboard TTL converter that Hugyfot makes in case I go with older strobe models that don't feature a native eTTL mode. At least that was my understanding of it.

However, after reading the Inon Z-240 webpages, I'm left even more confused as evidenced by Bent's post. In my case, I'm NOT going to have optical cabling, but would still like a robust flash. Is the Z-240 overkill? What is the S-TTL mode and how does it relate to non-optical setups? Their website is a mess in the words department.