Help!

[Terry]

Two weeks into a three week dive trip to Utilla (amazing diving...off season whale sharks yesterday!(more on that later!)

But I am having a hell of a time getting my D80 Nikon, Ikelite housing and Ikelite 125 strobe to talk to each other reliably.

Oh wise photographic elders of our tribe - what settings have you found most reliable<?

[Tom Falardeau]

Two weeks into a three week dive trip to Utilla (amazing diving...off season whale sharks yesterday!(more on that later!)

But I am having a hell of a time getting my D80 Nikon, Ikelite housing and Ikelite 125 strobe to talk to each other reliably.

Oh wise photographic elders of our tribe - what settings have you found most reliable<?

Sorry, can't help. My Canon XTi talks to my Ikelite housing and 125 strobe like they were hatched together. Mind you, all I've done so far is cave photography, so I didn't use the TTL settings - just put the strobe on 1/2 power and manually set the aperture.

[scubagirl]

Two weeks into a three week dive trip to Utilla (amazing diving...off season whale sharks yesterday!(more on that later!)

But I am having a hell of a time getting my D80 Nikon, Ikelite housing and Ikelite 125 strobe to talk to each other reliably.

Oh wise photographic elders of our tribe - what settings have you found most reliable<?

I'm not a photographic elder, but here goes:

Was it working before you left on your trip? Is the strobe new or an older DS125? If you're shooting TTL, make sure the switch inside the housing is set to DS125. Then make sure the dial on the back is set to TTL as well as on your strobe. If you're shooting manual strobe, the strobe power should be set to half power and the housing dial should be set to Manual. Also, make sure your shutter speed isn't higher than 1/125.

I shoot my D80/Ikelite setup with a Sea & Sea strobe using manual settings. For my setup the dial on the back of the housing is set to Manual -1.

Have you tried to fire it on land before your dive? That way you can also make sure the sync cord is correctly seated. Also, visually check that the hotshoe adapter inside the housing is securely seated; I've heard they can sometimes come loose. Can you get your hands on someone's spare sync cord to test it topside, so you can rule out the possibility that yours is not working? If this doesn't help, try posting your issue on SB; good possibility that someone is shooting your exact setup on that board.

Good luck!

[Warren_L]

My suggestion would be the same as Nat's. The TTL controller on the housing must be set for either TTL or manual to match the strobe settings (TTL or a manual setting) otherwise they may not sync properly. If no, it may appear to flash, but it won't be reliable.

[Terry]

Thanks, Elders! That helped. I'm still fumbling a bit, but I do that all the time anyway.