thegrandpoohbah

Yes, using manual mode so I can dial the flash exposure down to -3.0 EV in order to conserve battery life.

I'm in Canada and am looking for those too. So far all I can find are the cheap made in China ones off of Amazon.

That's kind of what I am thinking. I am still a new diver so anything I can do to remove variables from the photography will be a good thing at this point. I will try just dialing the strobe power up and down for the first dive and see how close that gets me to my desired exposure and then I can always tweek it from there as needed. I am comfortable enough with the exposure triangle that I don't have any issues shooting manual above water but I don't typically use flash so that does add another element here. And you are correct, I was probably too far away in my test shots as I would typically be much closer to the subject in the water.

Thanks, the flash is on manual. I was just reading the top half of the dial. The bottom f-stop markings don't really make sense to me since they don't actually correspond to my actual camera settings so I am just choosing to ignore it for now.

Ok guys, I have a trip booked to Cuba January 17-29 and this will be my first dive outing with flash photography. The set-up is a Sony RX100VA with a single YS-D2J and a Big Blue Black Molly 3 video light. Up until now I have just shot with ambient light typically using aperture or shutter priority. I intend to go with full manual control on this trip and my starting settings are as follows: f/4, 1/250 sec and ISO 100. So far with my limited above water testing with the camera's flash exposure compensation turned down to -3.0 EV I need to have the strobe's dial turned up to +1.0 EV to properly expose a wide angle shot. My understanding is that underwater the shutter speed will control the ambient light so a faster shutter speed will result in a darker backgorund and vice versa. So to control the subject exposure am I just using the strobe's EV dial? If so it doesn't seem like I have that much range to work with or is that just because I haven't used it in the water yet and I'm overthinking it?

Used Canon S95 for sale with a Canon WP-DC38 housing, Ultralight TR-D tray and handle and generic arms and clamps. The camera is in good used condition, comes with one battery and charger. I can include some older memory cards if you need. There are a couple of dead pixels, that's how it came from the factory but I never bothered sending it back. Not an issue shooting photos but they do show up in videos. The housing is in good condition, has been used but has never flooded. Some scuffs on the plastic parts as you would expect but the glass is in good shape. The Ultralight tray and handle are brand new. Bought from Bluewater photo a few weeks ago but then went in a different direction. The arms and clamps are generic made in China stuff that came off Amazon, also brand new. The clamps are actually really nice quality, the arms are fine but the finish is a little rougher. 6" double ball arm and a 3" ball to YS mount. Just add a strobe of your choice and you have a nice inexpensive and light little kit. Asking $250 USD shipped via Canada Post to anywhere in Canada or the USA. Please send me your postal/ZIP code as I will need to check and make sure postage won't cost me an arm and a leg. Thanks for looking.

This. The pre-flash is too fast for you to differentiate it from the main flash. I have a YS-D2J and I can confirm it works with pre-flash because it will not expose a shot properly if you switch the strobe to the manual non pre-flash mode.

I have the same camera. You can't dial down the flash exposure compensation to -3.0 in TTL or your pictures come out too dark. You will need to shoot in manual mode with manual strobe control to get the most out of the set-up.

Got the valve today and have done a dry test. Will be heading to Cuba in a month to get the new set-up wet for the first time!

"Maximum" with a CP filter is going to be relative depending on the angle of the sun. You will need to be able to rotate it as that angle changes.

Well, that is my experience so far using the Canon S95 in the Canon polycarbonate housing. If I don't add a couple of small desiccant packs in there more often than not I end up with fogging inside the housing. And that's with me prepping the camera in an air conidtioned hotel room. That has happened to me in Hawaii, Mexico, Grand Cayman and the Bahamas.

Just got a new YS-D2J and it says made in Japan right on the top.

A couple of boxes of goodies arrived today. Thought I'd share what I ended up with.

Ok,I will be ordering one today. A follow up question. I usually stuff a bunch of desiccant packs in my Canon housing when I dive as I am typically in tropical countries with lots of humidity. With the Nauticam housing is that necessary anymore if I have pumped all the air out? Thanks in advance.

Awesome. Thanks for the info everyone.