7 replies to this topic

[divedoc]

Having broken the bank getting a Sea and Sea housing for my D60, can anyone give me advice on the advantages of one strobe over two. This is my first foray into housed digital SLR so I apologize if this is a silly question.

[davephdv]

Two, gives you much better creative control. If the shot calls for 1 strobe just turn one off. Can't do the opposite.

[NitroLiq]

Hmmm...what type of situation would you use one as opposed to two? Just curious.

[Alex_Mustard]

When you can't afford two!

I, like many of you, use 2 strobes. But I do you one strobe (SB80DX) with my D100 and don't find it a drawback for standard lighting (e.g. in fish photography). However as soon as you want to get creative, or want to light difficult wide angle scenes I think two are better.

One strobe can be useful when you are working with fast swimming pelagics (cetaceans, whale sharks etc) so that your rig is more streamlined so you can swim faster.

Alex

[scorpio_fish]

There are different schools of thought on number of strobes:

One Strobe:

1) Allows more creative control. (Sure, you can turn one off)

2) Forces you to learn how to aim the strobe better.

3) Smaller rig

4) Can actually get better lighting effect with wide angle if your strobe can cover the angle of your wide angle lens. E.g. verticals.

5) Takes far less time to adjust aim on one strobe versus two.

Two Strobes:

1) "There's not much light down there. Take as much as you can carry." I've done quite a few fish portraits at f/22 with a macro lens from the limits of strobe distance, needing a full dump on both strobes.

2) No annoying shadows.

3) Easier to deploy strobes wide and still cover the scene, especially when there is junk in the water.

4) You can get a little sloppy with strobe aim and get away with it. (yeh, yeh, yeh, what kind of rationale is that? Not much of a purist.)

I carry two. I've had to use one on occassion when one strobe has failed. It didn't hinder me that much. You can take lousy photos with one strobe much easier with two strobes.

[divedoc]

Great stuff.
Thanks!!

[marscuba]

My purchasing advise would be to buy one strobe first, become familiar with it, then buy a second.

If you have the money, buy both at the same time, but

But familiarizing yourself with the equipment is the name of the game. Often we as uw photographers start throwing money and think that better equipment will let us get good photos.

In fact, technique and vision are much more important than gear...

Start by using just the camera and housing with available light and see what kind of results you get. Then add a single strobe. Then two.

Let us know the results.

[marscuba]

My sentence was cut off. I mean to say:

If you have money, buy both at the same time, but it sounds like you are already broke from buying just the housing.

Also, what is your budget for the strobe(s)?