Inon, catch me up please

[Nemrod]

WTH is going on with Inon? Just as I was considering purchasing a set of the new Z330 Inon appears to have now only the D200! And the little S2000 is also gone. Are they going out of business, more fall out from the pandemonium or the chip debacle or what? Or too much competition from weirdly (non) brandedCCC. I will let you figure that acronym out for yourself. What's up with this?

 

[Nemrod]

Just to clarify, I was day dreaming really, my two antique D2000 strobes run perfectly still and perform well. I see there are interweb speculations but it has been a while now and nothing new. Weird I guess but as good as Inon products have always been, they are a slightly weird outfit so it fits I suppose.

 

[Barmaglot]

They're in the middle of a model refresh. The S2000 is getting replaced with the S220; most likely they're working on a Z-240/Z-330 successor as well, but I haven't seen any specifics as of yet.

 

[AggressorBLUE]

Is it not a bit concerning that they can’t maintain production/inventory of their current lineup, while also developing its successor though?

I’m with Nemrod in the ‘daydreaming’ stage of working through what life looks like after I retire my battle hardened DS125s. But I have to say, it’s a major source of hesitation that Inon just…dropped from the strobe market like that. I’m imaging that could leave someone in a tough spot if they needed a strobe serviced ahead of a trip right now.

 

[David Haas]

I'll have to weigh in on Inon strobes after using Ikelite for decades (I was dealer over 25 years) and then Inon since about 2016.......

The Ikelite DS125 / 160 / 161 and newest DS230s are great. Keep going for decades unless you somehow flood the battery pack.....

Inon strobes needing service? Never happens......They just keep going and going unless you somehow figure a way to flood the battery compartment. It has a clear door and yellow o-ring that only needs a teensy bit of lube as you thread the door on. You can SEE the o-ring is sealed....

I'm sure the new slightly updated power and controls Inon S220 will be just as reliable as Inon S2000 units plus whatever replaces the Z330 /Z330 II models.

Just one old guy's opinion

David Haas

 

[davehicks]

I'll have to weigh in on Inon strobes after using Ikelite for decades (I was dealer over 25 years) and then Inon since about 2016.......

The Ikelite DS125 / 160 / 161 and newest DS230s are great. Keep going for decades unless you somehow flood the battery pack.....

Inon strobes needing service? Never happens......They just keep going and going unless you somehow figure a way to flood the battery compartment. It has a clear door and yellow o-ring that only needs a teensy bit of lube as you thread the door on. You can SEE the o-ring is sealed....

I'm sure the new slightly updated power and controls Inon S220 will be just as reliable as Inon S2000 units plus whatever replaces the Z330 /Z330 II models.

Just one old guy's opinion

David Haas

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Well, I also really like the Inon 330 but it's not true they never need service. I have had to service one without ever flooding it. The power switch control dial stopped working. And i have a second 330 showing early symptoms of the same issue. But I have three 330s now, with the not-dead-yet one in reserve.

I look forward to seeing what they come out with next.

 

[Barmaglot]

Inon strobes needing service? Never happens......They just keep going and going unless you somehow figure a way to flood the battery compartment

I have personally witnessed a Z330 die outright, without flooding, just after the 1 year warranty ended, and the owner had to pay something like 80% of a new strobe cost to get it fixed.

 

[David Haas]

I guess I'd say with Dave's and Barmaglot's comments no flash will NEVER need service.......But in my travels, use and also observations from a dealer I knew it seems Inon strobes required LESS service situations.

I recently read about a knob or some connection inside on some Inon Z330 with one person even advising where it shifts or comes loose as a possible cause.

I personally wouldn't take apart any strobe as the capacitor energy if not discharged before poking around in there could seriously injure someone or worse !

So choose whichever brand you prefer.........

Previously (retired) as an Ikelite dealer for close to 30 years I have to say the DS125 original and subsequent DS160 / 161 and now DS230 (not out long enough yet but likely reliable as their predecessors) were and are great designs.

For the tiny Inon S2000 my use over years shooting thousands of flashes on dozens of trips I'd stack that model up against the Ikelite larger DS models for reliability.

Of course your mileage may vary

David Haas

 

[AggressorBLUE]

Can solidly agree that the DS series are basically the Toyota pickup trucks of the underwater strobe world. But there are a couple things giving me extreme pause before staying with the brand at upgrade time:

-While the strobes will last forever, the batteries won’t. And asking $250 for an NiMH based battery pack in 2023 is borderline criminal. I know they had their issues with their brief stint with Lithium, but thats not an excuse to price gouge on an older chemistry batteries. I just recently rebuilt one of my packs with about $30 worth of batteries. Even if Ike is using a higher quality cell than I used, the experience showed me the design of the packs and housing isn’t really that complex. It’s basically a bunch of C-ish sized batteries in a waterproof container, connected to a simple circuit board. While I know in absolute terms its a step back in the power of the strobe, it’s getting hard not to be jealous of the folks able to work with rechargeable double As…

-Ikelites vaunted TTL tech now comes at a premium. To wit, my OMD EM-5 MKII housing has the TTL bulkhead/circuit built in. But if I upgrade to a housing for a newer model, like the OM-1, I have to buy their external TTL circuit adapter for $375. The housings still cost the same. So now they’ve introduced two extra connection points for leaks to set it, and effectively raised the cost of the housing by roughly 30%, assuming I want the same functionality. Hmm…

-Overall, it seems like competitors like SeaandSea and Inon are innovating and Ikelite is effectively just coasting on their current design. For example, Ike is quick to extrol the virtues of their circular flash tube design, and they aren’t wrong that it’s a nice, even beam. But it’s a slow flash, and SnS and Inon are working on ways to optically counter the limitations of straight tubes. For example, the fly-eye diffuser (apparently no light lost and an even beam) could conceptually give the best of all worlds; faster light propagation, more efficient use of on-camera power, lower cost, and a bright, even beam spread. So, on the one hand, that consistency in design across the DS series breeds a natural reliability, but on the other hand that S220 Type 2 is looking like a pretty solid, travel friendly strobe, especially considering you can get two for about a grand…

 

[Nemrod]

The only malfunction of my Inon D2000 strobes is the oldest one, Type 1 I think it is, was dropped to the deck of the boat several times. The modeling light afterwards would sometimes come on and would not turn off without cycling the strobe power. I sent it to Pacific Housing Repair and the gentleman there at my request disabled the modeling light. The strobe continues to work just fine. I could use a little more punch and the diminutive size of the S220 is attractive, a win on both accounts. Sadly I am poor and she who watches over me will not allow a new purchase until the old purchase quits. Which is possibly never .