Inon z-240 Type 3 .vs. Sea&Sea ys-110a

[SilentWater]

I'm looking for a new strobe, and have been considering the Inon Z-240 and the S&S ys-110a. I have looked at the specs on both. But I'd still like to hear from anyone who owns or has experience with either one. I'm only going to be using one for now, and it would be going on a Patima G10 housing. Any pictures you want to share would be awesome too. Thanks. -Ryan

 

[Larry C]

You can't go too far wrong with either one. Both will operate in either optical firing mode or using a 5 pin type N cable with your Patima housing. The Z240 is considerably more powerful, also about 1/3 more expensive. The Z240 will operate in S-auto mode, in which the strobe determines the firing time instead of the camera (kind of a poor man's ttl) but you have to aim the strobe directly at the subject. They both have aiming lights
and good battery life and recharge time between shots is good on both. Since I don't believe your G10 will do ttl in manual mode (dumb!dumb!!dumb!!!!!) the ttl capability shouldn't matter. Both have a very wide spread of manual settings. If you need more power for wide angle shooting, I'd go with the Inon. If you are doing mostly portraits and macro, either one will work great.

 

[Kilili]

Have 3 of the INON and various S&S. The type 3s can use only the lower amperage EneLoop batteries, which should mean, but cannot confirm, fewer shots per charge. Recycle time is much better that the S&S I have.

Two S&S considerations. INON has shut down the USA service facility, and I no longer know where to get them repaired. I wrote to INON Japan months sgo, never received response.

The INON battery cap o-ring is definitely a weak point, esp. since the battery compartment isn't sealed from the rest of the strobe. A leak means a dead strobe. The o-ring expands with use, and will start slipping out from under the cap. If that happens, and you don't notice, dead strobe. I have an excellent example of such. Must carry extras and replace immediately.

I've never seen anything like this happen with the S&S strobes, and o-rings seem to last forever.

 

[fisheyeview]

Have 3 of the INON and various S&S. The type 3s can use only the lower amperage EneLoop batteries, which should mean, but cannot confirm, fewer shots per charge. Recycle time is much better that the S&S I have.

Two S&S considerations. INON has shut down the USA service facility, and I no longer know where to get them repaired. I wrote to INON Japan months sgo, never received response.

The INON battery cap o-ring is definitely a weak point, esp. since the battery compartment isn't sealed from the rest of the strobe. A leak means a dead strobe. The o-ring expands with use, and will start slipping out from under the cap. If that happens, and you don't notice, dead strobe. I have an excellent example of such. Must carry extras and replace immediately.

I've never seen anything like this happen with the S&S strobes, and o-rings seem to last forever.

I shoot dual INON z220's. I have been shooting them for about 5 years, and I do 100 - 200 dives a year. I still have the original o-rings, and have never had a problem. I shot the S&S YS120's before that. They were great strobes. Never gave me a problem, but they are big and heavy for travelling. I switched over to teh INON's because they were small and light. They provide great light and coverage for both W/A and macro.

The testing I have done on the S&S 110's left me feeling that they are slightly under powered. I only tested them for macro, and I tend to shoot at f32 - f42+, so I don't know how they would work at lower f-stops or on W/A.

 

[Warmwater Wank]

The YS110A is a breeze to change batteries on, sealed battery compartment if you do mess up but that would almost take some effort. Get a days worth of diving (3 dives/200-300 flashes total?) on a rotating set of PowerEx 2500 mAH NiMh batteries.

No complaints, nice flash--not that I can fault INON of course. They were just pricier and when I was ready to buy, they had pulled the rug from under the US distributor. I understand dealers are getting product direct, so they should know about service issues. Still, it's weird not to get a response from the company. Hard to go wrong on either choice though. // ww

 

[gert7to3]

Kilili, are you using the right grease on your "o" rings. If they swell and distort, it could be the grease. As I understand it, a silicone "o" ring should not have a silicone based grease applied. It acts as a solvent.

 

[Nemrod]

Have 3 of the INON and various S&S. The type 3s can use only the lower amperage EneLoop batteries, which should mean, but cannot confirm, fewer shots per charge. Recycle time is much better that the S&S I have.

Two S&S considerations. INON has shut down the USA service facility, and I no longer know where to get them repaired. I wrote to INON Japan months sgo, never received response.

The INON battery cap o-ring is definitely a weak point, esp. since the battery compartment isn't sealed from the rest of the strobe. A leak means a dead strobe. The o-ring expands with use, and will start slipping out from under the cap. If that happens, and you don't notice, dead strobe. I have an excellent example of such. Must carry extras and replace immediately.

I've never seen anything like this happen with the S&S strobes, and o-rings seem to last forever.

If you do some research on the Eneloop batteries and the Duracell Precharged (which I use) you will find that they actually last as long or longer when you compare the time tovolatege drop below critical. I have shot and shot and shot and shot. You can also use lithiums for even longer life but of course not rechargeable. The Eneloop/Precharged Duracell are the BOMB! That is not a handicap--it is a plus.

To the rest, use the correct grease, the battery compartment, are you sure that is not sealed? Mine looks sealed but, yawn, don't care really. Have to do some research.

Inon did not close down. They decided they did not want to do business with the independent Inon America middleman. Reef and several other stores sell Inon and can provide instruction for service.

N

 

[JackConnick]

One of the biggest reasons to use the Enloops style batteries is that they give off a lot less heat. That is why Inon insists on them.

Jack

 

[Nemrod]

One of the biggest reasons to use the Enloops style batteries is that they give off a lot less heat. That is why Inon insists on them.

Jack

Yes, Mr. Connick is right as usual. The high amperage capacity under load of the Eneloop type precharged cells is very high with low internal resistance. Their capacity under load until the voltage falls below critical level is greater.

The Sanyo Eneloop is the same cell as the Duracell Precharged and now Kodak has a similar cell and I think EverReady does also. I have used the Sanyo Eneloop and the Duracell Precharged in my Inon strobes and my Canon cameras with equal performance.

Unless you plan to utilize wired TTL in the future I would save some money and get either the Inon D2000 or S2000 micro strobe. Obviously the YS110a is a looker also as many people seem to like it a bunch too.

N

 

[Kilili]

Think I was using the INON supplied, but could be wrong. Will watch out for this in the future. Thanks much for the info.