Posted by Chris on July 31, 2003 at 23:51:48:
In Reply to: External strobes have nothing to do with camera power consumption. posted by Chuck Tribolet on July 31, 2003 at 21:57:51:
The INON strobes I use are triggered by a slave optical sensor.
These are illuminated by a fiber optic cable that connects from the strobe sensor on the bottom of the strobe to a just in front of the internal strobe on the camera.
Since the strobes are also sensitive to infra-red, an infra-red filter is placed over the strobe on the camera so it does not itself illuminate the water in front of the camera.
There is no electrical connection to the strobe!
Turning down the internal strobe power in the camera still provides ample light to trigger the slave, and minimizes the power dissipation in the camera itself, and hence heating.
The lenses on Olympus housings are made out of fluorite glass according to their web site.
Digitla cameras use far more energy than film cameras, but with the advantage of many more shots durring a dive.
It is a new and still evolving technology
If I had a large investment in film gear, I would use it
However film is a medium that is on the way out.
Anyone getting into any kind of photography at this point would be silly to invest in film gear, unless they got it at an extreme bargin.