Nauticam USA has released details of their integration of UW Technics’s TTL and electro-optical converter for Nikon SLR cameras. This offers TTL and manual exposure control of strobes from the camera’s hotshoe via fiber optic cables. The upgrade is user installable and is compatible with Inon and Sea&Sea strobes. Nauticam’s housings for D5 and D500 will have a version of this pre-installed.

The UW Technics NN-2/IS upgrade for Nauticam is available from Nauticam USA now, priced at $430.

Press release

While we got our start by representing Nauticam in the Americas, Nauticam USA dealers are your source for the finest underwater imaging products from Inon, Fix Neo, and Keldan as well! We are proud to introduce a new accessory line to our family of brands, and think you are going to like it.

UW Technics NN-2/IS - Available Now

MSRP $430

This first product from UW Technics, NN-2/IS, is a TTL Converter and LED Flash Trigger. Optical and electrical strobe triggering is supported, and NN-2/IS is compatible with popular strobes from Inon (D-2000, S-2000, and Z-240) and Sea & Sea (YS-01, YS-D1, and YS-D2).

With these flashes, optical strobe triggering is the way to go. The full automatic and manual functionality of the system is supported, and optical triggering eliminates problematic electrical sync cables.

Most of the Nikon cameras supported by NN-2/IS have a pop up flash, and when used with these compatible strobes already offer automatic flash control. So why buy a TTL converter?

In these cases the main advantage of the flash trigger is speed. The recycle time of the camera’s pop up flash is no longer a limitation, meaning continuous shooting and rapid fire sequences are now possible! Previously, continuous firing was only available with a manual triggering system, but UW Technics unlocks this capability with optically synced flashes in TTL exposure mode!

TTL is undoubtedly an important feature, but there is no disadvantage with this part installed in manual flash modes when you want them. This one product can serve as both a TTL Trigger (with optical or electrical sync) AND a manual flash trigger.

Simple, User Installable Design

Incredible Battery Life

At first I thought it was a typo, but in pre-release field testing we simply can’t kill a set of batteries. Based on current draw we expect up to 75,000 flashes on a set of CR2032 batteries.

Field Tested, NUSA Approved

This part has been exhaustively field tested, proving both reliability, and accuracy of the TTL system. We’ve tested a lot of ttl converter systems in the past, both from strobe makers and third party vendors, and have encountered a decent amount of frustration with the products. This is the most well designed, feature rich, and consistently accurate converter we have tested.

UW-Technics TTL Advantages:

• Continuous Shooting (in both TTL and Manual Modes, up to the capacity of the external flash for continuous shooting)
• Faster Shooting response - Eliminates internal flash recycle lag
• Increased Camera Battery Life
• Less Heat, and Lower Risk of Fogging
• Increased Reliability Over Traditional Electrical Sync TTL Options
• Compatible Strobes:
  
  • Inon: D-2000, S-2000, Z-240
  • Sea&Sea: YS-01, YS-D1, YS-D2

Full Specifications:

• Compatible cameras: All Nikon DSLR cameras
• Compatible underwater housings: Nauticam Housings for Nikon D600, D610, D750, D7100, D7200, D800, D800E, D810, D4, D4s
• Compatible underwater strobes: Inon D-2000, S-2000, Z-240, Sea&Sea YS-D1, YS-D2
• TTL outputs: 2 optical LEDs, 2 electric wire connectors (used with Nikonos Connector PN uwt.nf.5.m14)
• Maximum Fiber-optic cable length for “TTL” operation: 3m
• Maximum Fiber-optic cable length for “MANUAL” operation: 35m
• Fiber-optic cable type: Single-core cables, multi-core cables.
• Camera pop-up flash operation: Also available (always have a back up)
• ISO camera range: 50-25,600.
• Serial shooting: Available
• Switching “ON/OFF”: Automatic by camera command
• Battery type: CR2032 (2pcs.)
• Battery capacity (+20°C): 5-7 years, or 75,000 flashes.
• Operation temperature: -30°C to +40°C.
• Dimensions of main board: 63mm x 50mm x 13mm.
• Weight: 25g (excl. batteries).

Support for other strobes and housings coming soon! NN-2/IS has discharge curves dialed in for these specific compatible strobes, but other popular flashes such as Sea & Sea YS-250 and Ikelite DS-160 are profiled now, and will be supported by future converter releases.