D800 Nauticam S&S YDS1 sync issue

[HFM 0]

Hi Everyone: for macro photography I used my Nikon d800 with the 105mm lens, Nauticam NA-D800 housing with two S&S YDS1 strobes this August for the first time. The strobes were set to TTL, the flash mode was set to TTL, and the flash sync speed was set to 1/250 Auto FP . Many times the sync seems to be going wrong, with a shadow bar appearing in to lower part of the frame. To make it more annoying, it does not happen all the time, so you never know when your strobes are going to "fail" in this way. Anyone has had the same problem? is there any solution that does not imply going into "manual" flash mode? Thanks in advance for any help.

[JackConnick 75]

I shoot this same set up without issue. What shutter speeds are you using?

[Alex_Tattersall 90]

Were you using fibre optic cables to trigger the strobes?

[bvanant 179]

My guess is that if the bottom of the frame is black the sync speed is set too fast, although this should work.

Bill

[Interceptor121 656]

Seems like there are quite a few YS-D1 units around with this type of problem

I guess there could be some different internal parts used or batch of defective ones and also poor quality control of the end product

[JackConnick 75]

Seems like there are quite a few YS-D1 units around with this type of problem

I guess there could be some different internal parts used or batch of defective ones and also poor quality control of the end product

 

I don't think so. I and many customers, shoot this same setup without any issues with sync. There's something going on with his shutter speed, or it could be an issue with his camera.

[divengolf 17]

Are your D1s new or used? There were a number of problems with some early production runs of the D1s. I have two that were new a few months ago and I have not had problems.

 

But it does sound like it might be a shutter speed issue.

 

Jack is an expert. Listen to him.

[Interceptor121 656]

 

I don't think so. I and many customers, shoot this same setup without any issues with sync. There's something going on with his shutter speed, or it could be an issue with his camera.

Do a search here on wetpixel there are a few threads on this strobe with different cameras having similar issue and situations of two ops with the same camera one has issues the other hasn't

On other forum same story

There must be a number of defective units in the marketplace that play up as this is a clear trend and not a single isolated case

[Cp 29]

Hi Everyone: for macro photography I used my Nikon d800 with the 105mm lens, Nauticam NA-D800 housing with two S&S YDS1 strobes this August for the first time. The strobes were set to TTL, the flash mode was set to TTL, and the flash sync speed was set to 1/250 Auto FP . Many times the sync seems to be going wrong, with a shadow bar appearing in to lower part of the frame. To make it more annoying, it does not happen all the time, so you never know when your strobes are going to "fail" in this way. Anyone has had the same problem? is there any solution that does not imply going into "manual" flash mode? Thanks in advance for any help.

 

Hi HFM,

 

Have you tried running with Auto FP turned off? Since D800 sync speed is rated at 1/250 anyway, it won't hurt to turn Auto FP off, and might help. I think as a general rule, Auto FP could pose problems for a strobe. Now, it's possible that the camera flash doesn't actually use FP flash (i.e. many smaller pulses) when shooting at 1/250, so this might be a mute point, but if it is actually doing a HSS flash, then it is likely this is the problem you are seeing.

 

I don't see anything on Sea&Sea's website that the YS-D1 supports Auto FP, and even if it did, could still be the problem. I think it quite possible that the strobe is able to keep up for some of the pulses, but could miss on some of them, with the result being a dark band of the shot as you describe. And it would by nature be sporadic, depending on how much the light the TTL decides to throw, battery condition, etc.

 

I tried doing a little googling about the Auto FP on the D800's popup flash, but much of what is talked about relates to external flashes, and not the popup itself. I don't have a D800 here I can test with but I'd be interested to hear if this is the issue here.

 

Regards,

Chris

[diverdoug1 56]

I have the same problem if I try to shoot TTL with my d800 and D1 strobes and the 105 lens. I use an Aquatica housing and F/O cables. The bottom of the image will be dark. Shutter speeds 1/200 or 1/125. I usually shoot in manual so it does not effect my shooting, but wanted to confirm that it is not an isolated problem.

[divengolf 17]

I just tried to duplicate the problem and could not do so. Here's my setup: D7000; Aquatica housing; 2-D1s with FO connections both directly to a single FO bulkhead. Camera settings: e1(sync speed) set to 1/320 FP, e3 (flash mode) set to Manual. Using a 60 mm lens. Strobes in Manual (single flash symbol).

 

I started with 1/125, f8 and increased shutter to 1/320 f8. Then ran f-stop up to f22 in f-stop increments with shutter at 1/320. No sign of dark areas in pic.

 

Then I shifted to TTL; changed the e3 to TTL and the strobes to TTL. Left e1 at 1/320 FP. Ran the same set of shutter speeds and aperture. Same result. No dark areas.

 

Now this was done tabletop, but I cannot imagine that being in water would make any difference.

 

I have always understood that using external strobes, I was limited to 1/250 flash sync speed with the D7000. This appears to prove that incorrect.

 

Maybe I got good strobes or did something wrong????

 

Opinions?