Fujihousing 810 and Inonstrobe

Hello,

I am interested in the Fuji 810 camera with the Fuji housing. I have 2 questions: 1. can I use the housing with the Inon Z220 strobe ( because I own already 2 Z220 strobes)? 2. Is there a possibility to use a wide anglelens (through a mount or adapter ) with this housing?

Rob

Rob,

Re: q.#2:

This D 2000 systems compatibiity chart of accessories covers equipment, including wide angle lenses and appropriate mounts, produced by Inon:

http://inonamerica.com/content/docs/D2000_Chart.pdf

I'm no expert on Inon strobes. I think that Inon's S-TTL is not compatible with Fuji cameras, but as long as you don't want TTL then their strobes work well.

Alex

The D2000 offers a bunch of modes providing automatic control as far as possible depending on the camera used:

1. S-TTL based on the camera TTL metering (preflash TTL cameras)

2. external auto strobe with aperture preselection based on the strobe's own metering / external sensor (no preflash required)

3. manual power settings

This helps if you want to reach for every auto control you can get.

But external auto strobes have drawbacks: external sensor has always a different field of view and point of view compared to what the camera sees and records. Especially macro can be a pain (in the past external sensors often had a measuring angle of ~ 40°, independently from the lens FOV).

As TTL is not possible I wouldn't struggle around with the auto mode but switch straight away to manual. I even would recommend using manual power settings if TTL was available. With a DSLR manual control is easy as you have a wide range of apertures to control the strobe lightning (depending on camera/lens even down to f45 with macro).

BUT your Z220 features so much manual settings down to -5 which equals 1/32. So even if your camera provides f8 as the smallest aperture I guess you will be able to obtain proper control even for critical macro work.

I strongly recommend keeping your dual Z220 (have them as well) and just trigger them with optical cables in manual mode.

Having that said I haven't used a Fuji 810. So you should confirm that this camera doesn't emit a preflash in order to work properly with the Z220's manual power settings.

I've commented this in a recent thread concerning Fuji 810 and Inon D2000 strobe:

http://www.wetpixel.com/PNphpBB2-viewtopic...ic-t-7454.phtml

regards,

Julian

forgot:

the -3 diffusor enables choices theoretically down to 1/256 power, so really no overpower problem due to smaller aperture range for macro even with two Z220

Julian

DigitalDiver.com has a couple of good threads about the F810 (do a search for F810 or something like that). People seem to really like it. Apparently it doesn't use a preflash so that's not an issue.

http://www.buydig.com/shop/product.aspx?sku=FJFPF810 - best price i've found for this camera in the states

http://www.wetpixel.com/PNphpBB2-viewtopic...c-start-0.phtml - This is a thread i have going in the beginner forum.about the F810

I have been using an 810 for almost a year and the results in warm water (Red Sea and Eastern South Africa) have been excellent even without a strobe. It is a good compact package and very light for travelling. The housing is easy enough to use, even wearing gloves, but a weight to counter the positive buoyancy would be an advantage.

The results in Scotland are still good but a strobe would certainly be an advantage here. I am looking at the Inon D2000 - any comments?

I have used the F810 with a D2000 and it appears to be an excellent combination.

You can only use the strobe in two modes (it won't work in STTL mode). It is possible to use external auto where the strobe calculates exposure indepdent of the camera based on a reflectance back to the strobe head (you must have the strobe pointing at the subject). This is far from ideal in poor visibility conditions where you may want to angle to strobe differently. It is also possible to use the strobe in full manual mode which to my mind, is the best option for use with this camera.

Hope this helps.

In regards to wide angle lenses, the answer is yes. There are two options:

Fuji's WP-FX701 housing can take the Inon AD-mount lenses using Inon's special bayonet adapter.

Ikelite has a new housing coming out that allows the use of Inon's AD-mount lenses or the 67mm thread type lenses. I personally recommend the Ikelite housing because it's built better, has a little more room around the camera (less fogging) and the controls are very good.