strobes for wreck photo

I go out and buy some strobes, I will be able to make photos of wrecks and caves.

I have looked at Inon Z240 and sea and sea ys d1, what would you recommend.

René

Hi Rene,

Probably the wrong place to come for strokes. But strobes are another matter. What kind of camera are you using or thinking about getting?

Steve

René,

depend what camera and housing you have and how you will/can trigger them (optical or electrical)

The INON Z-240 gives you the option to use both and is rather powerful and most photographer use them also because they are sturdy and reliable.

Triggering them optically gives you the possibiliti to use them remote buying "cheap" bulk optical cable and run it far away.

For shorter distances you still can use them remote as the optical sensor of the Z-240 is very sensible.

For WA wreck i use sometimes 3 strobes, left - above center of housing - right, this gives with the SIGMA 15mm a 180° illumination without shadows and hotspots.

Chris

I use a Nikon D7000 in a Nusticam house.

René

Hej Rene,

Nice to see a fellow Dane on the forum, welcome!

If you want to shoot wide-angle wrecks in Denmark you are in for a challenge. I recall some pretty murky waters!

I use the z240's and am very happy with them, the light is slightly cold which will give you some beautiful green background colors in Danish waters and the option to shoot with the strobes off camera is great!

A good technique to use for shooting WA in low visibility is close focus wide angle, see the link for more info: http://www.uwphotographyguide.com/close-focus-wide-angle-underwater

I believe that the ysd1's are a bit more powerful, and if you want to shoot with for example a 10mm fisheye that might come in handy but you would also be fine with the z240's!

Enjoy and hope to see you around on the forums!

Best regards, Morten

I've used Inon Z240s and, in darker water, they are fine. There is a learning curve, however, and the trick is balancing the strobe light against the ambient light: most of the wreck is lit by the sun, not by the strobes. For wide-angle work you either highlight a small area with one strobe, or use two on longer arms to spread out the light. The strobes need to be well behind the handles of the housing to reduce backscatter.

I would recommend Martin Edge's book (and Alex Mustard's on-line articles) for advice, but it's still several dives' work to begin to get the strobes right.

In bright conditions Inons are under-powered and it's hard to balance the light.

Even under perfect conditions wrecks make for challenging subjects:

http://wetpixel.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=53189