DS-125 & DS-50 Together Or Not?

[yellowduke]

Have been patiently putting together a DSLR setup, through Ebay in the main, and now have a DS-50 and a DS-125 to go with an Ike 20D housing. My question is, is it a good idea to pair the strobes up or is it better to use them singley? Should i really be looking at getting a second DS-125 and getting shot of the DS-50?

Assuming using both is the best option should i use a dual sync cable or just get a slave sensor? I have two single strobe sync cables at the moment. I don't know if there is an adaptor to merge the two.

Regards,

Jim

[Cussy]

Jim,
The choice is obviously yours, but if you search Digigreen you'll find I had a DS-51 and DS-125 combination this time last year. I ordered the 51 new when I bought my housing and while I was waiting for it a 125 came up second hand on here and I couldn't resist. I used the two using a dual sync cord.

There are a few things to consider in what you end up doing. Although the 50 is a cheaper, smaller stobe, it creates a brighter light than the 125 (look at the published Kelvins). It has less power, but the spread isn't so great. I'd guess they've got two different types of bulb. In macro I tended to find you could see this difference, I tended to end up with green or red shadows, depending on whichever I WB to (the 51 or 125). This was only subtle, but slightly annoying. I also found with the different spreads that lighting in WA work needed a lot more thought.

If I was you I'd do some tests to see what you think and whether you find the same. I was going to do this test for Jane (triplefin), I even bought some green celephane, but forgot about it and then sold the 51 to Zok - doh!

A second DS-125 came up on eBay, so instead of getting to grips of matching the two strobes I took the easy option and have ended up with a pair of 125s with full TTL control
HTH,
Rob

[yellowduke]

Hi Rob. Yes i did read your old post on the subject and trwled through a couple more posts in a similar vein. It seems there isn't a definite answer really. I am keen to keep hold of the 50 for use abroad for the lighter weight and smaller size. Trial and error the way forward then!

Any comments on the best way to link the two strobes, cable or sensor?

Jim

[Mike W]

FWIW, I think a cable. And carry a spare, they're nearly as reliable as the proverbial chocolate teapot.

I suggest this because the synch cable - faults notwithstanding - will always fire both strobes, whereas any slave system can be fooled by incorrect positioning of the slave sensor or can trigger when another photographer's camera fires nearby.

[yellowduke]

Thanks Mike. I am torn between the cable and the sensor. Rob mentioned a good idea using a sensor for some off camera effects. I think i shall defer until a bargain comes my way and use a single strobe for the time being.

Jim

[DDT uk]

I was talking to Kevin from Aquaphot about a dual sync cable for Ikelite housing/strobes and he almost chased me out of his workshop [read shed] bandishing a crucifix [poetic license taken]. These things are apparently rather prone to break and then to act as a conduit for water. I gather the problem is that, unlike the S&S t-connectors that bolt onto the housing to give stablity, the pulling in different direction soon break them. He recommended using the slave option.

It may be that because he only sees thing when they go wrong, his opinion is skewed but he does normally know his stuff.

Daniel

[Cussy]

Daniel,
It is most definitely fagile and the weak-link of my system. No matter how you rig your system, the cords want to be pulled in the opposite directions from the end of the external dual thingy. I modified mine using a cable tie between the two cords so as to reduce the stress in this area. The stress is then on the cable tie, not on where the cord attaches. Having the dual thing floating seemed to be the best bet.
Rob

[Mike W]

The weak part of mine is the single cable coming from the housing to the barrel shaped bit where it splits to two cables. I find that after around 100 dives the cores inside wear and break. The good news is that it's easy enough to take the connector off and repair it, the bad news is that after a while I'm going to run out of length to shorten it...

[Ding]

I love TTL but hate buying new cables all the time. I have tried putting cable protectors over the plug and cable and treatng them with kids gloves but they only last 100 - 150 dives.