Seacams strobes

IT seems that a number of the wetpixel establishment are moving towards a Canon SEACAM world . This is obviously a descicion made after careful consideration of their particular needs applications etc, Well Done to get past what if to this is what I will have / am going to have.

My question is on the SEACAM Strobes - as I understand the system strobes speil they are capable of autodetecting the camera that they are connected too and then make the appropriate ?/> /TTL function or deciscion ???

is ths correct or has my tea been interefered with again

Peter

Heres aload of info from Seacam

Underwater Strobes

The Seaflash is a new generation for submersible strobe, complete with a sturdy aluminum cast housing enclosing sophisticated electronics supplied by Subtronic, one of Europe's leading electronics innovators. Power comes from Nicad batteries. Charging is accomplished in two -hours or less, and a battery capacity display with LEDs lets the photographer know how much power remains. An undervoltage circuit breaker prevents total discharge, eliminating potential damage to the Nicad power source.

There are 3 performance classes of the Seacam Seaflash, but common features on each strobe include TTL exposure, textured reflector, a glass dome, slave and signal flash function, automatic charger. A pilot (model) light that may be dimmed by 60% is available. When working with shy, reclusive fish, this combination auto-focus assist and aiming light may be the only way to get the shot.

There are 2 operating modes to assure precise exposure in both TTL automatic and manual settings. Ergonomic rotary switches are illuminated to provide correct operation even in the dark. In manual there are 7 power levels in steps of one aperture each, and in TTL up to 3 different TTL systems with automatic recognition systems may be built-in. A ready light is visible through the camera viewfinder, and with a quick 2.5-second recycle time, photo-ops will not be lost due to slow recycle.

Strobe color

Temperature: The combination of a tinted, color corrected flashtube, textured reflector, and dome glass create natural colors in the underwater environment. There is even an innovative color temperature control controller as an option, allowing any color temperature between 4300 degrees K and 5200 degrees K to be selected. Shooting a peacock flounder on white sand from 6 inches away, dial in a cool color temperature. Shooting a fair skinned model with wide-angle 3 feet away, work at the warm end of the spectrum. A simple yet invaluable concept, executed with elegance and creativity.

Me i'm thinking that the strobe issue could lead a few people in a new direction.............

Seacam makes a strobe housing as well as some TTL capable strobes. The strobes they offer use Subtronic electronics but have superior mechanical packaging. They don't support any digital TTL protocols currently. With the popularity of their Canon products it would be nice for them to support eTTL if only to get the rear curtain sync option. eTTL and replacable batteries would probably sway me to consider using their strobes. The packaging is beautiful as you'd expect from Seacam.

Hey Craig ,

I'm a bittle simple when it comes to these ttl systems - perhaps you can expain for me.

This from the Seacam site.

"There are 2 operating modes to assure precise exposure in both TTL automatic and manual settings. Ergonomic rotary switches are illuminated to provide correct operation even in the dark. In manual there are 7 power levels in steps of one aperture each, and in TTL up to 3 different TTL systems with automatic recognition systems may be built-in. A ready light is visible through the camera viewfinde'

What does this mean ????

There are different regular TTL implementations depending on the manufacturer and that's what it's referring to. These strobes do not do any version of digital TTL as far as I know.

Regular TTL performs the metering during the exposure from light reflected of the imaging plane. The strobe simply needs to respond to the cutoff signal properly in order to work.

Digital TTL systems work using a series of preflashes. Strobes need to not only understand a different signalling protocol, but also be designed to fire rapidly through a series of preflashes and still have enough power left for the main flash.

Implementing digital TTL is considerably harder than TTL and underwater strobe manufacturers are small companies. I think it's safe to say that everyone would like to do it, including Seacam, but it will take a while. It's not helping that the cameras and protocols continue evolving at such a rapid pace. Nikon is already on their second digital TTL system. When you count the endless numbers of digicam protocols you can see how difficult the problem is.

Thanks for the clarification.

I too am one of those people examining his options ath the moment. My love for the Titan and it's ease of use is being challenged by the newer bigger faster cameras.

Manuals fine, but if there is option - surely you would take it with both hands.

We can only dream about the time of a unified TTL standard compatable with all Digital camera & strobe systems.

Any body got a bit of seed capital and the time for a START UP ???"

yes and yes, but I don't think that alone is a profitable plan!

I want eTTL strobes to get the 2nd curtain sync back. I don't care much about the TTL part.

I use Subtronic strobes that form the inards of the Seacam strobes. Subtronic strobes are very powerful, have good coverage and rapid recycling. Mine charge in less than 2 hours and last me through a whole day of diving ~ 500 shots. The downsides are that they are heavy. I rarely need to use their full power. And I have had a couple of technical problems with them (although admitedly after heavy usage) and they have had to go back to Germany to be fixed (which is not that far from the UK).

They are also big and heavy. So make sure you handle some before you buy them. Great, but not for everyone.

Alex