Canon G9--What strobe?

[Turtle1933]

I am an experienced diver, and relatively inexperienced photographer, both above and underwater. I am planning to buy the Canon G9 with the Canon housing. What strobe would you recommend? I am interested in the Sealife 961, Sea & Sea YS 27DX, the new Ikelite. I am probably not going to be smart enough for a while to use sophisticated features, but want the picture quality to be as good as possible with basic usage, and have a rapid recycle time. Please advise. Thanks.

 

[girellator]

Inon 2000 or Sea and sea YS 110 , not under , the canon G9 is a top compact camera and is able to make very good pictures , but for that you'll need enough light !!

 

[Turtle1933]

Thanks for the advice. Is the Inon more complicated/labor intensive to use than the Sea & Sea? From what I'm reading it seems like it might be because it should be used in manual mode.

Also, if I want to compromise and go a little cheaper on the strobe, what would you recommend? How much would it hurt the picture quality to go with the Sea & Sea YS27 or Sealife 961?

 

[diverrex]

Thanks for the advice. Is the Inon more complicated/labor intensive to use than the Sea & Sea? From what I'm reading it seems like it might be because it should be used in manual mode.

Also, if I want to compromise and go a little cheaper on the strobe, what would you recommend? How much would it hurt the picture quality to go with the Sea & Sea YS27 or Sealife 961?

I use the Inon 2000 with a Canon A620 (thinking of upgrading myself to the G9). At first I tried to use it with it's different Auto settings, then during a photo class in Key Largo the instructor (Larry Gates) got me comfortable using it in manual mode. I know it's counter intuitive but to me it's much easier to use in manual mode than auto. After a few dives it's easy to know based on available light where the initial setting should be. Then it's simply a matter of taking a picture, reviewing it in the viewfinder and adjusting up or down. Sometimes it takes a couple shots to get the light right, but at least in manual mode you know for sure you are adding or subtracting light.

Get a good strobe. Unless you want to stay within 20 feet deep and know you'll have good sun, a strobe to the light the subject is critical to photo quality. I suspect if you started with much less than the Inon 2000 or YS110 you would quickly upgrade and have wasted the money on the other strobe.

 

[NTSilver]

I had the predecessor to the SL961, the SL960D, for my Canon A80. I was just getting started and didn't know if I would get into it, so I didn't want to invest a lot. Let me just say - I got what I paid for. I was constantly having issues with the SL strobe. I went on 3 dive trips in the time I had it and it worked about 20% of the time. It was not operator error. I sent it back to the manufacturer on two occasions. When they sent it back the second time, they sent me a new SL961. While it looks like a much better set up, you will still need to connect the fiber optic cable to the front of the housing. Sometimes that works, sometimes it doesn't. If diving in strong currents, the fiber optic cable easy comes separated from the housing. I think some fiber optic connectors are better than others, but the SL961 is simply a velcro donut that affixes to the housing with a round disk where the cable is inserted. When I bought my G9, I went for the DS125 strobe. I have taken it on one trip and had no issues whatsoever, srong currents and all. When I was doing strobe research, I didn't think a well-made strobe could make that much difference. Trust me, it does.

 

[under water]

Inon 2000 or Sea and sea YS 110 , not under , the canon G9 is a top compact camera and is able to make very good pictures , but for that you'll need enough light !!

Hi,
I'm not sure of your rationale for recommending the YS110 over the YS27? The Canon housing will not use the ttl connection so it will use the same FO connection as the YS27. The light output is almost the same. The recycle time of the YS-27 is faster. Seems like a lot more $$ for very little extra without TTL.

YS-110

Specifications:A: Alkaline, O: Oxyride, Ni-MH
Guide Number (ISO 100/m)(land)
22
Beam Angle
105°× 105° (with diffuser)
Batteries 4× AA
• A: 6V • O: 6V • Ni-MH: 4.8V
Number of Flashes*1
• A: 160 • O: 230 • Ni-MH: 320
Recycle time (full)*2
• A: 6 • O: 3 • Ni-MH: 3
Color temperature
5400K
Color temperature w/diffuser
5100K
Depth rating
60m / 200ft
Dimensions(WxHxD)
88x115x150mm / 3.5x4.6x6inch
Weight
700g / 24.5oz
Underwater weight
-10g / -0.4oz
Others
•Exposure control: DS-TTL, TTL, Light level control dial (GN): 2/2.8/3.5/4/5.6/6.7/8/9.5/11/13/16/19/22 (13 steps) •Pre-flash control : Equipped with pre-flash cancel mode (cancels one pre-flash) •Slave function •TTL slave (cordless TTL) •Sync Cord: Detachable Sync Cord for film & digital SLR cameras, fiber-optic cable (L-type) with a compact digital cameras. •Over-pressure relief valve.
•LED target light​

YS-27
Specifications:A: Alkaline, O: Oxyride, Ni-MH: Nickel-Metal-Hydride

• Guide Number (ISO 100/land) : 20
• Beam Angle : 105° x 84°
• Batteries 4xAA : A: 6V / O: 6V / Ni-MH: 4.8V
• Number of Flashes*1 : A: 350 / O: 420 / Ni-MH: 490
• Recycle time (full)*2 : A: 2.5 / O: 2 / Ni-MH: 2
• Color temperature : 5500K
• Color temperature w/diffuser : 5200K
• Depth rating : 60m / 200ft
• Dimensions (WxHxD) : 87x122x135mm / 3.4x4.8x5.3inch
• Weight : 540g / 19oz
• Under water weight : -40g / -1.4oz
• Exposure control: Light-level control from GN 1.7 to GN 20 (in 9 increments) with a manual controller
• Pre-flash control:Equipped with pre-flash cancel mode (ignores one pre-flash)
• Slave function
• Sync cord: Fiber-optic cable (L-type) for compact digital cameras
• Over-pressure relief valve

 

[under water]

Thanks for the advice. Is the Inon more complicated/labor intensive to use than the Sea & Sea? From what I'm reading it seems like it might be because it should be used in manual mode.

Also, if I want to compromise and go a little cheaper on the strobe, what would you recommend? How much would it hurt the picture quality to go with the Sea & Sea YS27 or Sealife 961?

Turtle,
I see from your other thread.. same topic.. that you are going with the Ikelite housing. That's a different story. Opens up TTL options (and your wallet!)