Recommendations for a "less expensive" strobe

[rookers]

I have a used Sea & Sea DX3000G camera that I recently acquired. I would like to mate it with a strobe without breaking the bank. Any recommendations? Like with the camera, I am looking for 'adequate' performance, not spectacular.
Thanks to any that reply!

 

[f3nikon]

Rule of thumb...the price of the U/W strobe should cost HALF as much as your DX3000G. Common sense says that your digital camera has much more advance electronics than even the most expensive strobe ever built.

 

[bandit_TX]

It would help to know your price range. An Ikelite DS-51 with arm would run you about $450 and would be adequate for macro work. The Sea and Sea lights start about $450 without an arm. You will also need a tray unless your camera has mounting points, and a sync cord if that is how you intend to trigger it. You need to be careful about what trigger sync it has, ie Nikonos or something else. Does it have an internal flash that can be used to trigger a flash optically? There are a lot of strobes out there, including older stuff on eBay, but not all are usable with all cameras. You can get more professional help at either wetpixel.com or digitaldiver.net

 

[f3nikon]

You can get more professional help at either wetpixel.com or digitaldiver.net

Don't you mean Expensive help? The DS-51 has the same housing, flash bulb, battery cover etc. as the A35 ($149 new $50 ebay) and the M series substrobes ($50 ebay). All have about $12.75 worth of electronics (pc board, cap, transistors etc.) I opened them by twisting the the front plate. And you still need a $100 cord for the DS-51

"It would help to know your price range" Man if that doesn't sound like a used car salesman!

Just take a look at the sponsors of those websites, like you will get an unbiased suggestion...yeah right!

 

[f3nikon]

I have a used Sea & Sea DX3000G camera that I recently acquired. I would like to mate it with a strobe without breaking the bank. Any recommendations? Like with the camera, I am looking for 'adequate' performance, not spectacular.
Thanks to any that reply!

I'll see if I can dig up the pictures:

http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=113411

 

[rjsimp]

Don't you mean Expensive help? The DS-51 has the same housing, flash bulb, battery cover etc. as the A35 ($149 new $50 ebay) and the M series substrobes ($50 ebay). All have about $12.75 worth of electronics (pc board, cap, transistors etc.) I opened them by twisting the the front plate. And you still need a $100 cord for the DS-51

"It would help to know your price range" Man if that doesn't sound like a used car salesman!

Just take a look at the sponsors of those websites, like you will get an unbiased suggestion...yeah right!

Wow.. Really sounds like you have an axe to grind or something..

I guess if everything was priced based on their electronics and not what supply and demand will get, then the economics professors have it all wrong. Of course we would all like to pay what it REALLY cost to make something, but that isn't how things work.

If you want to go the ebay route, go for it. That is surely an option and a good one, but that means you are buying a used item most likely and so the price you pay is deflated because of that. "Strobes should cost 1/2 what your DX3000 cost" is kind of an odd statement. Yes, you could find a strobe on ebay "cheap" but that may or may not be adequate for the camera and type of shots they want to take.

The "What is your price range" question seems like a good one to me because that really determines how serious the person is and IF it is even feasible to get a decent strobe. If they are only willing to spend $50, then not likely they will get a strobe.

You might want to consider helping rookers and not trashing someone's post. If you have good options, say so without being so "nasty" about it..

 

[DesertEagle]

Try the Sea & Sea YS27. It's under $400 and would work well with the camera.

 

[rookers]

Well... before any more fur flies, let me parameterize...
I bought the DX3000G on ebay, very good price, a little over $200.00 for a camera/housing that listed originally for between 850-900. Its 3 years old, the camera and housing are fine, and with the addition of a new SD card and some better battery technology, its ready to go diving. I would love to find a strobe in the 200-300 range I can use with it. It has its own flash, and can be sync'd optically. I will need a tray and arm also. I consider this my 'starter' kit and will likely upgrade the camera in a year so may be interested in a strobe that can grow with me. Of course, I realize that this would point to a more expensive unit.

Thanks for all the suggestions to date!

 

[bandit_TX]

Can the pre-flash be turned off on this camera? If not, only digital ready strobes will work. Anything else will dump on the pre-flash and leave you in the dark on the main flash.

 

[rookers]

Yes, it seems it can be shut off.