Optimal strobe option

OK Eric has already told me that I do not know how to use a strobe properly with my 1DSMkII, however, I am going to keep trying. I did the review on the Subal housing using the Ikelite DS-125 which is a 110 watt, 10 UW GN strobe. I had problem getting enough light at the f-stop I wanted to use for DOF with the Canon 100 mm Macro and a subject more than a few feet away. Now I want more light.

I have followed some of the threads here and on Digital Diver but am still confused. I have accepted that for now, I can not use eTTL with the 1DsMkII but will use manual. This evens the options out to be based more on energy and coverage. The source of this data is the Strobe Finder on the Digital Diver web site. Here is a spreadsheet analyzing some options I am considering:

Strobe Ener GN-air GN-UW Ang Cost E*A/C G*A/C

Epog 230 230 23 115 349 100 100

Ikel 200 200 23 12 100 900 29 34

YS-350TTL 120 32 105 1375 12 32

Sub Mega 350 22 112 1565 33 21

Hart 250 250 22 22 90 1765 17 15

S MegaC 350 22 112 1813 29 18

Hart 625 625 32 32 90 2375 31 16

Seac 350 350 26 112 2472 21 16

I have attempted to include the angle in the energy output or guide number consideration. It is interesting that the Epogue ES-230 comes out looking the most efficient per dollar here by far. The next best "deal" is the Ikelite SS200, although the Hartenburger 625 actually looks pretty good.

So that is numbers and it is very possible that garbage in equals garbage out. What is the best deal from a cost/value perspective? Do I need one or two to go to wide angle?

Thanks for any help.

Tom

I am sorry that the formatting for my message came out so differently from composing my message on this web site. This is a bug for this interface that I do not have control, however, if someone wants that actual spreadsheet all you need to do is ask.

Tom

I like the Ike 200's aka the "workhorse" of the wideangle world for a looooong time.

None of the strobes that you have listed will "solve" your problem though Ted. You need to get close, then get closer. Even for wideangle, if you want a good wideangle exposure, you need to have your subject(s) as close as possible - one or two feet from the dome.

For macro work, these strobes might be overkill:

Kinda big, eh? :-)

Cheers

James

Hey James, are those Ikelite diffusers? They look kinda different to me... Maybe it's the angle.

<_< James,

I know there is a limit but where is it at? I see wide angles of whale sharks so I know the photographers are not within two feet. I guess what you must be saying is that in this case you have to open up the aperture and seek natural light, e.g. the sun.

Thanks,

Tom

Those are "cut a piece out of a milk jug" diffusers :-) Remember, I'm an engineer...

I calculate they are .52856 stop diffusers...:-)

Cheers

James

OK Eric has already told me that I do not know how to use a strobe properly with my 1DSMkII, however, I am going to keep trying. I did the review on the Subal housing using the Ikelite DS-125 which is a 110 watt, 10 UW GN strobe. I had problem getting enough light at the f-stop I wanted to use for DOF with the Canon 100 mm Macro and a subject more than a few feet away. Now I want more light.

 

Thanks for any help.

 

Tom

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

And a single DS-125 is suffient power for the 100mm macro. Full power and F/16 1/160 will be exposed about right for subjects that are about 2 feet away and half power or less when you get closer.

And there is no reason to be farther than 2 feet for macro. If 2 feet is closer than the 100mm lens will let you get, then you need to get the 50mm macro. Thats all there is to it.

<_< James,

 

I know there is a limit but where is it at? I see wide angles of whale sharks so I know the photographers are not within two feet. I guess what you must be saying is that in this case you have to open up the aperture and seek natural light, e.g. the sun.

 

Thanks,

Tom

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I havent got any good strobe lit pictures where the subject is more than 2.5ft away. And that is with macro. For wide angle, I find I need to be even closer to get a good shot.

I was less than two feet away for this shot:

I used an ultra-wide (weitwinkel) lens and got really close - that's how I could light the manta with a pair of Ikelite 200's That manta is easily 6-8 feet across.

Cheers

James

I think that a critical (and widely overlooked) issue on lighting is strobe aiming. If your subject is at 1ft but the strobe is aimed at 3ft you will only get a fraction of the light in your shot. I've never felt the need for anything more powerful than a single Ikelite SS200 for fish pictures with 60 and 105mm lenses. However, my success rate is higher when I use two flashes, but I suspect that is because with two flashes it is harder to miss the subject when aiming the flashes.

I guess what I am learning from this is that my assumption that I was underpowered with my strobe was not accurate. You can basically never get too close. You need to point strobes accurately, with two more accomodating than one.

If this is true, the two SS200's look like an enormously bulky apparatus to dive with. I can not imagine trying to get into some small holes with that.

It would seem what I need are two healthy strobes and to figure out how to get close.

How do you do that?

Regards,

Tom

Tom,

Yes, I agree its bulky, but it wouldn't be much different if you had smaller strobes. I think it is more a matter of the size and position of the arms, since the SS200 are slightly positive underwater. If you are starting from scratch I would consider the Ikelite DS125, they are not as powerful as the SS200, but they are cheaper, smaller and lighter, and I think you would get lots of power with two of them. However, if power is what you really want, you can't go wrong with the 200s.

I like to refer to a two-strobe rig on long arms as a "moose rack' and you are right about tight spaces. One can push such a rig through the water end-wise.

Two SS200s are small compared to what came before! Recall the earlier Ikelite 400, which evolved from lower w-s rated strobes in the same-sized housing, or Subsea MK150s!