FAQ

You can find our general terms and conditions on this page:

Terms and Conditions

You can buy TURTLE SMART underwater TTL converter for Nikon, Canon, Sony, Olympus and Panasonic cameras. You can find our range in the webshop there are basic and Mobie (for smaller underwater housings) versions. You can buy special packages with a pair of high quality fiber optic cables.

From September of 2020 we also offer Manual triggers for all camera models.

Yes, the TURTLE SMART converters and TURTLE MANUAL triggers work with different types of connections, certainly, it depends on the model of the underwater strobe too.

You can use both of them with the same TURTLE SMART TTL-trigger or the Manual trigger. For fiber-optic connection, we include an LED board, but we suggest to use a multi-core fiber optic cable for the best results.

If you would like to use normal SYNC cord cable please contact us. We can add cable to use TURTLE TTL triggers in Nauticam, Hugyfot underwater housings.

At this moment there is only one strobe model, the Retra Pro which is capable of HSS flash as only a few people use HSS in underwater photography. The TURTLE SMART models for Sony, Nikon, and Olympus work in HSS mode. You can also use the TURTLE MANUAL triggers in HSS mode too.

You can read more about HSS flash in our blog

Basically only the camera and underwater strobe setup matters. If the underwater housing has any bulkhead to control the strobe or a connector for fiber optic cable it should work properly with the TURTLE SMART or TURTLE MANUAL trigger.

If you want to check the pinouts here you can find the popular bulkhead pinouts.

N5:

Sea and Sea:

Ikelite:

We use for TTL connection only  3 pins in the TURTLE :  GND, TRIGGER, QUENCH. 
If you would like to connect the TURTLE to strobe via electrical cable please use these pins:
 

It’s simple: if the photos you take in different conditions with different camera settings are not over- or underexposed without any manual setting the TURTLE SMART TTL trigger works properly.

Please check the setup instructions of the software if you are not sure what to select upon downloading the setup to your TURTLE SMART TTL trigger.

As the TURTLE MANUAL models aren't TTL capable, they work properly if the strobes flash when you take the photo. You need to control the power level of the strobes to get the desired results.

TURTLE triggers are made from special SMD technologies parts to ensure it can be as small as possible. The TURTLE triggers' case is made of ABS molded plastic, so they are light but durable.

The hot shoe was made from PCB with special spring-loaded pins to ensure the optimal connection with the camera. All triggers have a LIPO 120 mAh rechargeable battery. To recharge you can use a micro USB cable. (From May of 2020 we add a charging cable to the TURTLE triggers.)

First of all, you should check the space in the housing. You have to measure the distance between the connector to the adapter and order a special cable. After the products arrive you just put the controller in the hot shoe, setup that from PC software, turn it on using the main switch, and connect the special cable to the device.

You can find the USB setup manual in the webshop (right side menu).

Depends on your camera model. If you own a Nikon DSLR camera, we recommend the original i-TURTLE SMART, if you have a Nikon mirrorless camera model (Z-series), you should buy the new i-TURTLE 2 SMART trigger.

The TTL works automatically so sometimes there is a slight over or underexposure in specific situations. However, in this case, you can change the camera’s strobe or exposure compensation.or you can adjust your image during post-processing. The TURTLE SMART has a manual setting feature so you can turn off TTL even underwater. If all photos are overly bright or dark there must be some faults, in this case, please contact us.

All TURTLE can do this function. 

The i-TURTLE SMART knows the Unified system if you have new cameras.

The e-TURTLE SMART knows the ETTL-2. system

The s-TURTLE SMART has a special function that we implement in the WL mode. You can find more details in the user manual.

The-o-TURTLE SMART knows the switching from the camera menu.

Some series for exapmple the Nikon D500 switch the backlight during the expo. So the correct picture we have to switch of the backlight on the camera  “d9” menu.

Here is the menu where we can find this setting.

- First of all please check. the cable. Some of the USB cables are just capable of charging because they have only 2 wires.
So you can't use them to connect the TURTLE SMART trigger to the computer.

- The second case is the driver problem.  We encountered some special cases when the user could not connect because the driver was not up-to-date. 
Here is the last driver for windows:  https://www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/CDM/CDM21228_Setup.zip

- The last thing what we have to mention the sequence of setup
    1- Switch of the TURTLE SMART
    2- Connect the USB cable to the PC or MAC. and the TURTLE SMART
    3- Start the software
    4- Switch ON the TURTLE SMART and wait some seconds.
    5- Select the Virtual COM port (COM_X)
    6- Wait until the logo will be inverted on PC  . in MAC you will get the USB type in the below field.
    7- Select the input field the strobe, and the other empty field.
    8- Click the Download button.

For Mac users we wrote a short instruction about opening our app in MacOS Catalina.

The TURTLE SMART is a TTL converter for underwater photography which controls the strength of underwater strobe lighting automatically so you won’t need to adjust it manually underwater. (TTL: Through-the-lens metering, a camera feature that permits light metering through the taking lens itself.) You can use TURTLE SMART TTL triggers via sync cords or fiber optic cables, it works with many DSLR or mirrorless cameras, underwater housings, and strobes. The are TURTLE SMART TTL converter for Nikon, Sony, Canon, Olympus, and Panasonic cameras, the supported underwater strobes are different models from Ikelite, Sea&Sea, Subtronic, Inon, Retra, OneUW. Compared to other underwater LED trigger models, the TURTLE SMART converters can be updated by the user via the USB socket.

From September of 2020, we also offer Manual triggers for all camera models. The TURTLE MANUAL models aren't TTL capable but have the same important features as well like 1st and 2nd curtain, HSS mode.

From September of 2020 it's your choice what kind of TURTLE trigger you prefer: the SMART TTL or the affordable MANUAL? There are many similarities between them: their size is the same, you can charge them via a USB socket, they work via fiber optic cables or sync-cord. The important features for the underwater photographers are similar too: you can choose 1st or 2nd curtain, and they offer High-Speed Sync flash with the appropriate strobe (Retra Pro). They are reliable and can take hundreds of shots without charging. We offer both the SMART and the MANUAL triggers for Nikon, Canon, Sony, Olympus, and Panasonic cameras, and we tested all of them with several strobes (Sea&Sea, Inon, Retra, Subtronic, Ikelite, etc. models). 

The main difference is the TTL capability. You can't update the Manual triggers because you don't need to do that. They are easy to use, easy to set up triggers which will help you take great photos underwater.

You can find all TURTLE triggers in the webshop

You can find the list of compatible underwater strobe models in the TURTLE SMART Loader software. You can download it from the webshop.

The first TURTLE models worked only with the specified underwater strobes. Later we decided to design a product that allows photographers to use strobes which were introduced later to the market. That means if someone bought a TURTLE SMART a year ago, and we later introduced a new feature (eg. HSS mode) or a new strobe to control (eg. OneUW), he didn't have to buy a new trigger or send back to us to upgrade but downloaded the new software to upgrade his trigger on his own. The TURTLE SMART is one of its own kind amongst the underwater LED triggers

We think it gives the users the flexibility to easily use even the latest, newest strobes with the triggers they bought in the past. Downloading the latest version of the software is free, so you don't have to worry about upgrade costs and it won't take weeks to send your TURTLE SMART to us and get back. We think it's a unique and useful feature amongst the underwater photo triggers.

You can't update the TURTLE MANUAL models as they aren't TTL capable, so they don't need that function.

The TURTLE SMART TTL trigger is really small so the most popular underwater housings have enough space for it, but if you are not sure to contact us and we will try to help you or you can download the measures in pdf format from the downloads page.

We developed the TURTLE Mobie versions for smaller housings, which allows you to put the TTL trigger anywhere in the case. Please contact us if you are interested in the Mobie version.

The TURTLE MANUAL triggers' dimensions are the same as the TURTLE SMART converters'.

Be sure to check the space inside your housing. If you don't measure it and the trigger doesn't fit inside, sadly we can't help, and this is not a reason for a full refund. If you are not sure what or how to measure, contact us or visit one of our dealers who has the trigger in stock to check.