TTL systems in underwater photo

Thanks for the info guys!

I wanted to give a shout out to Pavel Kolpakov for his outstanding contributions on the Wetpixel forum and to me personally. I have been using the UW Technics TTL converter for a while now, but confess that I ditched TTL long ago and only shoot manual.

On trip to Fiji recently the converter froze with the LEDs on. The only way to turn them off was to remove the batteries, impossible underwater! Pavel guided me through at the time and with his advice I completed the trip without losing too many shots. On returning home I have still experienced the problem on most dives but turning the camera on and off usually solved it, until last weekend when it  froze up completely again.

I contacted Pavel again and have to say I was blown away by his assistance, which was almost immediate.

Pavel you are a true credit to the industry, it really is breath of fresh air to meet a person that is so willing to help and share their knowledge, and to resolve a technical issue when the need arises. The Wetpixel community are lucky to have you and I am truly grateful for your help.

Regards

John

4 hours ago, JohnVila said:

Pavel you are a true credit to the industry, it really is breath of fresh air to meet a person that is so willing to help and share their knowledge, and to resolve a technical issue when the need arises. The Wetpixel community are lucky to have you and I am truly grateful for your help.

Regards

John

Add another vote to that. Pavel, you are just terrific. Don't go away. We need you!

Thank you for kind words guys! 

I am happy to help when i can.

Hi, I've got a Sony a7R3 and a Seafrogs housing (I used to have a meikon housing for my a7R2 and it was fantastic too) and came across this thread and I'm hoping someone might be able to help me. I've taken this housing diving and it's a sensational rig but I'd love add some strobes to my set-up but I'm new to this and not really sure how to configure it. I saw that there's a turtle TTL converter for Sony. Do I need to replace the bulkhead for TTL? I'll probably start with a single strobe but if I wanted to add another in the future, is it as simple as purchasing a y sync cord and another strobe? Anything I should be wary of? Any tips? I love that fibre optic addition/hack to the meikon housing by @davec13o2 - was this difficult to install?

Thanks in advance for any help

UWTechnics currently produces Optical Bulkhead and Electric (Ikelite, Nikonos) bulkheadfs for Seafrogs housings. Those bulkheads have special shape mount side, the same as Seafrogs / Meikon original.

TTL circuit for Sony A7-A9 Seafrog housings:

1 hour ago, Pavel Kolpakov said:

UWTechnics currently produces Optical Bulkhead and Electric (Ikelite, Nikonos) bulkheadfs for Seafrogs housings. Those bulkheads have special shape mount side, the same as Seafrogs / Meikon original.

Thanks so much for your prompt reply Pavel. As I mentioned, whilst I'm relatively experienced above water and somewhat experienced taking a bare housing down, configuring these systems is proving somewhat challenging. Could you please help me with the following questions?

1. Should I stick with electric sync cords or should I go with fibre optic cables?
2. If I want TTL on my Sonya7R3, do I need to replace the bulkhead as well as installing a TTL converter? Or if I stick with electric sync cables, will the original bulkhead be ok for TTL (or does it require more pins)?
3. Can your replacement bulkheads play with the Turtle TTL converters? Or would I need to re-crimp them?
4. I noticed that UWTechnics also sells TTL converters. What's the difference between the Sony Turtle TTL converter and UWTechnics? I noticed there's quite a price difference between the two...

I'm a bit confused about the TTL circuit you've shown above. It seems to show some connection to the in-built Seafrogs moisture detection system?

Thanks again for your help mate!

2 hours ago, gyrex said:

 

1. Should I stick with electric sync cords or should I go with fibre optic cables?
2. If I want TTL on my Sonya7R3, do I need to replace the bulkhead as well as installing a TTL converter? Or if I stick with electric sync cables, will the original bulkhead be ok for TTL (or does it require more pins)?
3. Can your replacement bulkheads play with the Turtle TTL converters? Or would I need to re-crimp them?
4. I noticed that UWTechnics also sells TTL converters. What's the difference between the Sony Turtle TTL converter and UWTechnics? I noticed there's quite a price difference between the two...

I'm a bit confused about the TTL circuit you've shown above. It seems to show some connection to the in-built Seafrogs moisture detection system?

This TTL-Converter is purposed for installation instead of Seafrogs leak detector in the housing. That is why, it includes also a Leak Detector onboard, in addition to TTL electronics. By the way, the Leal Detector is better than original.

You can connect Optical bulkhead or Electric bulkhead to TTL-Converter, dependently of your preferences. TTL works the same in both variants. 

In case of Optical bulkhead,  you can use HowShot 613L or Nauticam #26216 fiber optical cable. Those are new 613-core cables with the best transmission index now. Dual FO cables are supported as well.

In case of Electric bulkhead, you can use Sea&Sea (Nikonos) or Ikelite sync cord. Dual sync cords are supported as well.

Original Seafrogs electric bulkhead (factory preinstalled) does not have enough pins, it cannot be used in TTL system.

Regarding TRT products, please ask manufacturer directly. Sorry, I don't have enough technical information.

10 hours ago, gyrex said:

Hi, I've got a Sony a7R3 and a Seafrogs housing (I used to have a meikon housing for my a7R2 and it was fantastic too) and came across this thread and I'm hoping someone might be able to help me. I've taken this housing diving and it's a sensational rig but I'd love add some strobes to my set-up but I'm new to this and not really sure how to configure it. I saw that there's a turtle TTL converter for Sony. Do I need to replace the bulkhead for TTL? I'll probably start with a single strobe but if I wanted to add another in the future, is it as simple as purchasing a y sync cord and another strobe? Anything I should be wary of? Any tips? I love that fibre optic addition/hack to the meikon housing by @davec13o2 - was this difficult to install?

Thanks in advance for any help

I modified both the original Meikon case and the Seafrogs NG case (Sony a7RII) for the plastic fiber optic ports in anticipation of using the UW-Technics converter. You need a small milling machine to do the case mod - requires care and precision cuts - not recommended unless you have machine shop experience.  Strongly recommend the UW-Technics bulkhead replacement instead that can trigger 1 or 2 strobes by fiber optic depending on type of exterior rubber bushing.

1 hour ago, davec13o2 said:

I modified both the original Meikon case and the Seafrogs NG case (Sony a7RII) for the plastic fiber optic ports in anticipation of using the UW-Technics converter. You need a small milling machine to do the case mod - requires care and precision cuts - not recommended unless you have machine shop experience.  Strongly recommend the UW-Technics bulkhead replacement instead that can trigger 1 or 2 strobes by fiber optic depending on type of exterior rubber bushing.

I definitely don't have the experience nor confidence to embark on a project as intricate as this - kudos to you for such a marvellous job on the housings mate. I'll take your advice and get the bulkhead replacement

Is there a TTL board that will work with a Nexus housing for a D850?

Elmer

9 hours ago, eyu said:

Is there a TTL board that will work with a Nexus housing for a D850?

Elmer

Hi Elmer,

Here is a picture of installed TTL board for Nexus Nikon (product #11063 UWTechnics):

Pavel,

Thank you for the info.

Elmer

Hi folks,

I'm in the process of planning a new system purchase in the spring of next year. My interest lies mostly in video but I also do photos on the same dive. Currently I'm using Sony mirrorless A6000 in Meikon housing with dual Inon Z330 (fiber optic) and dual scubalamp v6k Pro video lights.

I'm holding out for the (almost mythical) Sony A7siii (or whatever it will finally be labelled) however if it doesn't turn out to have the specs I'd like, I'll revert to getting the Sony A7riii. I'm as yet undecided if I'm going with Nauticam or Aquatica housing.

I always shoot in manual but would like the option of TTL. I understand Nauticam mini flash trigger doesn't offer TTL. I'm not sure Aquatica does either. So I've been looking into the Turtle ttl by trt electronics.

Does anyone have any experience with this good or bad, or any other recommendations?

Thanks in advance.

Sent from my CLT-L29 using Tapatalk

48 minutes ago, Placebo365 said:

.... I'm as yet undecided if I'm going with Nauticam or Aquatica housing.

If you purchase Nauticam for Sony A7-A9, you also can install internal TTL Converter specially developed for this line of housings. UWTechnics #11075 product:

Hi folks,
 
I'm in the process of planning a new system purchase in the spring of next year. My interest lies mostly in video but I also do photos on the same dive. Currently I'm using Sony mirrorless A6000 in Meikon housing with dual Inon Z330 (fiber optic) and dual scubalamp v6k Pro video lights.
 
I'm holding out for the (almost mythical) Sony A7siii (or whatever it will finally be labelled) however if it doesn't turn out to have the specs I'd like, I'll revert to getting the Sony A7riii. I'm as yet undecided if I'm going with Nauticam or Aquatica housing.
 
I always shoot in manual but would like the option of TTL. I understand Nauticam mini flash trigger doesn't offer TTL. I'm not sure Aquatica does either. So I've been looking into the Turtle ttl by trt electronics.
 
Does anyone have any experience with this good or bad, or any other recommendations?
 
Thanks in advance.
 
 
 
Sent from my CLT-L29 using Tapatalk
 
 
 
 

If you purchase Nauticam for Sony A7-A9, you also can install internal TTL Converter specially developed for this line of housings. UWTechnics #11075 product:

G'day mate!

I'd put good money on the a7S3 not being released. The a73 provides as good or better low light performance with a larger sensor, better video specs etc. There's no point in Sony releasing a body and expanding their range for no reason. I could be wrong but the talk around town is that the a7Sx is probably dead.

If you're looking at the a7R3 or a73, have a look at the Seafrogs Housing - much cheaper and provides everything you need. Never had an issue with it down to 40m. The port options are very reasonably priced too.

I've paired mine with a single inon 330 and it's amazing! Got the 180mm dome (8") - using the Sony 28mm and Rokinon 14mm with this, long port for the Sony 90mm macro, short port for the 50mm macro.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A5010 using Tapatalk

1 hour ago, Placebo365 said:

Thanks for the reply Pavel. Excuse my ignorance but does that mean I'd need to buy the Nauticam flash trigger then add this UW Technics converter to it?

You don't need Nauticam flash trigger this case.  Just install TTL Converter #11075 into the housing.

You don't need Nauticam flash trigger this case.  Just install TTL Converter #11075 into the housing.