Any reports yet on the Ikelite AF 35?

[herman]

Bret,
Having spent some time with Scottys I would give it mixed reviews. It does the job once you get it dialed in but for my money I would opt to spend a little more and get a strobe that has more features. The Sea & Sea YS-27DX as an example. If you intend to stick with a P&S camera and never go past that it's fine but for a hundred or so more you could have a lot more flexable strobe. I was not impressed with the tray, it is a lot more flimsy that I would expect from Ikelite. If it does not start breaking at the junction of the tray and arm I will be surprized. Because of the way the strobe is controlled, adding more length or different arms is not possible, a big drawback IMO. Bottom line, it works as advertised and will suit a lot of people but it's not one I would buy.

 

[frameless]

I was considering this strobe so I went and took a look at it. The strobe is a single piece thus cannot be taken apart for transportation. The plastic construction suggested that it could have a few weak points. The internal workings will need more reviews to be posted for a complete review.

 

[kerryw]

So I had the chance to do a dive this weekend at Porteau Cove in the Vancouver area. Not the greatest spot for photography but I did get to give the camera and flash a work out. I use a A640 in an Ikelite housing and decided the AF35 would be a good addition.

A few notes on me, I've got about 15 years experience shooting Nikonos and have no plans to upgrade to a digital SLR for underwater use. So bare that in mind when considering what I say.

I found the strobe worked well underwater and when set in auto mode the adjustment on the arm certainly did adjust things, it did not seem to have much effect above water but underwater you can see the range from 10 to 3 with these two pictures:
http://www.klw-web.com/temp-stuff/1.JPG set at 10
http://www.klw-web.com/temp-stuff/3.JPG set at 3

Hers is one try with wider angle (vis 20-25 feet)
http://www.klw-web.com/temp-stuff/4.JPG

A few other pics
http://www.klw-web.com/temp-stuff/3.JPG
http://www.klw-web.com/temp-stuff/5.JPG

I'm sure the strobe will serve me well for macro and the occasional wide angle. I'll be trying it in Bonaire in April so I'm sure I give it more wide angle practice there.

I am a bit sad that the arm can't be adjusted but it can be removed underwater and handheld if you want. It is not a high power strobe but certainly will do for Macro. It also has a bit of a light tray but seems good enough.

If you want something to move with you to an SLR this is not it, but it is a good strobe for P&S cameras.

I'm looking forward to taking it to Bonaire and doing lots more dives in BC.

KLW

 

[DivingPrincessE]

Bret,
Having spent some time with Scottys I would give it mixed reviews. It does the job once you get it dialed in but for my money I would opt to spend a little more and get a strobe that has more features. The Sea & Sea YS-27DX as an example. If you intend to stick with a P&S camera and never go past that it's fine but for a hundred or so more you could have a lot more flexable strobe. I was not impressed with the tray, it is a lot more flimsy that I would expect from Ikelite. If it does not start breaking at the junction of the tray and arm I will be surprized. Because of the way the strobe is controlled, adding more length or different arms is not possible, a big drawback IMO. Bottom line, it works as advertised and will suit a lot of people but it's not one I would buy.

I have a canon a570 IS with ikelite housing and was planning on getting the YS-27, however someone from SB just got that setup and said that the YS strobe was not comaptible with the ikelite housing. My LDS said you could basically jerry-rig it to make it compatible...but I don't really like the idea of messing around with the housing or strobe arm.

Do you have any information on how easy this is to do? Is the YS-27 that much better than the AF-35 that it's worth the extra headache of non-compatible componants?

 

[herman]

I have not had my hands on one but if your housing is like most Ike housing, it comes with a flash guard/diffuser that attaches to the lens barrel. It would be quite easy to put a small hole in that guard and attach the YS-27's "L" fiber to it. You should be using the guard no matter what strobe you have. No damage to the strobe or housing and the small hole in the guard is nothing a little silicone can't repair if you choose not to use it and placed off to the side it's not going to be a problem anyway. I do this kind of stuff all the time but modifing gear is a side hobby for me.
My main point is there are much better strobes for a few hundered more, not that one particular strobe is right for a particulat camera/housing.

 

[Leisure Pro Brett]

Herman, frameless & divingprincess,

Thanks much for the info and opinions, it's great to get reviews from people who have actually gotten to hold and use these things in the real world. As much as I would like to be able to use all the gear that we sell... it's pretty much impossible. I think I will really have to pull this guy (the AF35) out and play with it along with the Ys27. I have been a big Sea and Sea fan for a long time, but the initial outlay for some of their gear is just too high for many people.

I hope to see more good info on these strobes, thanks for the help guys and gals.

 

[Nemrod]

Why would you not get the Inon D2000 which is engineered for P&S (as well as optical triggering for slr like with the SeaTool)? Just a question not meant to put the other down but it seems kinda of chentsy compared to the Inon arrangement. I susppose though for the Inon you up on price by 50% and if that is the hang up then I certainly appreciate that, money does not grow on trees, too bad that.

N

 

[DivingPrincessE]

Yup the Inon was ruled out because of cost. I need to stay in the $500 range and if I recall correctly the Inon was over that

 

[alcina]

Yup the Inon was ruled out because of cost. I need to stay in the $500 range and if I recall correctly the Inon was over that

Did you check out Yuzo's price? I order my strobes from him and have always had excellent service with great prices. Link is in the Sticky - can't remember it off the top of my head...

 

[Scotttyd]

Well, due to the great weather on maui, my first shore dive was cancelled, I only had 2 two tank dives booked (I am with non-divers on the trip). Hopefully my boat dive to Molokini works out.