Strobe for Digital Camera?

[cartervt2k]

I'm a recreational scuba diver and a very amateur photographer. I have a point and shoot digital camera for which they don't make an underwater housing. I bought a cheap 35mm point and shoot, with an underwater polycarbonate case, and the pictures came out terrible. I wasn't expecting anything great but still...

So, I decided to get a used digial slr, maybe use it as an excuse to learn how to really shoot nice pictures, both on land and the water. I decided on a Nikon D70. Between the camera, lens, and underwater housing, I've spent close to $1200. The housing I got is a Fantasea FD-70N. My problem is, considering how much I've already spent, I really don't want to blow much more on a strobe if I can help it. It looks like they make an underwater housing for the Nikon SB800 speedflash, but the flash costs about $300 and the housing looks like it costs another $300. My question is - can I just get any old underwater strobe to use? Are sync cables proprietary or will they work with any old strobe? Thanks in advance!

[Rockbrother]

I would suggest you get an underwater strobe, I have not hear good things about above water flash in housings.
Syncords are proprietary and I do not know which will fit on a Fantasea housing. It does not seem that Fantasea makes strobes, so you right find that the Sea&Sea or ikelite fits on there. You must also check the mounting bracket for the strobe. Ikalite and Sea&sea uses different systems.

You might want to check out the Fantasea website.

[Scuba.com]

Here are three choices using a fiber optic cable.

Sealife Digital Strobe (good)
Universal Underwater Flash for all digital cameras
Enhances color and brightness
Flexible arm allows for easy aiming at any angle
Rubberized arm provides a sure grip
Powered by 4 AA batteries (not included)
Mounts easily to all digital cameras equipped with external flash mount
Distance range from 2 to 8 ft.
DEPTH: 200 feet


Sea & Sea YS 27 (better)
Designed specifically for the underwater point and shoot digital photographer providing convenient and flexible manual 9-step controller for underwater lighting
Built in pre-flash sensor assures that the strobe will fire when the camera does and not before as in some competitor models
9 Step power control allows photographer to match camera and strobe for precise exposure
User friendly fiber optic sync cord connects easily and cannot flood
Simple, lightweight and compact design travels easily above and below the water
Fast flash recycle time
Fiber Optic Sync Cord for YS-27
Sea Arm Light Single Set[list][*]The perfect companion arm set for compact digital camera housings.[*]New arm set is designed to be very mobile, Compact and light.[*]Compact parts (including arms) fold small, ideal for storage.[*]A Rubber grip on the arm provides a comfortable handhold for photographers.[*]Ergonomically designed knob lets you tighten the joint with minimal force and maximum security
Sea & Sea YS 110 ( best)

• Works with all digital cameras
• Can use five pin connectors for sync cords or fiber optic cable for digital camera housings
• Features 12-step power control for manual operating modes, plus DS-TTL auto exposure
• Slave mode syncs for DS-TTL flash on compact digital cameras
• Delivers a wide 105 x 105 beam pattern
• Fast 3 second recycle time
• U/W Guide number: 36 with ISO 100 film

Sea Arm Light Single Set

• The perfect companion arm set for compact digital camera housings
• New arm set is designed to be very mobile, Compact and light
• Compact parts (including arms) fold small, ideal for storage
• A Rubber grip on the arm provides a comfortable handhold for photographers
• Ergonomically designed knob lets you tighten the joint with
  minimal force and maximum security

Fiber Optic Sync Cord for YS-110 Strobe