I have an Olympus TG5, and to buy an Olympus Strobe would cost £379 plus £104 for a short arm and another £109 for a fibre optic cable.... a total of £592 for the full set up.
A more reasonable Sea and Sea Ys-03 option is still £325 for a kit.
But eBay will sell me a range of Speedlight clones from £22 up or a WS18 basic flash for a tenner, so can we make a DIY option?
I think yes, but would be keen to hear from anyone who has tried, or has any hints or ideas for me.
I did look at DIY bendy arm options, but decided that I already have a perfectly good and very adaptable arm hanging from my shoulder which can hold a single strobe at more or less at the perfect position.
The fibre optic cable takes a trigger flash and sends it round and round to a light sensor, but light travels happily in a straight line, so if we just turn the camera flash through 90 deg with a postage stamp sized mirror clipped to the housing, we can send it straight to the strobe held in our hand above or to the side of the camera.
I have already tried (in the dry) mounting a small mirror in front of the flash and this works well with a Speedlight I have (a YN560 which has a good flash sensor) and also with a WS18 which came with a poor sensor but now works well with DIY phototransistor set up.
So the only tricky bit is a housing for the flash unit which could be made in a variety of ways; and, considering the price of the flash unit, a possible leak would not be so great a disaster.
The benefit to me, besides cost, would be that I would not need to tote around a full rig, but could hang the flash off a shoulder D ring, which is where I hang my camera when not in use.
With lockdown, diving may be a way off so I have to have something to keep me busy. Anyone inspired or with ideas?
Rod
A more reasonable Sea and Sea Ys-03 option is still £325 for a kit.
But eBay will sell me a range of Speedlight clones from £22 up or a WS18 basic flash for a tenner, so can we make a DIY option?
I think yes, but would be keen to hear from anyone who has tried, or has any hints or ideas for me.
I did look at DIY bendy arm options, but decided that I already have a perfectly good and very adaptable arm hanging from my shoulder which can hold a single strobe at more or less at the perfect position.
The fibre optic cable takes a trigger flash and sends it round and round to a light sensor, but light travels happily in a straight line, so if we just turn the camera flash through 90 deg with a postage stamp sized mirror clipped to the housing, we can send it straight to the strobe held in our hand above or to the side of the camera.
I have already tried (in the dry) mounting a small mirror in front of the flash and this works well with a Speedlight I have (a YN560 which has a good flash sensor) and also with a WS18 which came with a poor sensor but now works well with DIY phototransistor set up.
So the only tricky bit is a housing for the flash unit which could be made in a variety of ways; and, considering the price of the flash unit, a possible leak would not be so great a disaster.
The benefit to me, besides cost, would be that I would not need to tote around a full rig, but could hang the flash off a shoulder D ring, which is where I hang my camera when not in use.
With lockdown, diving may be a way off so I have to have something to keep me busy. Anyone inspired or with ideas?
Rod