Perusing Ikelites site, I’m seeing their newer housings require a DS link connector cable (typically north of $400) to connect to their strobes. This raises a few questions:
-First off, why? I currently have a 200DLM/A housing for my Oly OM-D EM5 MKII (one of the older style housings thats all clear) that came with the TTL circuit built in. Why are they now charging an extra $400 for the cable? This feels like a step backwards. I am I misunderstanding something?
-Also, it looks like said cable is only compatible with DS 125 strobes above a certain serial number (my current 125s are below said number); does this mean I’d be out of luck with a newer housing?
The DS link cable includes the TTL electronics in it that used to live in the housing. As I understand it is required for TTL, but you can use standard sync cables to trigger your existing strobes or any other models in manual without need for the TTL module. I may not recall correctly but my understanding is that the TTL module in the housing was an optional extra for the older housings.
As to whether you can use your DS-125 strobes with the new DS-Link, it appears you can't based on your serial number - but would be worth talking to Ikelite to see if they have any workarounds.
For a strobe workaround Ikelite do upgrade their strobes (for a cost).
