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Good evening. I have an issue with my new photography gear. I'll explain it here written but I also made a video for those who prefer not to read. The whole setup is new and the batteries are charged. I'm using a Canon RP in a Nimar housing. I have a flash trigger sitting in the hot shoe (battery is new as far as I know). I had to stick the LED to the optical bulkhead but I made sure that the LED sits right in the middle of it. The optical bulkhead was already installed by Nimar. It was delivered with a small adapter to put two cables at the same time. I am using new Inon fiber optic cables and 2 Inon Z330 strobes. Here is what I tested (and documented in the video): When the shutter is actuated the LED Flash sync works every single time, a quick red light is emitted. (I confirmed with Nimar that the LED is indeed red and it's not a sign of low battery or similar). When I hold the strobe about 10 cm close to the optical bulkhead this little LED is strong enough to trigger it. I did this to make sure that the camera & strobe are in the right mode to fire. Both strobes work with this test. When I connect the fiber optic cables to the bulkhead and look at the ends, I can see the red light every time I click the shutter. I assume that with these steps I show that the camera, the flash sync, the cables and the strobes all reliably work. Now that I put everything together the strobes don't fire. My assumption is that the cables don't carry enough light to trigger the strobes? They seem clean and are original cables, so I assume good quality. Do I need to cut the tip off or something? I used them like I got them. They don't have any kinks or other visible issues. Any recommendations on how to proceed? Do my tests clearly define the cables as the problem or did I miss something? Is there a way to adjust the sensitivity of the light sensor of the strobes? Here is the link to the video: Thanks in advance for any help. Patric

hi guys, Reading at the issues experienced by others on some Inon Z240 type IV strobes, i was glad not to have experienced any problem with my 2 strobes bought in 2011. However during today's dive i noticed straight away that my left strobe wasn't producing as much light as the right one I trigger these strobes in manual mode both on same power, using Nauticam fiber optics, Nauticam housing on Nikon D500. I've done a number of tests after rincing the housing on dry land: -swapped the fiber optics, no change -changed the flash output settings, i.e. starting with both at EV-2 and then EV-4 -> my left strobe still was noticeably less powerful -and of course, i had made sure each time the pre-flash button was fully engaged To make sure i wasn't getting tricked by what i was shootting at, i just aimed my camera to a white wall, shot subsequently with left and then right flash, could clearly see the shift in the histograms/ This looks like my left strobe has just become overall less powerful, very strange! I had just changed batteries before that dive so i am wondering if it could explain the problem, but i do wait for the strobe's red ready light to turn on before i shoot. My question to the community: does anyone know what could be the cause of my issue? Any way to fix it myself? If it requires repair, does anyone have an idea of how long and how costly such a repair can be (i am in Sydney, Australia). thanks and merry Xmas to all! Nicolas

Hi, I just got a Nikon d7100 with an Ikelite housing and a ds-160 strobe. So a newbie and might well be missing something obvious! I can't get the strobe to synch. In TTL, the strobe fires but not when the shutter is open so I get lots of dark pictures. In manual, every 5 strobe flashes and ~40-50 shots the two coincide and I get a lit picture. Is it the synch cord that is not working properly or do I need to set my camera to some special settings? Thanks! Giulia

Hello all, This is one of my first posts, and not for the best reasons, I'm afraid. I have a Black Subtronic Nova with a I 06 version of Heinrichs Weikamp ttl converter built inside. Bought it from E-Bay around 2013 and always happy with it. Used on a Nikon D70 and later on a D7100 which I'm using right now. Strange as it seems, the ttl worked flawlessly on the two cameras until I sent the unit to repair. On January this year the strobe had a problem and didn't fire anymore. I was in Gili Trawangan, North Lombok, Indonesia. Opened the unit to see if something could be done, and it smelled burnt on the inside. Took pictures, mailed Subtronic and decided to send it to repair in Germany. That cost me close do 200 USD through DHL, but I needed it and could not find a replacement. On 27th February it was sent back. It was really fast repair. I payed 405 euros, including shipping. I had it sent to Singapore since I needed to go there anyway, and I would be easier with customs. (Where I payed 60 SGD more). That was expensive but I really had no option. Collected it tested it alone and it fired. I thought it was all right. Then, returned back to Indonesia and on 10th April (after buying a second, refurbished unit from Subtronic) when I did a test before diving, with the strobe attached to the housing, there was no TTL anymore (nor manual, on the digital entrance). E-mailed Subtronic, who stated that the TTL unit was working when they tested in there. Now the sad/funny part begins: -They were trying to make me believe the TTL version could not work with Nikon D7100! It worked before, hundreds of times! -Then they tried to make me believe it was bulkhead or cable failure, stating that it if a single connection was not good, the digital entrance wouldn't work at all, even on manual. That was not true also, since my previous Nauticam bulkhead had a pin broken from using Sea and Sea cables, and the digital entrance worked with that (just not in TTL). So now I have a pair of Subtronic Novas, with no TTL, I'm on Labuan Bajo, close to Komodo, and Subtronic doesn't assume the problem!!!! They lied to me regarding the way ttl worked, they lied me regarding cable connection, just not to mention that there was no other option than the ttl was burnt when my strobe was there for repair. Next time (there will be no next time for me anyway), that something from Subtronic cease working, better to buy something new from other brand. Just to let you know. P.S. - I have bills, mails and photos to support everything I'm stating.

Unfortunately one of my Inon Z240 is acting up, and this just a week from my trip to the Philippines. It seems not be working in manual or full mode - it fires but seems to be stuck at the same low output regardless what the output dial is set to. The magnet is in, so ACC should be off. When in STTL-LOW it seems to work, the output changes depending on the camera's flash power. I know there has been some issues reported with the magnet being corroded on the Z240s, so I removed the push button to have a look. The magnet seemed OK - didn't see any obvious corrosion - but it was loose and not attached to the button. Very well, attached it yesterday and retried – same issue. Since I have another Z240 that is working, I tried to switch the push buttons just to see if that made any difference. Unfortunately the issue remains. The second Z240, which was was working fine before, is still working with the other Z240s push button/magnet in place. Some quick facts: * Olympus OMD EM-5 * Nauticam housing * Optical flash trigger, use the OMDs flash to trigger (set to manual, as low as possible) Not sure what else to do, is shipping for service the only option left? I'm going to Hong Kong just before my Philippines trip staying for a few days, does anyone know of a Inon service center that might have a look in-house? Many thanks!

Current on vacation in the Philippines, and unfortunately it seems to be one of those trips where everything breaks down. Just before leaving one of my Inon Z240 stopped working and now my Sola Photo 1200 seems to have joined that unfortunate club. This is what happened. Two days ago I left the Sola to charge overnight. Not sure if this is relevant, but at some point I could see red or possibly orange lights blink rapidly in the corner of my eye. At that time I didn't think much of it as I was preparing for a night dive. Once the Sola was attached to the arm I tried it out - not working. It ended with me renting a light from the dive shop. Once back I started troubleshooting, and unfortunately the Sola seems to have gone completely dead. I've done some researching on this and other forums and I've tried the following: 1. It's not in locked mode (holding the slider in unlock position more than 4+ seconds makes no difference) 2. With the charger plugged in the wall, I've tried to rapidly tap the charger's contacts against the light's charging contacts 3. With the charger connected to the light, trying to plug/unplug the charger to the wall. 4. Tried another Sola charger Nothing seems to make any difference. None of the above make the indication lights go on. Any other ideas, or is this the end of my Sola?