New to UW digital photography. We have a Nikonos V with SB-105 strobe, but are going for a week-long dive vacation and would like to run out of air before running out of film .
So, I've been planning on getting a housing for our CP 5400. I've narrowed it down to either the Ikelite 6194, or the Epoque EHN-5400. It appears that only the Epoque will allow the use of our SB-105 with TTL (can use it with the Ikelite, but only with the Manual Controller), and I can't really sink more money into another strobe as well. Also, google is pretty dry when it comes to reviews on either of these housings. I'd love to hear back from anyone who uses either housing with the SB-105.
Hi,
I tested the Epoque 5400 housing and it does not allow for TTL operation with underwater strobes. Neither does the Ikelite.
I used the Ikelite coolpix 5000 housing and liked it a lot. It has an optional dome port for the wideangle lens. If the 5400 housing has same, then it's a slam dunk. The Epoque housing may look like metal, but it's really just a type of colored plastic - so the differences between the two are minimal.
You will be happy using the 5400 and the SB105 in manual power modes at 1/4 or 1/16th.
HTH
James
Thanks, James.
I'll go scour the Ikelite site some more. I really found it hard to get straightforward information there about using the SB-105 (little wonder, when they sell their own strobes ) with the housing.
All you need is the ikelite to Nikon sync cord, which is a readily available item.
Cheers
James
Well, it's clearly been a while since we've used it. *blush* We actually have an SB-104, I think (judging by the size of it - it's one big honkin' strobe, and it only bears a slight resemblance to the new-style SB-104 on nikonusa's website, but more of a resemblance than the SB-105). I hope this is still a reasonable configuration with this housing/camera.
Wow! The SB104 is a really powerful strobe. You may find that even at the lowest power setting, the strobe is too powerful for the camera - and your foreground will be overexposed. I think this camera only goes to F11.
So...move the strobe back, use a strong diffuser, and aim the strobe carefully (not directly at the subject).
Hoo, boy. Now I'm gonna just slink off in shame. I've been posting this from work, so clearly I didn't have it at hand. After jogging my memory by reading some of your other posts, a quick Google search proved me wrong again. The strobe we have is an SB-102 (I thought the 104 looked awfully new-fangled ) - it's still a big, honkin' strobe, and now I'm concerned that I won't be able to use it with the the Ikelite cable (at least, on Ikelite's site, they only mention the 103 and 105 specifically).
Thanks for your patience
Sure you will - I used that exact strobe with my Coolpix 990 and 5000. It is very powerful though so you need the diffuser. You'll also need 6 rechargable C cells.
Cheers
James
Oh, I know alllllll about the batteries.
Thanks for all your help, James. Your site looks great. We're definitely looking forward to getting some new pics up and sharing them with everyone!
Everything I read on Ikelite's site suggests this should be a good pair. Hopefully, it will also help keep the photos from being overpowered by our big, bad SB-102.
Thanks for all your help, everybody. Can't wait to get back with some pics.
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