Anyone know of a strobe rental place in Maui?

Hello all, I'm heading off to Maui over Christmas for some beach and dive time. I have a Canon s30 with the Canon housing. I'm finally going to suck it up and buy a strobe but I'd like to test out a few before I buy. Does anyone know of a place where I could rent one in Maui? Or, maybe a place in Seattle where I could rent before I leave?

Also, I've read through the boards and still have some questions about TTL operation of the Canon S-series. From what I can gather, all Canon cameras use ETTL, which would imply that you CANNOT USE any of the TTL sensors available from Ikelite, Sea&Sea, or Inon. That said, several threads have lead me to believe that the S30/S40 perform differently than the S45/S50. In fact, the following threads indicate that one can in fact use the Ikelite TTL sensor with an S30/S40

http://wetpixel.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=2045&hl=

http://wetpixel.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=2182&hl=

In particular, note Simon K.'s and Ike's comments in the second thread. So, can anyone give me a definitive answer on the TTL issue?

You can use the TTL Sensor with the S40 (this is what I do) but i started to use the TTL sensor only as trigger and use the Manual settings on my DS125 because the results just get better.

So I would advice you, that - if you are not afraid of a little learning phase - go for the Manual Sensor.

Simon

Simon,

I think Ike's TTL controller can't be used on the Canon cameras because of that ETTL. OF course the strobe will fire but the real TTL (set the power of the flash based on the preflash) will not work so that's why your pictures are better when you set your strobe power manualy.

I also have a Canon S50 and I am very pleased with it. I use a Bonica slave stroble that can't be set to lower power so it is all or nothing. I have to modify the aperture and the time for the pictures to turn out good. Of course post processing does help.

So, Thollida

Rent an Ihe DS50 or DS125 with a manual controller, set your camera to no preflash and manual flash and set your camera flash to the lowest power since that is needed only to trip the strobe.

Check out my website if you want to see soem results.

Vlad

As far as a rental location give ABSEA a call (http://www.absea.net/) They have a full rental line and they'll probably ship them to ya. I don't know how much it would be and might not be worth it. They are located in Los Angeles 1/2 mile from the airport. If you're ever in the neighborhood check out their gallery.

If you don't already have reservations with a boat operator I would HIGHLY recommend Ed Robinson's Diving Adventures out of Kihei, Maui. Their dive guides will help you make the most out of your time underwater with a camera. I have dove with several operators on Maui since 1986 and feel ERDA is the best. One year my charger gave out on my Ikellite strobe and one of the guides invited me over to his house to use his charger. The guides have an incredible wealth of knowledge regarding the Hawaiian endimic species, plus they are a great bunch of folks to talk to between dives. As far as strobe rental, I would also email ERDA and ask if they know of a place to rent on Maui. Below is their link:

http://www.mauiscuba.com/erd1.htm

I would also recommend Mike Severns. I tried them once and they were right up their with ERDA.

http://www.mikesevernsdiving.com/

Keith

sweet, thanks for the info on the guides!! It's always good to have some kind of info about the dive shops in a tourist location, some of them can be really ghetto.

Also, thanks for clearing up the ETTL issue for me. I'll have to try and rent an Ikelite strobe and see how it plays out.