Strobe Dilemma?

I have an Olympus C-5060 digital camera with an Olympus u/w housing. My question: I am interested in purchasing a strobe that is compatible with the Olympus housing and the camera -- can someone recommend a good strobe for this camera, and where I might purchase one.

Thanks

Hi Kandace, welcome to Wetpixel! It's great to have more ladies here. I think you'll find this a very friendly and helpful place. Drop me a line if you have any questions about how to use the website.

There are a lot of strobes that are compatible with your setup. Since there isn't an electrical connection on the housing to the camera, you will need a strobe that is triggered by the flash on the 5060.

BobF has put together a strobe database that might help you, hopefully he'll post the address, I can't remember it off the top of my head.

For starters, at the low cost end, I'd look at the Ikelite DS50 with manual power controller, the Inon D-180 or D-2000, and the Sea and Sea YS25DX. A strobe that will have more power and be a bit more useful later would be a Ikelite DS125 or Inon Z220

Cheers

James Wiseman

Hi Kandace,

The Olympus pt 020 housing is equipped with a bulkhead that will support an Olympus strobe. It should be noted however that the strobe was designed for top side use. imho, the strobe (FL 20) lacks features that would make it a serious tool for underwater use other than possibly macro subjects. I do not believe it would have the power necessary to cover the field of view of even the native lens of the c5060 at Wide Angle focal lengths. Even more concerning to me is that there are reports that spare parts, including important replacement sync cords, are very hard to come by.

If a hard wired system is your preference, you may opt for a mike-dive.de replacement bulkhead system. This would allow you to maintain Olympus TTL control of an external strobe if the strobe you choose incorporates a standard Nikon sync connector.

As james points out, optically triggered strobes are much more common in use among the many divers who visit wetpixel who share your system (c5060+pt020).

An optically triggered strobe is one that gets it's signal to fire from the onboard (or internal) strobe of the digicam, through a clear housing. the external strobe may pick up the triggering signal in different ways. Inon, Sea & Sea, and Epoque utilize various forms of fiber optic systems. Ikelite uses an optical sensor attached directly to the external strobe and aimed at the onboard flash. And some external strobes rely solely upon a sensor built into the strobe head.

The optically triggered strobe may be controlled in one of three ways, some form of TTL, Auto, or Manual. Each strobe control method has it's supporters. Many strobes are capable of more than one type of strobe control. Some combine Auto with Manual. Some TTL and Manual. Some can even accomplish all three.

There is no one "best" strobe for you to choose. James made mention of the Strobe Finder. Along with a multitude of specs and data you'll find there , you'll also come across some simple explanations to help you wade through the plethora of choices. Your choices could be dwindled down by the wide variation in price. You could also narrow the search by defining how you wish to trigger the strobe. Your camera is capable of both emitting a preflash or sending out a single "slave" signal.

My advise at this time would be to have a swim over to the database:

http://www.digitaldiver.net/strobes.php

and when you're ready to come back up for air, swing by with a couple of more specific questions. Maybe even narrow it down to three or four strobes. If james is not around, someone else will be here to lend a hand.

regards,

b

Thank you for your nice welcome!

My husband is into u/w video with his Light & Motion setup, and I am new to the u/w photography.

Thank you for the information. I have been on several websites, reviews (one on your website using the Inon D-2000), to riddle down a nice system that suits my needs.

Recently, I purchased a wide angle lens for the C-5060, and would like to use it underwater. In that case, which strobe would best suit my purpose with wide angle use?

For true wide angle, most folks end up shooting twin strobes, to be able to get more even lighting, and have more control over the lighting.

It would be hard to beat the ikelite ds-125 strobes, for compact, powerful, wide angle coverage.

I wonder if ike makes an adapter, or cable, or something, to plug into the oly housing, to allow direct triggering?

Good luck,

Don

I wonder if ike makes an adapter, or cable, or something, to plug into the oly housing, to allow direct triggering?

No. But as I mentioned before, mike-dive.de has a "TTL Konverter" that includes a replacement bulkhead. It connects directly to the Oly hot shoe on the interior of the housing thereby offering Oly TTL.

Although in German. the photos are explanatory. And I'm sure that an English email will be replied to in English:

http://www.mike-dive.de/

No affiliation, obviously......

Kandace, which type of WAL did you purchase. An external, screw on conversion lens or the one that fits directly onto the c5060, behind a port?