RickM
07-25-2005, 06:30 AM
The availability of relatively inexpensive digital cameras has given rise to a new generation of inexpensive underwater housings in the range of $200 or less (e.g., I got a <a href="http://fantasea.com/ssl/prod_det.asp?id=30">Fantasea CP-4 Pro</a> for my Nikon Coolpix 4300 for just $180). These cameras and housings have proven very popular with recreational divers who just want to be able to take some decent point-and-shoot type pics while diving. The problem, however, is that by using just a housing you still depend on using the camera's internal flash, which (a) is weak for underwater use, (b) unavoidably causes "backscatter" in the image (for basically the same reason that it causes red-eye), and (c) is often poorly positioned for macro shots. So anyone who wants to get decent underwater images with one of these setups has to start thinking about an external strobe flash. The task is finding one that matches the rest of the equipment in terms of price range and performance. IMO it makes no sense to take a $200-$300 camera, put it in a $175 housing, and then spend $600 or more on a flash unit that you'll use only when diving, which may not be very often(in contrast, a $600+ strobe would make perfect sense if you're using a $1,500 DSLR in an $800 Ikelite housing and you're diving every week). I think the better economic "balance" for what I'm talking about would be in a flash that's in the $300-$400 range, inclusive of what you need to mount it to the camera -- the tray and arm and, if needed, fiber optic sync cord (a cord that runs from the camera's flash window to the external strobe, triggering the strobe when the camera's internal flash is triggered). This is what I'm asking about here. Anyone have any experience with choosing an external strobe in this situation?
I've been looking at the relatively new <a href="http://www.opticsplanet.net/sealife-sl960d-reefmaster.html">Sealife 960D</a>, which at $300 is pretty inexpensive considering it includes tray, arm, fiber optic cable and strobe. It's cheaper than the <a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=373301&is=REG&addedTroughType=search">Sea&Sea YS-15</a>, which is $389 at B&H for the same kind of package. Fantasea sells the <a href="http://fantasea.com/ssl/prod_det.asp?id=109">Epoque ES 230</a> for use with the CP-4 housing, but it's $365 for just the flash unit, so add $$ for the tray, arm, etc. The Sunpak-G flash, in contrast, is $199 for a similar package at <a href="http://www.underwaterphotography.com/store/app/f.asp?P=18454">underwaterphotography.com</a>. That's quite a big price difference. But the Sunpak-G apparently doesn't use a fiber optic sync cord. Instead it apparently just "senses" the triggering of the camera's internal flash and fires at (more or less) the same time. Does this really work in a reliable way? It'd be great to spend $200 instead of $300 or more and still get decent performance, but if performance is lousy then the $200 would just be a waste. My budget limits me to the kinds of units mentioned here.
Anyone have experience with this stuff? Any recommendations among the units mentioned here, or for other units not mentioned? Right now I'm inclined to go with the Sealife 960D, just because it seems to put it all together in a decently priced package.
BTW, I've also posted this on a scuba board devoted to u/w photography, but it doesn't get much traffic, at least not among people who have an interest in this particular subject. I don't really expect that too many people here will be interested either, but I figured I'd give it a shot.
I've been looking at the relatively new <a href="http://www.opticsplanet.net/sealife-sl960d-reefmaster.html">Sealife 960D</a>, which at $300 is pretty inexpensive considering it includes tray, arm, fiber optic cable and strobe. It's cheaper than the <a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=373301&is=REG&addedTroughType=search">Sea&Sea YS-15</a>, which is $389 at B&H for the same kind of package. Fantasea sells the <a href="http://fantasea.com/ssl/prod_det.asp?id=109">Epoque ES 230</a> for use with the CP-4 housing, but it's $365 for just the flash unit, so add $$ for the tray, arm, etc. The Sunpak-G flash, in contrast, is $199 for a similar package at <a href="http://www.underwaterphotography.com/store/app/f.asp?P=18454">underwaterphotography.com</a>. That's quite a big price difference. But the Sunpak-G apparently doesn't use a fiber optic sync cord. Instead it apparently just "senses" the triggering of the camera's internal flash and fires at (more or less) the same time. Does this really work in a reliable way? It'd be great to spend $200 instead of $300 or more and still get decent performance, but if performance is lousy then the $200 would just be a waste. My budget limits me to the kinds of units mentioned here.
Anyone have experience with this stuff? Any recommendations among the units mentioned here, or for other units not mentioned? Right now I'm inclined to go with the Sealife 960D, just because it seems to put it all together in a decently priced package.
BTW, I've also posted this on a scuba board devoted to u/w photography, but it doesn't get much traffic, at least not among people who have an interest in this particular subject. I don't really expect that too many people here will be interested either, but I figured I'd give it a shot.