58 replies to this topic

[improv]

I have some of those Ike extensions. They have Ike connectors, opposite sexed ends so they can be added together. Ike at one time and may still make a PC to Ike strobe cord. This is for using Ike strobes on topside cameras. One could make a DIY one that went the other way by sacrificing an Ike strobe to bulkhead cord (preferably one that is already no good such as one with bent NV pins). Cut off the camera end plug and solder on the appropriate cord to your topside strobes. You will also need an Ike to whatever bulkhead your housing is set up with cord for the other end.

Indeed, I found an ike to PC sync cable on Ebay, but they describe the cable as a 2-pin cable.....would that be forward compatible with my modern ikelite which is a 5-pin cable? Please know that for my topland strobes, I do not expect ttl operation. Pocket Wizard sells a PC female to miniphone (1/8") connector, so if the 2-pin will connect to the 5-pin, I'm in business. Anyone know if the two are compatible?

here's the cable:

http://cgi.ebay.com/...sid=p2759.l1259

Thanks all!!

MP

Edited by improv, 06 January 2010 - 03:05 PM.

[Tom_Kline]

That is the cord I was referring to in the earlier post. One only needs two wires to trigger the flash. The other wires are for TTL etc., which will not be used as they will not be connected. Most older cameras had a PC outlet, thus this is the 'least common denominator' approach.

Keep in mind the 'sex' of this Ike connector, it fits the strobe. The extension cords have the same sex as this on one end and the opposite sex on the other end. This is quite different from others like S6 connectors that are the same sex on each end so can't be extended.

[improv]

That is the cord I was referring to in the earlier post. One only needs two wires to trigger the flash. The other wires are for TTL etc., which will not be used as they will not be connected. Most older cameras had a PC outlet, thus this is the 'least common denominator' approach.

Keep in mind the 'sex' of this Ike connector, it fits the strobe. The extension cords have the same sex as this on one end and the opposite sex on the other end. This is quite different from others like S6 connectors that are the same sex on each end so can't be extended.

crud.....I need the very end of my cable to terminate in the PC sync so I can then use it in my studio strobe....this will do me no good at all...unless Ikelite has a gender changer connector. Is that connector type proprietary? I'm guessing that it is.

MP

[Tom_Kline]

crud.....I need the very end of my cable to terminate in the PC sync so I can then use it in my studio strobe....this will do me no good at all...unless Ikelite has a gender changer connector. Is that connector type proprietary? I'm guessing that it is.

MP

gender changer connector - there are Ike-Ike cables, or you might buy the Ike extension cable cut off the wrong end and attach your synch cable there

connector type proprietary - one can buy bulkheads and DIY

[loftus]

crud.....I need the very end of my cable to terminate in the PC sync so I can then use it in my studio strobe....this will do me no good at all...unless Ikelite has a gender changer connector. Is that connector type proprietary? I'm guessing that it is.

MP

Again, contact Ryan at Reef Photo. He will make you a Ike / Nikonos/ or whatever to PC Connector

[james]

I second what Jeff said. The "elegant" way would be to have Ryan or the folks at Reef Photo make one for you. It would have a nice water "resistant" PC connector to connect to your studio flash.

Otherwise, just buy a long Ike cable (they come in 30' length I believe) and cut the end off. Find out which two wires are "fire" and "ground" and connect them to a $2 PC cord.

James

[improv]

Hehe....elegant is nice....but on the other hand, so is $2

Actually, Ryan said that he can make me one...whoo hoo!!

Thanks all!

MP

[DanBolt]

A little update... I've got my 20m of fibre optic cable & there's no problem with light-transmission from my camera's flash to the YS110a's sensor :-) It's fires every time - sweet.

Now I just need to make up the 'plugs' for each end & I'll be off into the brown, cold stuff that we call the sea in UK during the winter.

[DanBolt]

Finally got it all working; so I now have 2x10m fibre optic sync cables for my YS110a's.

There are pros and cons to having to deal with all that cable underwater, but it's only 2mm wide so should be easy to keep out of the shot. However that's probably worth the hassle to get a 100% sucessful fring rate. And because I'm not relying on an exposed flash to trigger them through the water column I don't have to worry about backscatter from the master strobe - which is nice

for info; here's what I've come up with:

The 'plug'end to fit in the YS110a


The plug fitted


Proof that the 10m cable is working (works with my Ixus 100, DX-1G and Canon 1000D)!


Now I just need the weather & sea to calm down a bit

[improv]

Woohoo!! I just test fired my new lighting setup successfully. I have an Ikelite ttl to two strobe splitter, with one going to my on-camera DS-51 and the other connected to an extension cable going to an Alien Bees strobe for topland firing. It works very nicely. My extension cable is made up of two 15' Ikelite cables....for testing, I simply inserted the ground and the trigger wire of my 1/8" mini cable into the corresponding spots on the ikelite cable. Now to make it more permanent, I have to cut into my $85 Ikelite cable <sniff> and do a continuity check to see which wire is which and come up with a nice, durable connection for the audio cable. It doesn't have to be exactly water proof on this connection, since I will anchor it off in the dry, but it should have some sort of strain relief on it. I'll keep the board posted with my results.

I found this, which was very helpful:

http://www.ikelite.c...ring.html#howto

It would be nice to know what colors the wires are that are the trigger and the ground.....anyone know? Of course, the continuity check will verify which is which. Anyone have any tips for making a good, solid, durable connection of the two wires?

Thanks all!

MP

[oskar]

Finally got it all working; so I now have 2x10m fibre optic sync cables for my YS110a's.

There are pros and cons to having to deal with all that cable underwater, but it's only 2mm wide so should be easy to keep out of the shot. However that's probably worth the hassle to get a 100% sucessful fring rate. And because I'm not relying on an exposed flash to trigger them through the water column I don't have to worry about backscatter from the master strobe - which is nice

for info; here's what I've come up with:

The 'plug'end to fit in the YS110a

Beautiful piece of engineering there! I'm going to try that setup too, I also have the YS110 (not alpha) and DX-1G.

So you just cut that plug out of some plastic and drilled a hole for the fibre?

Cheers
/O

[improv]

Here's what I came up with to fire my topland strobes. Just a couple of pin connectors from Radio Shack fit nicely into my ikelite cable, which I do not have to cut into. Tested at home and it works great. I can't wait to do some further testing at the pool. Thanks for all the help and ideas to get this done. Oh yeah, it cost me about $8 in tape and the pin connectors .

MP

Attached Images

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[Alex_Mustard]

Been testing my new slave strobe triggers here in Cayman - 100% firing for me through the trip. Impervious to ambient light levels underwater (tested at 2m below surface under tropical sun) and work as far away as I could be bothered to test - to the point where the off camera light can hardly be seen:



This strobe (by the seafan) was triggered by on camera strobe on very low power (note - no sign of it in the foreground).

I'll post more details after week 2 of my workshop here in Cayman. It is a busy week - still have a million (well it feels like that) emails to answer.

Alex

[improv]

These new lights look like they're going to open up a whole new level of creativity for you Alex. I can't wait to see some more pics. Sorry I've tried to hijack this thread.

MP

[oskar]

Been testing my new slave strobe triggers here in Cayman - 100% firing for me through the trip. Impervious to ambient light levels underwater (tested at 2m below surface under tropical sun) and work as far away as I could be bothered to test - to the point where the off camera light can hardly be seen:



This strobe (by the seafan) was triggered by on camera strobe on very low power (note - no sign of it in the foreground).

I'll post more details after week 2 of my workshop here in Cayman. It is a busy week - still have a million (well it feels like that) emails to answer.

Alex

nice! Is that the new UW-firefly trigger?, and if so did you build the housing for them yourself? They quoted me a price on the naked circuit board which would require that a separate housing to be built...

Cheers
/O

[oskar]

Pardon my reiteration of this question, but I don't remember if this thread continued elsewhere. I'd be greatful if somone then could point me out where, thanks.

Otherwise, did you get these good results with the modified Firefly trigger Alex? And how did you find their characteristics, is it necessary to point the sensor directly towards the master flash, and how did you find the snsitivity of the firely? (Of course anyone elses experience with the firefly would be greatly appreciated )

Cheers
/O

nice! Is that the new UW-firefly trigger?, and if so did you build the housing for them yourself? They quoted me a price on the naked circuit board which would require that a separate housing to be built...

Cheers
/O

[Alex_Mustard]

You can read an article in the current UWP Magazine! Issue 57:
http://www.uwpmag.com/download.html

Alex

[oskar]

I have to make a choice of slave trigger models, either

a) they can have adaptive pre-flash suppression or
b) no pre-flash functionality, just direct trigger on a detected flash


I am guessing I would be better off with the somewhat cheaper solution b). My reasoning is: As the remote slave will be triggered by an external flash connected to the camera, I will most probably use the manual mode on the external flash anyway, and that will suppress any camera pre-flashes. Also i am guessing that if i would be using the eTTL mode, it is likely that the trigger misses a weak pre-flash and thus does not fire at all.

Is this reasonable thinking, or is there any other argument for that i should use option a). With option b) i probably can't use the trigger directly with the camera topside at all


Cheers
Oskar

[uwdiy]

Hi Alex:
Nice pictures! For years I have been using slave strobes off camera in caves and most of the equipment I use are build by me. I can help you build slaves or modify your strobes in order to make your life easier )
Pedro Dorta