Ikelite Releases RC1 Olympus TTL Receiver for DS Strobes with AOI and Backscatter Octo Housings

news7g02/03/2024

1 2 minutes read

Ikelite’s electrically triggered DS-series strobes are some of the best available, while the company’s TTL converters allow underwater photographers with Ikelite housings to enjoy class-leading automatic strobe exposure. But what if your preference is for a housing by another brand and you still want to shoot Ikelite DS strobes?

The easiest way to achieve this is to install Ikelite’s B14 bulkhead or B16 bulkhead in an available M14 or M16 threaded port on your housing with the accompanying Ikelite TTL hotshoe on your camera. Then you can simply add the appropriate DS Link TTL converter along with either a single or dual electrical sync cord. There are converter and hotshoe kits designed for all the major camera brands: Nikon, Canon, Sony, Fujifilm, and Panasonic/Olympus. Crucially, an Ikelite TTL converter attaches to the outside of your housing, so you can switch between manual and TTL strobe exposure on the fly.

If you prefer fiber-optic strobe triggering, Ikelite still gives you options. If you’re happy with manual strobe exposure only, you can simply add an Ikelite Fiber Optic Converter to your Ikelite DS strobe (or strobes), which converts its electronic bulkhead into a fiber-optic port.

However, if you have an Olympus or Panasonic camera with RC flash mode, you use an Ikelite RC1 TTL Receiver to enjoy automatic strobe exposure via fiber-optic connection with your Ikelite DS strobe. The standard RC1 TTL Receiver is designed for a wide range of cameras in non-Ikelite housings, such as the Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II with FL-LM3 flash in Isotta housing, Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark IV in Nauticam housing, and OM System Tough TG-7 in Olympus PT-059 housing (as well as a few Ikelite housings with fiber-optic ports).

Now, Ikelite has released a special RC1 TTL Receiver designed specifically for housings with AOI flash triggers. These housings include the AOI UH-OM1 housing for the OM System OM-1 and OM-1 Mark II, the AOI UH-EM1III housing for the Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II/Mark III, the Backscatter UH-EPL10 “Octo” housing for the Olympus E-PL9/E-PL10, and the Backscatter UH-EM10IV “Octo” housing for the Olympus OM-D E-M10 IV—the latter housings being made for Backscatter by AOI.

Available now from retailers such as Backscatter, the Ikelite RC1 TTL Receiver for AOI flash triggers is priced at $175. (The standard RC1 TTL Receiver costs $150.)