Advice is needed. Should I cut my optical fiber cable?

Hey fellow divers,

I am brand new to underwater photography. I bought a used 50D + 60mm Macro and a Hugyfot housing. Been diving with it a few weeks ago - everything works fine. So I ordered a cheap strobe: the Sea & Sea YS-03 and an optical fiber cable by BigBlue (my dive shop suggested it) to connect the strobe to the housing.

Yesterday everything arrived, and I wasn't able to connect the optical fiber cable to the housing, because it has plugs and my housing only accepts the pure cable.

That is what my manual says:

That's the opening of my optical adapter:

That's my cable:

That is the plug:

So I figured that I have 3 options now (correct me if I am wrong):

1. Get a new cable where there is only one plug (because I need one plug for the strobe) - any recommendations for one of those cables? (Maybe one of those: https://fotografit.eu/products/12-housing-accessories/332-universal-optical-fiber-cable-kit/)

2. Get this optical adapter, where I can insert a plug: https://www.aditech-uw.com/en/shop/5127-hugyfot-optical-adapter-9110.html (this one is for a 5D housing, but should work on mine)

3. Cut the plug of the cable I have. I have read in another post that guys cut these cable after they broke to have an improvised solution. If I did it, it should be a permeant solution, because I can still return it. On the other hand it was only 35 €... 

So what is your guys recommendation? Should I cut the plug off? If yes, what should I be aware of or focus on while doing it?

Thank you very much in advance

Jakob

Jakob,

I cannot comment on the specifics of your housing as I am an Aquatica user. However it is very common to cut the fiber-optic cable as you describe. There are several threads on WP that describe fabricating cables using third-party parts.

I use S&S YS-D1 strobes and have cut the FO cables several times to adapt them as needed. The key is to use a very sharp, preferably brand-new, razor blade and make a clean-cut perpendicular to the run of the FO cable. Although some people have had success with a diagonal cut, I don't believe that is a good strategy. You may also need to remove some of the plastic coating on the cable before you are able to insert it into the housing adapter.

Good luck and if you have any further questions, just post on WP. You will find our community is very supportive of new photographers and their questions.

Harry

The plug is probably the neatest solution and easy to plug back in if it falls out - I don't know how tight the adapter you have grips the cable.  The plugs can pull out if they snag and I imagine plugging a bare cable back in UW might be tricky

You could also cut the cable but I would first test if you can trigger the strobe just holding the plug up to your strobe - S&S strobes are known to be fussy about the type of cable they will trigger from.

If you get a cable I'd try this one:  https://fotografit.eu/products/65-flash-cables---accessories-and-adaptors/4330-fiber-optic-cable-613-core-without-plug-50-cm/

it's a quality multi core cable and buy a plug, the website you link has angle plugs if they are suitable.

If you decide to cut the cable, I have learn that a nail cutter works fine.