Panasonic LX3 + 10Bar UW Housing - Newbie Setup Qeustions

[skinnytwiggy]

Hi everyone, I have a LX3 and am considering getting the 10Bar housing for it so I can start taking some photos/ videos on my rec dive trips. I'm a newbie to photography (uw esp) so am looking for advice on what I will need to buy.

What kind of compatible strobes/ filters/ dome port/ thread/ lenses should I be looking at for my setup? Any advice is much appreciated! ;o)

 

[diver-hloc]

Mmm… I can't find much info on 10Bar LX3 housing beside what little I could see on their website. The housing will use the camera's hotshoe to trigger the Strobe… but again, no info on wha type of connector its using. Being half aluminum… don't think you can just use optic fiber cable also.

Btw… what is the local cost of the 10bar housing ??

 

[skinnytwiggy]

Mmm… I can't find much info on 10Bar LX3 housing beside what little I could see on their website.

I found this in the user manual, on the downloads page - though i have no idea what it means :s

4.7 Using External Strobes:
There is an option for Bulkhead SNM5 (Subtronic) or Bulkhead NKF5 (Nikonos).

Btw… what is the local cost of the 10bar housing ??

Scubacam is offering US$504 (before GST, delivery etc) on their site, I have emailed 10Bar directly to find out as well - waiting for them to reply!

 

[eagleray]

I was also looking at the 10bar housing previously ... not for the LX3 but for the GF1. In the end, bit the bullet and got the more expensive seatool housing.

1. What i did not like about the 10bar is the single rotating button (button 4 in the manual) used for controlling the 4 way cursor.
You got to rotate it , press it ...and rotate it back to the AE ...etc. Just way too much task loading underwater ... it should just be a simple 4 button to the corresponding buttons on the cam

2. I cannot really tell ...but from the looks in the manual, it does not seems to have a transparent window at the cam flash position, which means that you will not be able to use fiber optics for slave trigger the strobes. I guess the advantage of using fiber optics is that it does not need additional bulkhead connector ...which is another flood point and another cost item.
The advantage of using the bulkhead is that it can probably use TTL to control the strobe power. But different strobes has different protocols for controlling TTL, as such, you got to get the correct bulkhead for the correct brand/type of strobe.

 

[antacid]

you wont get TTL with this housing unless you get a TTL converter which is probably more trouble than its worth.

please choose the nikonos bulkhead, as that is more common and most sync cords are nikonos type cords. you can use any strobe with a bulkhead connector, so just choose whichever suits your needs. popular choices are the inon z240, S&S YS01 and ikelite DS51 and DS161