Heinrich Weikamp

[TimG 62]

Hey guys

 

Having just upgraded to Inon 240 Type 4s, I have taken the plunge and bought the Heinrich Weikamp for my NikonD300/Subal ND30. I'd welcome a bit of advice please as Herr Weikamp's instruction manual is not huge on detail.....

 

Connections seem straightforward. But what about the settings on the Inons? Do you use the Full Power setting, one of the TTL settings, or the manual variable power? Then I assume you vary the power through the camera's EV settings and leave the strobes alone.

 

I'm assuming the system works better for macro rather than WA. Is it possible to turn the HW off underwater and revert to manual settings - say for a specific WA shot? I can't see anything in the manual about this.

 

I can see this is going to give me hours of fun......

 

Thanks lads!

[Tigershark 0]

Hey guys

 

Having just upgraded to Inon 240 Type 4s, I have taken the plunge and bought the Heinrich Weikamp for my NikonD300/Subal ND30. I'd welcome a bit of advice please as Herr Weikamp's instruction manual is not huge on detail.....

 

Connections seem straightforward. But what about the settings on the Inons? Do you use the Full Power setting, one of the TTL settings, or the manual variable power? Then I assume you vary the power through the camera's EV settings and leave the strobes alone.

 

I'm assuming the system works better for macro rather than WA. Is it possible to turn the HW off underwater and revert to manual settings - say for a specific WA shot? I can't see anything in the manual about this.

 

I can see this is going to give me hours of fun......

 

Thanks lads!

 

Hi TimG,

 

I use the same housing with the HeinrichsWeikamp External Converter (I think you use the external converter also)

 

This is the settings I use:

 

i-TTL - (Inon) ON/OFF knob - S-TTL position/Adjust power knob - Any position/Advanced Cancel Circuit - Push in

 

Manual - (Inon) ON/OFF knob - M position and ajust power knob to the power I want

- FULL and power knob - Any position

I change from i-TTL to Manual with a ring magnet (Manual mode with the ring magnet on the external converter)

 

I hope this help you.

 

Best regards,

Tigershark

[TimG 62]

Many thanks indeed. That's really helpful.

 

Ring magnet? I had a recollection from somewhere that there was a way of switching the HW to manual using a magnet. There is no mention of it in the manual. How do you do it? What do you use??

 

Guests who have visited us who have used them say they are very effective on macro. Maybe less so on WA?

 

Thanks so much for the help.

[Tigershark 0]

Hi TimG,

 

I only use i-TTL on macro shots, never with WA. I think the i-TTL is very good in the great number of macro shots, but if you like work with the light forget it.

 

You can see information about the magnet in the HeinrichsWeikamp handbook for Nikon, page 13 (One way for change from i-TTL to Manual).

The HeinrichsWeikamp provide the magnet.

 

http://www.heinrichsweikamp.net/blitz/en/index.htm

 

A - Ring Magnet

 

 

B - In Place for Manual

 

 

C - Out of Place for i-TTL

 

 

Best regards,

Tigershark

Edited July 8, 2009 by Tigershark

[MikeVeitch 0]

Tim.... i will give you a discount on classes

[eyu 27]

Tim,

 

I use the Sea & Sea TTL (that incorporates a Heinrich), it allows +/- 1 f stop adjustment and manual mode by turning a dial. Also the battery lasts for about 200 dives and it has been bullet proof (knock on wood).

 

Elmer

Edited July 8, 2009 by eyu

[TimG 62]

Mike: offer graciously accepted. Besides, you owe me a beer. I'll call you next week - out of town at the moment.

 

Elmer and TigerShark: thanks a lot guys. Very helpful. I've got to look at the package again. I sure can't see anything that resembles a ring magnet!

[simonmittag 0]

Mike: offer graciously accepted. Besides, you owe me a beer. I'll call you next week - out of town at the moment.

 

Elmer and TigerShark: thanks a lot guys. Very helpful. I've got to look at the package again. I sure can't see anything that resembles a ring magnet!

 

Tim,

 

did you find your magnet? I'm in the same situation. I don't think my package included one, first time see that piece in the photo.

 

Cheers,

 

Simon

[Hamish Morrison 0]

Pretty sure they are not part of the package. I know I didn't get one!

 

Hamish.

[TimG 62]

Nope, I sure didn't get one either. I contacted my supplier, Ryan at Reef Photo in FL, who said this happened often. He kindly said he'd get one to me.

[divegypsy 23]

Hi Tim,

 

If you read the HW manual carefully, you will see that depending on the DIP switch position of switch #8, you can have i-TTL on both front and rear curtain sync. Or is the switch in in the "0" position, changing to rear curtain sync on the D300 will change the HW from i-TTL to variable manual outputs. The change from front curtain to rear curtain sync is accomplished on the D300 by holding down the FLASH COMPENSATION control button and turning the rear input dial. If your housing had a control for this button, you can change from front to rear curtain sync underwater without having to mess with ring magnets or similar gadgets.

 

BE SURE NOT to have the camera set on "red eye" reduction or the i-TTL doesn't work at all. Discovered this by trial and error.

 

I finally got my new housing's bulkhead fittings and hot shoes installed last night and tried a first couple shots with the HW. So far promising results. But only had time to try a couple shots with the 105mm macro. Reasonable consistency of exposures from about f5.6 to f32 on the small close subject I used. Also reasonable consistency with either one or two strobes.

 

Will have much more time to play when I get to KBR in two weeks.

 

Fred

[TimG 62]

Hey Fred!

 

Thanks so much for that. I've just tested out the Rear curtain setting with the HW. Yippee! It did the business for me on Angel's Window which is a cracking WA dive site to the north of the Lembeh Straits as you will discover. You are obviously much better at reading technical translations from German than I am......

 

I just need to figure out now how to vary the balance between the two strobes.

 

I think you will find KBR is the IDEAL place to play with all this. Pack your 60mm too. 105mm is brilliant for Pygmy Sea Horses (PSHs) but can be too big for, say, Ghost Pipefish. I was on a site yesterday which had 5 in the space of 75cms!

 

If I can do anything for you before you arrive, just PM me.

 

Best wishes

[divegypsy 23]

Tim,

 

I didn't translate a thing. The english version of the instructions is available for download on the HW website.

 

And by now I've been to KBR and Kasawari-Lembeh for a few days of diving with each. And gotten some experience with the HW converter myself. In combination with my Hartenberger 250 strobes. And with decent results for macro shots and fill flash shots. A few are attached.

 

Fred

[dhowie01 0]

Dear fred

So this is you. i can tell by the photos.

Great lighting

All teh best

Don

 

Tim,

 

I didn't translate a thing. The english version of the instructions is available for download on the HW website.

 

And by now I've been to KBR and Kasawari-Lembeh for a few days of diving with each. And gotten some experience with the HW converter myself. In combination with my Hartenberger 250 strobes. And with decent results for macro shots and fill flash shots. A few are attached.

 

Fred

[Drew 0]

Too bad Heinrich Weikamp have stopped making the external converters. Apparently the battery and overall reliability is more trouble than its worth. Mine just died.

[divegypsy 23]

Drew,

 

If your HW has failed electronically and not due to any water leak I will buy it for the spare parts for $50.

 

Fred

[divegypsy 23]

Drew,

 

A couple thoughts on your comments concerning why Heinrichs Weikamp may have stopped selling their external i-TTL converter. Their decision may have nothing to do with the lack of reliability you cite. Did HW tell you themselves that “lack of reliability” was the reason they were no longer selling the external converter? Do you have any accurate data on what percentage of the converters are failing electronically?

 

Or is this “lack of reliability” comment derogatory speculation because your own converter has failed?

 

It is very possible that HW, as an engineering firm, does not want to continue direct sales to the general public with all the headaches that involoves. And having proved that their product works, prefers to license their technology and patents to other flash manufacturers to sell with the strobes they make. And HW will receive a commission on every sale there companies make.

 

This is what Sea&Sea has already done. And what Inon, Hartenberger, Subtronic will have to do in order to continue to use the HW solution.

 

I have used my first and only HW converter on approximately 80 dives already with quite satisfactory results. And Tim, as far as I know is still getting satisfactory use from his.

 

My only dissatisfaction with the HW converter involves its “packaging” and the fact that you have to slide the clear acrylic tube off, breaking the water seal, every time you need to recharge it. I feel this is not a good long term solution for someone who uses their converter frequently. A waterproof charging cap that allowed you to access the mini-USB plug would have made much more sense.

 

Repacking the converter I have, and a second one if I can get it, is something I intend to investigate.

 

Fred

[stever 0]

so far my H&W works fine -- but the packaging is an bad joke for such a costly product.

 

other than the general fragility of the plastic tube dangling on synch cord, they've included an inch and a half of wet space in the tube between the o-ring and nikonos connector creating the possibility of getting salt water in the connector if you don't hold it upright, remove the connector, replace the plug, then rinse the wet space -- nothing of course mentioned about this in the instructions.

 

the connector-end o-ring slides a considerable distance so i take particular care trying to keep it properly lubed - not easy because you have to slide it on and off over the body wiping off the grease and picking up any salt deposits remaining if not carefully rinsed and cleaned

 

i've modified some 4th Gen floats so it can be tie-wrapped in place and not bang about

 

fortunately i'm not a professional and don't do a tremendous number of dives or dive under difficult conditions - i cannot conceive of relying on the H&W for a living

 

would love to hear any tips on keeping it alive as long as possible

 

now to order some more plastic tubes while they're hopefully available

[TimG 62]

Yeah, as Fred says, the packaging is "less than ideal" and if anyone finds a way of building the electronics into a new external casing, I'm interested! But, again, as Fred says, it just works and I'm delighted with the results and would not now want to live without it.

 

One solution maybe to see if you can get a Sea and Sea TTL convertor (same guts, different box) to fit on a housing. No reason why this shouldn't work and it may even be a more elegant solution. It's certainly worth looking into.

[abyssalplain 0]

I used the HW external converter on my Aquatica D700 housing and twin HS250 Hartenbergers for about 30 dives and got fed up with the tangle. So I then sent the housing to Michael Finger at www.mikedive.de who fitted the internal/PCB version of the i-TTL converter (HW approved fitter). This works really well and uses the Aquatica's port release lever to switch between i-TTL and Manual. I can control Flash output using the D700 flash exp comp controls (all visible in the info LCD display). The internal HW PCB comes with a dedicated battery which seems to have a far better duration than that used in the discontinued External adaptor. The internal PCB was hot glued in (snug fit) and then integrated with the Aquatica's twin Nikonos bulkheads.

Edited February 23, 2010 by abyssalplain

[Drew 0]

Tim I'm glad your HW works but the external design is flawed from the Li-Ion battery to that plastic tube thingy. Hell I've seen 2 of the internal boards die in housings, and they were brand new. Of the 8 HW converters in various guises I've seen, I've seen 4 die. It's a very small sample but that's a high number of failures for one person to witness. Hence my distrust of HW converters. And a few dealers I spoke to also mentioned the reliability issues they had with their HW converters. One told me it was a bad batch, but mine wasn't in that batch.

Don't get me wrong. I think TTL definitely has a place in photography, especially for those quick and dirty shots of behavior that would be missed from having to mess with strobes or settings etc. I even think it even works with WA. The HW solution has its issue. However, it is not the only one with TTL compliance. Seacam has built-in TTL in their strobes that isn't HW derived, if I remember correctly. The eTTL support is much better than HW, and includes rear/2nd curtain support. HW officially said to me they did not support that, although they had firmware that did earlier but phased it out due to issues with certain strobes.

I have nothing against Matthias or Chris or their converter. In fact I hope they work out a better solution for the external converters. I just want to let people know there are certain issues with the Li-Ion battery and reliability overall.

[TimG 62]

Hi Drew

 

No argument at all with you on the HW housing design issues! It is far from ideal - hence I guess, HW discontinuing it.

 

I found HW circuitry built in to a totally different box assembled by Aqua Foto in Germany. I bought one from them at DEMA. The case is much chunkier and solid and uses a user-replacable battery. I was told the battery, a 1/2AA, was good for 100 hours. I must have clocked up double that since I bought it in November and it is still going strong.

 

Results are the same as the HW but, as I say, the casing is far more robust. I'm happy with the results and it seems a good product to me. I do have some issues though over the company's "customer relations" practices......

 

Abyssalplain's internal TTL using the HW sounds good!