TTL or Manual for Wide Angle

Hello all:

I was wondering what others recommendations are regarding TTL and Wide Angle Photography. I currently use a Canon 5d mark II in an Ikelite Housing, with 2 DS-161's. I have always shot TTL for both wide angle and Macro. I think it works pretty good for macro, but wide angle, I am starting to question its usefulness.

Is manual the way to go on Wide angle?

What benefits will I gain?

For those using Ike housings......How do you do it? / any tips?

Thanks in advance,

Dustin

Hi there,

Im my experience TTL works well for macro, but doesn't give me the light I want for wide-angle.

I always use manual, also when I'm doing macro, sometimes you just wanna give it a little bit more or a little bit less.. Whether you like it or not you will see once you try it out- but I think most photographers in here will agree that manual is the best way to go for wide-angle?

Best regards, Morten Hansen.

I have an Ikelite housing and Ikelite TTL-compatible strobes and find TTL works fine, both for macro and wide angle, although I know most people use manual for wide angle. The use of TTL for wide angle is debatable, although it works fine for me, but I see absolutely no reason at all not to use TTL for macro if you have Ikelite strobes, especially as the knob on the back of the housing allows you to make fine adjustments to the strobe output in TTL mode.

Modern TTL should give the correct exposure for wide angle. And it is certainly not a disaster to start shooting wide angle this way.

But is unlikely to generate the quality or subtlety of lighting that you will ultimately want. Of course you can differentially set the TTL on each strobe, but this can also effect the total light output that the camera calculates - meaning you are chasing a moving target. On Manual you make an adjustment and it does what you tell it.

Alex

Manual, Manual, Manual -- for everything -- specially in multiple-strobe setups.

Yes, TTL will give you a technically correct exposure most of the time either macro or wide (to a point).... However, part of the idea of having two strobes (besides more light) is to balance the light in a pleasing way. This means different power settings/positions on each strobe. This is easier done manually with some practice.

Even if your manual exposure is not dead-on.... your pics will still look better with balanced light. You can always correct the exposure in Lightroom up to about 2 stops in either direction -- that's a 4 stop latitude. With practice, you can get any manual exposure within a couple of stops by just eyeballing it.

The best computer of all is between your ears..... GUE likes to say this about dive computers.... I like to say it about camera computers.

I use manual strobe settings for wide angle, and usually use manual but sometimes use TTL for macro. Since you have always used TTL for both and you are using an Ikelite set-up, I just wanted to forwarn you about a common mistake people can make when transitioning to using manual strobe with Ikleite housings and strobes. Leave your strobes set for TTL and use the manual settings on the back of your housing. The reason for this is that the housing will send a preflash in either setting, and if your strobes are not set in TTL, they will fire at what ever you have set them for at the time of the pre-flash, and may not have enough residual power in the capacitor to proprly fire when your shutter curtain is open. If you ever hear an Ikelite user saying that his stobe only works at lower power settings on his strobe but his shots are dark at higher strobe settings, He has likely made this mistake (because at lower strobe sttings, the strobe is able to fire both at the time of pre-flash and when the curtain is open). I figured this out the hard way and sent quite a few 4 letter words into the atmosphere in doing so.

I use manual strobe settings for wide angle, and usually use manual but sometimes use TTL for macro. Since you have always used TTL for both and you are using an Ikelite set-up, I just wanted to forwarn you about a common mistake people can make when transitioning to using manual strobe with Ikleite housings and strobes. Leave your strobes set for TTL and use the manual settings on the back of your housing. The reason for this is that the housing will send a preflash in either setting, and if your strobes are not set in TTL, they will fire at what ever you have set them for at the time of the pre-flash, and may not have enough residual power in the capacitor to proprly fire when your shutter curtain is open. If you ever hear an Ikelite user saying that his stobe only works at lower power settings on his strobe but his shots are dark at higher strobe settings, He has likely made this mistake (because at lower strobe sttings, the strobe is able to fire both at the time of pre-flash and when the curtain is open). I figured this out the hard way and sent quite a few 4 letter words into the atmosphere in doing so.

Hi. This might sounds like a silly but here goes...I'm totally new to using a DSLR. I Have got myself a D80 and ikelite housing. I've been been out twice so far using a single YS90 on manual (macro) and after a bit of trial and error I can get the exposure right (easier than I thought it would be).

I'll soon be getting a tokina 10-17 and a couple of DS125's. After reading various sources my intention is to start out shooting manual so I learn faster. I'm a bit confused about one thing in the above: If I understand correctly, for manual control you are saying set the strobes to TTL and adjust the amount of light with the the knob in the manual range on the housing? That makes sense.

However what do I do if I want to reduce the light on one strobe only? ie. does this system mean that both strobes will always be firing at the same power level?

Hopefully not too stupid a question for my first post!

Thanks.