D70, What strobes R U Using & Housing the SB800

Hello All

i'm looking for information from folks that have/are using the D70 underwater.

currently i own Nik F-80 sea & sea, Oly 5060wz pt-20 and a D70, awaiting a housing Sea & Sea

what i need is some good information on your choice of strobes

currently i use 2x ys90's on my f-80, & have to Rob a ys90 for my Oly5060 when both units go underwater.

so i'm looking to purchase a new strobe or flash housing to set both systems up complete until i get my D70 housing.

i understand about the issues we have about ITTL and only shooting manual with the D70 with anything but the sb800 in a housing.

before i part with yet more hard earned cash, some reasearch needs to be done

what are you views on housing the Sb800 , i've been talking to SEALUX about the CX-800 housing and it fits the pocket coming out at about £380.00 sterling.

i'm a little concerned about using ys90 duos on the D70 as the minimum ISO on the D70 is 200 and manual control's on the 90's are only full & Half.. not a major worries as i can always use aperture to control the flash exposure anyway.

i'd rather not spend £1000 plus on a strobe, i have numerous models flying around in my head at present

YS90 again, Ys120, Nikon SB-105's, Ike DS125, Inon's, Subal Sn-800 housing

the selection has to work with my housed F-80, as well as work well with the D70

Answers on a postcard please .................

any information would be great....

regards

Craig

Even when shooting manual, the new iTTL converter from Mathias might be worth a look: http://www.heinrichsweikamp.net/blitz/ittle.htm

Besides the TTL you have 10 manual power settings for your YS90.

I would not recommend ANY housed topside strobe if you already have some substrobes.

Btw: Welcome to Wetpixel

Very interesting. I suggest you give the iTTL converter a HARD look. Based on information posted here and on Mathias's website, I'm sure you'll be confused in no time...

Your Sea and Sea housing will come with a 2 or 3 pin bulkhead, so you'll need to replace that with a 5pin TTL bulkhead and wire in the iTTL converter.

If you already have 2 YS90's this is the way to go, but it's going to take some effort to learn how the converter works and how you install it.

HTH

James

I'm using a D70 with a S&S YS 120 plus a slave YS30. I've not missed TTL at all. I shoot the YS 120 almost exclusively on 1/2 power and just use the F stop and strobe to subject distance to control the exposure. I always shoot RAW so I can adjust the exposure a little in post processing if I get a shot I like but get the exposure slightly wrong.

I'd say my hit rate is slightly better without TTL but with the ability to review shots instantly. While reviewing the shot on the camera LCD won't tell you you've got the shot it will let you see if you've got the exposure horibly wrong.

Thanks for the replies so far, KEEP THEM COMING

as for the Matthias ITTL converter, Sorry but i really cannot be bothered with mucking about with my new housing, i'd rather just simply shoot manual or use the SB800 in a housing.

but its all good stuff

thanks again

keep'em coming

craig

You will need to modify your housing (from 2-3 pin to 5 pin connector) if you want it to work in TTL with a housed SB800 as well.

Hi Luiz

thanks for that, so what folk are saying is that even if i house the Sb800 i still have to change the socket on my housing ?

i've been intouch with Sealux about their housing, and they said that i needed a somthing added to the housing call FLEXIBLE CONACTS which allows me to use it with my sea and sea housing ( i Think) there is a little bit of a lanuage barrier

just awaiting confirmation from them, they made it sound like i need to use a S&S sync cord to get it intergrated into my system...

mmmmm

its all seems not as easy as it appears.

maybe just getting a couple of SB-105's or a YS120 is a much better option

what do you guys think ?

regards

craig

If you aren't set on the S&S housing I'd give the Ikelite housing a look. Ike is reportedly testing a new TTL version that seems to have worked well for Canon and Oly cameras.

The Canon version (which the D70 is likely to be very similar to) looks very easy to dial in manual or FEC control. So even if you like manual I think you will like this feature.

If you go this way you will need the Ikelite strobes. I think you should look at these anyway though, their power, battery capacity and recycle time can't be beat.

Take a look at the TTL anonymous thread, you will find that TTL is not essential and you can learn manual easily with the aid of the camera LCD. I was waiting for TTL support before going digital, but now I will probably but a housing and use my Ikelite flashes in manual. Just haven't decided what camera to buy yet.

I think you should look at these anyway though, their power, battery capacity and recycle time can't be beat.

*Cheap* *Fast* *Good*. Pick any two of them. <_<

That means: As well as power, battery capacity and recycle time CAN be beaten (easily), but not at the price of a DS-125....

Your Sea and Sea dealer should be able to get the bulkhead rewire for you to use the SB800 when you order the housing so it is not too much trouble. However if you go SB800 route, as far as I know, you will only be able to use one strobe only. SB800 only talks to slave strobe via radio frequency link which won't work underwater in a housing.

My dive buddy try to use Ikelite and Sea and Sea strobe as slave but never could get them to work well with the SB800 at all.

Personally I love my Ikelite DS125 strobes.

Thanks guys for the response's

i think the Sb800 idea has gone out of the window.... i cannot be bothered with re-wiring my gear.

so i'm going to go with good old fashioned sub strobes,

not sure which to get myself though, as i say already own 2x ys90's

might just get another ys90.. or trade them off and get 2x sb-105 as they have more manual controls...

mind you... the INON 220 is looking nice.

craig

The Inon Z220s are great. They're compact, relatively powerful, fast recycle, good battery life and very adjustable. They also will work the the Sea&Sea synch cord. It would be an excellent and compatible choice. I've had mine for two years, used them extensively and have no complaints at all.

I really like miy z220's.

The only thing that ticks me off is Inon not getting their act together with the Optical Converter's lack of compatibility with S&S.