Kategorie: News
Subtronic Service: Optical fibres in underwater housings
If you use optical fibres on your underwater housing to use the flash signal of your camera as signal to the external underwater flash, you probably know a problem that needs to be solved. The underwater flash triggers, but the image on the camera is dark. Desperation is the order of the day!
The internal flash has fired and the external flash also fired, but still the image is not illuminated. If you're now wondering how this can be, you need to know that, depending on the manufacturer, cameras send a pre-flash or even several pre-flashes ahead to determine how much light the camera needs to produce a well-lit image. This - usually one - pre-flash fires milliseconds before the main flash. The electronics determine the energy required for the main flash in milliseconds and then trigger it.
Now the external flash comes into play. The optical fibre also transmits the pre-flash. If the external flash does not know that this is only a "measuring flash", it fires. Since it is set manually, it fires with the full (preset) power. If the actual "main flash" follows in a few milliseconds, the external flash has already fired what ‚he's got'. The capacity of the condenser is empty and has to be charged first. So it misses this "main flash" and the picture remains (almost) dark.
The solution is simple: we teach the external flash… Subtronic has adapted the internal electronics of its flashes accordingly, so that with the Pro160 flash or the Pro160 Fusion, anyone can quickly and easily change the number of flashes to be suppressed by simple means from the outside.
Programming is simple. After the external battery is plugged in, you briefly turn the flash on and off again to check. This ensures that the programming is working. Then you press and hold the small silver button that is for turning on the pilot light. The small pilot LED will then blink several times. Release the button and count how many times the LED lights up after the short rapid flashing. If the LED only flashes quickly for a short time, no pre-flash is suppressed. If the LED flashes once long and brightly after the short "flickers", a pre-flash is suppressed. If it flashes twice long and brightly, two pre-flashes are suppressed. To change the number, press and hold the pilot light button once more and release it again. Once the correct number of preflashes to be suppressed has been reached, switch the flash on and off again once by using the switch. The programming is complete. The process can be repeated as often as desired. Now it is time to test if everything is working.
These settings are for manual use of the flash. If you have a Pro270 flash from Subtronic or a Pro270 Fusion, you can get the appropriate instructions directly from the manufacturer.
This software is programmed on all Pro160 / Pro160 Fusion flashes shipped from year 2014 on. Also all Pro270 / Fusion, which were converted to optical fiber control, are programmable. An update is subsequently possible for almost all flashes of the newer generation.
More information:
Subtronic Lichttechnik GmbH
Bulkesweg 115
D-73230 Kirchheim unter Teck
Tel: +49 (0)7021 860612
Mail: service@subtronic.de
Web: http://www.subtronic.de