Wetpixel

UW Technics Ships TTL Board for Nikon cameras in Aquatica housings

by adamhanlon

TTL strobe triggering on Wetpixel

UW Technics has announced their TTL circuit for Nikon cameras housed in Aquatica housings. It offers fiber optic or electronic triggering, offers High-Speed Sync with compatible strobes, and in-camera control of the flash output. It can be easily installed by users.

The UW Technics TTL board for Nikon cameras in Aquatica housings is shipping now, priced at $450

Press release

UW Technics new generation TTL-Converters for Aquatica housings for underwater strobes control

The author of the article is Pavel Kolpakov, the inventor of innovative TTL flash control systems for underwater photo gear. The article tells about a new product, - Optoelectronic TTL Converter for Aquatica housings, the electronic circuit developed by Pavel Kolpakov and issued under his UW Technics brand. This product from UW Technics company is a Nikon compatible TTL circuit, purposed for modern versions of Aquatica housings for Nikon. The similar version circuits for Canon and Sony are in development now and will be available on the market next month.

Full Compatibility with all NIKON photo cameras

Historically, UW Technics TTL Converters were the world’s first on the underwater gear market, which supported the whole family of Nikon cameras, including very old D50 and newest D850, also including mirrorless cameras as well. So, the differences in TTL protocol versions are no longer a problem for underwater photographers. Users can be sure that each new camera model is fully supported by TTL Converter, he even can reinstall it to new housing, when changing the camera model to the newest. It is guaranteed to fit all new Nikons.

High-Speed Synchronization (HSS) support

TTL Converter #11065-HSS fully supports Retra strobe’s HSS system. Available shutter speeds are up to 1/8000s.

High-Speed Synchronization (HSS) is the flash operation at ultra-fast shutter speeds (available range 1/250 - 1/8000 s). At high shutter speeds, the camera shutter window never opens fully but looks like a moving narrow part opened between two curtains. For this case, the flash lighting must occur with a long series of short flashes at a frequency of about 30 kHz all the time while a partially open shutter window moves along the frame. The total flash duration is much longer than normal mono flash. The intensity of HSS flash lighting can be adjusted by changing the frequency of these pulses. The system can be comfortably switched to HSS mode by camera menu and TTL Converter firmware.

Automatic TTL flash lighting accuracy

When shooting with this TTL Converter, the photographer can relax and totally rely on automatic flash exposure control. TTL control works very well even in extremely difficult shooting conditions. Users can change aperture, shutter speed, ISO, metering type, etc., but TTL Converter automatically supports appropriate intensity flash lighting. The newest firmware also contains an accurate TTL profile for each strobe type: Inon Z330 / Z240 / S2000; Retra Pro, Ikelite DS161 / DS160 / DS125; Sea&Sea YS-D1 / YS-D2 / YS-250; Subtronic Pro-270 / Pro-160. Strobe type can be easily set by onboard miniature 10-position rotary switch.

TTL strobe triggering on Wetpixel

Combined circuit

The combined circuit, consisting of Optical TTL and Electric TTL system is on a single board with both triggering methods available both separately or simultaneously.

Photographers can use Fiber Optical cable or Nikonos sync cord for underwater strobes, dependent on preferences. Dual sync cords (Sea&Sea, Ikelite) are supported as well.

No mechanical switch ON / OFF

UW Technics TTL-Converters don’t need any ON/OFF external switch. The device switches ON/OFF automatically via camera command, or after disconnect. It works only when you operate with the camera. This is a very comfortable feature for the user, he need not think about switching ON/OFF the device and need not have any mechanical switch on the housing.

Incredible Battery Life

Battery life is about 2 years in continuous working mode. The product has extremely low current consumption. The user does not need to worry about battery replacement for 2 years or more!

Easy User Installation

Installation is very easy and takes around 1 minute.

The electronic circuit is fixed using 3 or 2 bolts, depending on the housing version. It can be installed as a replacement of the original connection board preinstalled in the housing, to the same place and mounts.

Powerful LEDs of the TTL Converter are inserted directly into Aquatica optical bulkheads.

Installation is described in the User’s Manual included with the circuit.

Electric Bulkheads support

UW Technics TTL Converter #11065-HSS is compatible with Aquatica electric bulkheads (Nikonos, Ikelite, and S-6 style). The onboard socket pinout is Aquatica’s original pinout. Users can connect underwater strobe by a sync cord as well as by fiber optical cable. The user has wide possibilities for assembling his own configuration of the flash control system, even can combine electric and optical TTL control for few underwater strobes simultaneously. TTL control is supported for all strobes in the system, independently of connection type.

Easy control via the camera menu

TTL circuit is fully controllable via camera menu, including switching: TTL / Manual, 1-st / 2-nd Curtain sync, Slow Sync, +/- Flash Exposure Compensation, Manual Flash Intensity Adjustment in M mode, Flash «Off» etc.

Comfortable flash intensity adjustment via the camera menu

Manual Flash intensity 1/64 …1/1 adjustment is available, using the camera wheel and camera scale.

TTL circuit firmware has a special module, which allows photographers to use 3 variants of Manual mode, including classic method and advanced methods as well. Advanced control allows adjusting underwater strobe light intensity manually via camera scale (approximately 1/64 ….. 1/1). In this case, the photographer does not need to operate dial switches on the strobe body, he can just keep his hands on the housing, switch M mode, and set the flash intensity by camera controls.

Specifications of UW Technics #11065-HSS TTL Converter:

Contact:

UW Technics can be contacted via email or via their Facebook Page. Full specifications and detail of all their products are available on the UW Technics website.