Whice Strobe to buy????

[jaffab]

Hi, I have a canon A640 with a WP-DC8 housing, and think of getting a strobe for my up-coming red sea dive in April. My criteria- in order of importance are:

1) Ease of handeling/size (dont want to feel out of control down there)
2) Price (not looking to spend hundreds)
3) Depth (my case goes to 40m, want the same from the strobe)
4) Quality of images

Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance

Jaffa

[ChristianG]

Originally Posted by jaffab

Hi, I have a canon A640 with a WP-DC8 housing, and think of getting a strobe for my up-coming red sea dive in April. My criteria- in order of importance are:

1) Ease of handeling/size (dont want to feel out of control down there)
2) Price (not looking to spend hundreds)
3) Depth (my case goes to 40m, want the same from the strobe)
4) Quality of images

Any suggestions?

My first one is Do Your Research.

My second one is DO YOUR RESEARCH!!!

Get the picture? Do not expect this to be done in the next 24 hours.

Unlike cameras, strobes can, and will, be transferred to your next system, thus also think about that, seriously so, and consider that a more expensive strobe today is very likely to save you much money down the track. To put it another way, a strobe can be an investment (kind of) whereas no camera can lay claim to that. Not even the latest Canon EOS1 whatever.

Whilst keeping the above firmly in mind, now look at the power of the strobe as well as, in particular, the angle of spread (of the light). If the strobe is powerful enough a diffuser will increase the spread considerably without significantly distracting from its power. Your lens/es, today, might not be able to take advantage of that spread (or power) but this is future-proofing as best you can.

Of the current crop I would suggest (right off the top of my head, NO particular order) looking at Inon, Ikelite, Sea & Sea as some which will not cost an arm and a leg. Try here for others:

digideep.com :: list of all underwater housings suitable for digital photography and videography...

[Peter M]

When you do get your strobe, its not just matter of attaching and go, i had to figure out all the setting which took time and lots of paitence.
I got an epoque one so far its been good.

[Mike Ward]

Hi Jaffa,

You need the strobe head, a tray/handle unit to attach it to your housing and a synch cord to connect it to the camera.

Probably the smallest, lightest and least complex strobes on the market now, and the cheapest, are the Epoque ES150DSa (£225 at Cameras Underwater) and the more powerful Sea and Sea YS27DZ (£345). Both prices include the items listed above. They're pretty similar in specification and how they work, and either will probably do what you want for now. Christian is right about strobe longevity, but they do cost more - if you think you're going to get properly interested and carry on with underwater photography it might be worth the extra.

Both the strobes mentioned take AA batteries, and a charger with 4 rechargeable NimH batteries will add another £30 or so to the total cost. You'll need a second set of batteries for the Sea and Sea, it uses 4 as against two for the Epoque.

In use, they're equally easy to operate. Try one of the following to get you started - you can do this out of the water before you head off on holiday!

1) Since your camera offers a manual mode, set the aperture to f5.6 and the minimum ISO level your camera offers, then set the shutter speed to give you 2 stops of under-exposure. (A good Red Sea in-water start point is 1/125th sec)

OR

2) Or set the camera to aperture priority (Usually labelled Av on Canons) and the aperture to f5.6, then set two stops of underexposure (-2 on the scale), still using the lowest ISO the camera is capable of.

Then take a picture. Either of the above two options should record something, but the shot should look much too dark (Under exposed). Turn on your external strobe and re-take the same picture. The difference between the two shots is the effect of the flash.
If the picture is now too light (Over-exposed) turn the flash control down so it isn't as bright. If the picture is still too dark (Under exposed), turn the flash control up to give more flash. If the flash is at the maximum setting and the picture is still too dark, increase the aperture from f5.6 to f4, and if necessary to f2.8. If the picture is still too dark, you're probably too far away for the flash to make much difference (Maximum distance at which flash is useful underwater if four to five feet, regardless of the size and power of the flash unit).

When you've had a bit of a play you'll get used to the settings you need to use and will be able to get it almost right first try, and then fine-tune.

As an alternative thought, you could go for a wide-angle adapter, which you'll want eventually, and set the white balance manually, but that's a whole different post!

Take a look on my website, there's a load of practical advice on underwater photography you may find useful.

[ChristianG]

Originally Posted by Mike Ward

Take a look on my website, there's a load of practical advice on underwater photography you may find useful.

Good one Mike. Haven't seen a better way of describing this procedure yet.

No, not necessarily what's on your website, more what you described that I deleted.

[Mike Ward]

Originally Posted by ChristianG

Good one Mike. Haven't seen a better way of describing this procedure yet.

Kind words much appreciated, thankyou!