Background:

After spending two weeks at Wakatobi (see http://echeng.com/travel/wakatobi/) shooting with my Olympus C-5050z/PT-015 and the onboard flash, I realized my shots were very limited without a strobe. While many of my macro or closer shots came out nicely, anything further than about 2 feet went blue/green. This had to change for the next trip.

After some research and expert advice (thanks Eric : ), I purchased an Inon Z-220 strobe. Aside from its small size, light weight and wide, powerful coverage, I was also psyched about the focus light and aiming laser. However, upon unpacking it and reading the manuals I was disappointed to find out that the 5050 wouldn't enable these functions. Interestingly, the strobe does have an optical sensor that will enable both functions on half button pushes of other cameras. I saw this as a challenge.

Solution:

I knew that my Oly 5050 lit the focus LED in dark situations and wondered if I could mount a fiber optic cable to route this light from the camera's LED to the strobe's optical sensor to activate the focus light and laser. I figured that if I could fashion some kind of mount that would hold the fiber optic cable in place directly in front of the LED, I could leverage this camera feature and “fool” the strobe into turning on the focus light and laser. A few minutes devoted to a simple “back of the napkin” design and I was off to my neighborhood Fry's and TAP plastics for parts and raw materials.

PHOTO: back of napkin design

Materials:

I figured that I didn't need much other than the following materials:

•  Thick piece of acrylic (for mount)

•  2' of fiber optic cable

•  Rubber washer or fitting to secure fiber on the strobe's optic sensor

•  Some type of adhesive suitable for water

The Process:

1. Using various attachments and my Dremel, cut/routed/drilled a piece of acrylic to replace the flash diffuser on the PT-015 and extend above the lens to cover the LED. I unscrewed and used the current diffuser as a stencil for one half of the mount.

PHOTO: Removed plastic diffuser

1. I wanted to use thick acrylic in order to provide for a robust mount for the fiber cable (versus a flimsy piece of plastic) as well as counter sink the acrylic on the current diffuser mounts to get the end of the fiber cable as close to the housing and LED as possible. I was concerned if the fiber wasn't close enough it might not pick up and transmit sufficient light for this to work. (I was pleasantly surprised, read on).

PHOTO: Housing with the diffuser removed

1. After tracing my pattern, I covered myself in plastic shavings while cutting, routing and sanding the new mount. I used black plastic in order to block the camera's internal flash to cut back on backscatter. (Perhaps I should have made this out of a translucent white to act as a diffuser. Better photographers than I would know best.)

PHOTO: Operating Theater


PHOTO: Tracing the diffuser


PHOTO: New double-sided mount/blocker


PHOTO: Comparing the diffuser and the new mount

1. Since the fiber optic cable I purchased had a brass fitting that was small enough to slip through the Z-220's optic sensor cap, I cut my own washer out of a flexible rubber cap. I'm sure the correctly sized rubber washer would work fine as well.

PHOTO: cut rubber end cap


PHOTO: assembled


PHOTO: inside view

1. I then mounted my new flash blocker/fiber mount onto the PT-015 to ensure the correct countersink on the mounts and to mark where the LED hit for drilling.
   

PHOTO: Checking the mount for fit


PHOTO: Mount after being marked and drilled

1. After drilling out the correct size hole for the fiber to fit through I threaded it and double-checked that the LED was shining directly into the fiber. I didn't secure it at this point, but in the future will secure it with silicone.

PHOTO: fitting the fiber in the mount


PHOTO: back view

Testing:

1. I fit the fiber into the new mount and the other end onto the strobe to test my creation. While it worked nicely out of the gate, I found the LED was bright enough to trigger the strobe to flash. Backing the fiber farther away from the housing fixed this. I also found out that half shutter release presses are difficult, although I anticipate that I'll get better at it with practice.

PHOTO: Assembled fiber


PHOTO: It works!

Mount Details :

As you can see from the following photos, the mount required quite a bit of routing and cutting in order countersink it around the diffuser mounts on the housing. Also, since the acrylic is so thick and the mount screws are short, I countersunk the screws into each mounting hole as well. You will notice I also roughed up the back of the mount with the Dremel. My intention was to make this non-reflective just in case other people's flash might reflect off the mount and cause your Z-220 to fire. I think this was probably overkill and it looks kind of shabby. I won't bother if I make another one.

PHOTO: Reverse


PHOTO: Top


PHOTO: Bottom


PHOTO: Back

Disclaimer :

I have not yet tested this underwater, although I think the only adjustment required may be the distance between the fiber and the LED due to greater light diffusion underwater.

While this first one took a few hours to make, this solution was quite inexpensive with parts about $12. I hope this is helpful to others interested in getting their Z-220 to function well with your C-5050. I'm happy to share these plans with other Wetpixel folks including details such as sizes of drill bits, which Dremel attachments I used, acrylic, etc. And if enough people are interested but don't want to bother making it themselves, I could make a bunch and sell them as kits.

I'm interested in others' thoughts on this idea and design. Please leave a comment below!

Dave Patchen