Q1:"old" Ikelite 200 flash with DSLR & Q2:TTL

Hi

I am going to buy a DSLR and a housing soon. I have not decided on which one to buy yet. I consider Canon 300D and Nikon D70. Canon is leading because I allready have an EF 50 mm macro and I can get a good price on Canon equipment.

Housing could be Ikelite. The price seems OK and after a couple of acidents with nikonos V; I would like a transparent housing to see if water comes in or not.

Q1: I have a great powerfull fast TTL flash: Ikelite 200. Can I use this together with an DSLR somehow? I have read about the preflash problem on Ikelites homepage. Is there a way around this? I would like to buy one more flash, but preferably not two...

Q2: What are the chances of being able to use TTL, like I used to with my Nikonos V, in the future with the setup that I decide on and invest in today?

Best regards

Teunis

Nikonos V - Ikelite 200 - Nikor 20 & 35 - Ext.tubes - ULCS arms

Hi, I'm currently gearing up to shoot TTL with a DSLR too - so I'm pretty interested in this question and have been doing as much research as possible on this one. In my case the interest is in using a 300D with Aquatica housing, which is the only way currently with Canon you'll get true TTL.

I'm no expert on Nikon gear, but you mentioned the D70 ? I don't think there's any TTL housing support for that one.

So anyway, in terms of Canon and your flash:

I've mailed both Ikelite and Aquatica with regards to this question. I'm pretty sure no-one knows the answer. Aquatica have tested their TTL circuitry with the DS-50 and DS-125 which work OK, but it sounds like they haven't tested it with older IKE strobes and think it probably wouldn't work. The only way to know for sure would be to plug it in and see. It's really early days for this technology at this stage (I'm yet to see a TTL picture from this housing), and so even the manufacturers don't seem to have sorted out compatibility issues.

In terms of IKE housings - no TTL yet, just the promise of it in the future, maybe in six months, which may be retrofittable. As the Ike eTTL system doesn't exist yet, I don't think anyone can tell you if your strobe will be compatible with it.

Ike's older strobes don't recycle fast enough to do a preflash and a main flash for digital TTL. Although, the SS200 is a REALLY nice strobe - powerful, good color and a very wide beam.

What you CAN do is use your strobe in manual mode, using the full, 1/2, 1/4 and 1/8th power settings. I use 2 SS200's this way for my wideangle shooting and I love them.

I wouldn't make your total system purchase (something like $2,500) based on the fact that you own a $175 Canon macro lens. You can always sell it on Ebay if you decide to go w/ a Nikon mount camera.

To answer your specific question, if you want TTL, then your choice for Nikon mount is the Fuji S2pro which will work with any strobe in TTL. If you go w/ Canon mount, then to get TTL, you will need an Aquatica housing, and either Ikelite DS125, DS50, or Sea and Sea strobes.

Cheers,

James Wiseman

Don't listen to James, keep your macro lens and stick to Canon

I hear a rumor that the Ike eTTL support may be a little bit closer at hand than the timeframe I mentioned above. The possibility of a cheap TTL 10D housing is very interesting...