Gates F707 housing and dedicated strobe

www.gateshousings.com/F707.html

Check out this site. Gates is marketing this sytem with a dedicated strobe to allow TTL flash control. Does anyone have any experience with or knowledge about this system. I assume it emits a preflash just like the internal strobe would. I wonder if other mfrs will follow their lead in marketing strobes specific to a certain camera.

Kasey

I am considering using the 707 for uw shooting too. I have written serveral e-mails to Amphibico about their LSD, light sensor device, unit. What follows is part of the first reply from Amphibico followed by the second reply plus a pic of the setup minus the strobe.

First reply:

"The camera flash will be over written because of the design of the housing

and not being able to operate properly underwater. What we have design is

an LSD sensor, Amphibico,s engineers have developed this light sensoring

devise to control the firing and intensity level of any type of strobe on

the market today, it will simulate TTL motion, since the Sony F707 is not

compatible with TTL. The LSD will be available in mid September, or you

can equipment the 707 housing with one of our 10 watt HID light head which

will work as a spot light a good alternative to Yes there will be to lugs

on the housing to accommodate a strap. The LSD with retail for about

$295US, the LSD will come with one mounting bracket to accommodate either

TLC, Ultra Light Control Arms or Sea Sea Arms, There will also be an

optional left hand grip available with a mounting bracket for a strobe. So

you will be able to mount one strobe on the left grip and the other on top

of the housing."

Second reply:

"It uses a sync cord and electronics between the LSD which has a Nikonos

connector that the strobe plugs into, and the LSD will have a control knob

for the intensity levels. The LSD will connector to the housing bulkhead

with our Mini 3 pin connector system then it will plug into the main PCB in

the housing which the camera's LANC is then used."

Once again these are repplies to my qusetions to Amphibico's info desk.

I would probably go with Ikelite except that they don't offer a wide angle lens. Which is a deal breaker for me. WA gotta have it. Although the CP5000 has a 28mm lens a lot of divers are shooting wider than this, say 19mm. Still faciltating the purchase of another lens.

The LSD is suppose to be ready by the end of September.

I hope this helps.

I am considering using the 707 for uw shooting too. I have written serveral e-mails to Amphibico about their LSD, light sensor device, unit. What follows is part of the first reply from Amphibico followed by the second reply plus a pic of the setup minus the strobe.

First reply:

"The camera flash will be over written because of the design of the housing

and not being able to operate properly underwater. What we have design is

an LSD sensor, Amphibico,s engineers have developed this light sensoring

devise to control the firing and intensity level of any type of strobe on

the market today, it will simulate TTL motion, since the Sony F707 is not

compatible with TTL. The LSD will be available in mid September, or you

can equipment the 707 housing with one of our 10 watt HID light head which

will work as a spot light a good alternative to Yes there will be to lugs

on the housing to accommodate a strap. The LSD with retail for about

$295US, the LSD will come with one mounting bracket to accommodate either

TLC, Ultra Light Control Arms or Sea Sea Arms, There will also be an

optional left hand grip available with a mounting bracket for a strobe. So

you will be able to mount one strobe on the left grip and the other on top

of the housing."

Second reply:

"It uses a sync cord and electronics between the LSD which has a Nikonos

connector that the strobe plugs into, and the LSD will have a control knob

for the intensity levels. The LSD will connector to the housing bulkhead

with our Mini 3 pin connector system then it will plug into the main PCB in

the housing which the camera's LANC is then used."

Once again these are repplies to my qusetions to Amphibico's info desk.

I would probably go with Ikelite except that they don't offer a wide angle lens. Which is a deal breaker for me. WA gotta have it. Although the CP5000 has a 28mm lens a lot of divers are shooting wider than this, say 19mm. Still faciltating the purchase of another lens.

The LSD is suppose to be ready by the end of September.

I hope this helps.

Sorry for posting twice but my computer crashed in the middle of sending so I tried again.

Here is the Ampihico pic I promised. I didn't there was file size limit.

I seem to be having trouble attaching pictures to post. Help would be appericated.

Do you already own the camera? If not you might rethink your choice of cameras. The CP 5000 28mm lens is much wider than the lens that comes with the 707. Ike hasn't been very excited about the 707 for underwater use. The gates product looks interesting, especially the TTL functions, but I'm leery at such 1st attempts to provide TTL via outboard sensors.

I need a camera for both land and uw and can not afford two different cameras. I've tried the CP5000 and wasn't thrilled with the performance or construction of the the camera.

If you weren't pleased with the Coolpix 5000 then you probably won't like the Sony camera either.

If you're planning to spend such a big "chunk of change" on a housing, then you might want to look at an SLR.

Cheers

James Wiseman

Specifically - what did you not like about the CP5000?

Where are you in the USVI? I live on St. Croix and travel to St Thomas/St. John every 1-2mos. I'd happily let you play with my Titan/E20 system if you like. The more systems you can get your hands on, the easier it will be to make your decision.

I'm not that excited about the 707 underwater, and I agree that at that price point you are creeping up quickly on dSLR caliber dough.

Kasey

Kasey,

Notice that everyone that posts a comment after you do lives in the USVI? :0

It's a bug in the software - if a member doesn't specify their location in their profile, it just picks the one from the post above.

Cheers

James

I handled both the amphibico and gates housings for the 707. I liked the Gates a lot better (construction and feel). I use a CP5000 in an Ike housing. A combination I highly recommend. The compactness and wide angle of the lens make it perfect for throwing in a pocket for waliking around on land and it's 19 mm nikon lens and extreme macro make it clearly the best choice UW for a point and shoot digital camera. The only caveat is the considerable shutter lag problem.

I mention the 5000 not to argue camera choices but to point out that you need to make sure you have a quality wide angle add on for your camera to make it worth your time to take UW. Ike's web site has a good analysis of this at it's 5000 page.

I own the Sony 707, just bought the Ikelite housing for it. In 2 weeks I'll be spending a lot of time with in the Red Sea. I find the performance on land excellent. In the water I'll find out first week of october.

The wide end of the 707 is comparable to a 38 mm lens. Not really wide, especially not in the water where everybody wants a 19mm or wider. I'm hoping that one day Sea & Sea, Inon or Epoque might be so kind to design a WA converter lens that will work on the 707.

I can't compare to any other digital cam. But I'm very satisfied with my Sony. I'll post some pictures when I get back from Egypt