Which universal strobe kit for my P&S?

[dbh]

You may find this helpful for some side-by-side comparison of strobes that you are interested in:

Underwater Strobe Comparison Guide - Digital Diver Network

I agree with Mike: The Ys 27 is the smallest you should consider in the Sea & Sea line. You will SOON outgrow the YS-17. I personally wouldn't get anything smaller than a YS-110....but I understand that some people have budget constraints.

I shoot Inon Z-240's and wouldn't trade them for any strobe on the market. If I were buying new today, I would get the Inon S-2000!

Dave

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

Strobes are like the speakers of a home entertainment center. The more money you spend on the first set, the longer it will survive system upgrades.

In '01 I spent over a Grand on an Ikelite SS200 Photo Case. That strobe has worked with a few Nikonus V's, Nikonus RS, many Olympus 5050's and a Canon S70. I can send it back for a reasonably priced upgrade to a DS200, although this would probably only happen if I went dSLR. It is still one of the best non ttl strobes you can use and it can go ttl if I want it to.

A cheap strobe will not be nearly as long lived and versatile as a high end strobe and it will not make the cheap camera's pictures as good as the high end one will. If you have the dough, better to spend now on something for the long haul IMHO.

 

[boogs]

Just came back from a dive trip this weekend!

Thanks for all the inputs guys, I'm now considering getting a high end strobe. Great analogy halemano. I was thinking I just wanted a strobe for the meantime until I can afford a high end one, although I probably could just wait instead.

The comparison chart is very helpful dbh. I'm a bit confused as to which ones in the same range I should comparing though.

I'm looking at the Inon S2000, D2000, YS-27dx. They seem to be in the same price range. Is it a preference thing, or is one better than the other? If so, how?

 

[ScubaMarc]

if you are interested, I am selling my sea&sea ys25a strobe/arm/fiber optic cable for $350. Has a higher guide and wider angles than the ys17

Marc's Dives/New York Diving/YS25AStrobe

 

[dbh]

If you check those three strobes on strobe guide I linked above, you will see that they are very close in all of the specs....except size & weight. The S2000 wins there hands down! Is that important to you for travel (It would be for me)?

Otherwise it comes down to preference and availability (IMHO).

Dave

 

[coralcruiser]

I'm using the Inon S2000 with my G10 and am glad that I decided on that instead of the S&S.

Since all my diving is outside the US, size and weight were very important to me especially with all the carry-on regulations today.

 

[boogs]

Ended up with a YS-27DX. got it used with S&S arm and tray for...... $300! Let you guys know what I think when it arrives.

 

[charlieeng]

I'm reusing my Ikelite Substrobe 50's and a 300 attached to a Heinrichs Weikamp Digital adapter ($159USD), so that's all I spent to upgrade the strobes in order for them to work with my Canon Powershot S80 in a Ikelite housing 6140.08.

Once you configure the digital adapter, for Auto/programmed/TV/AV exposure with TTL the setting of 2-2-1-1-1 it'll skip firing on the preflash. Or if your camera can manual control the internal strobe to provide no preflash then set the digital adapter for 1-2-1-1-1. It does a TTL-like control to shut off the output power to the flash which you may or may not like. But it works for me.

2-3 years ago the UW strobes were just beginning to show up with preflash control and manual output control. Today if you are just starting there are lots of choices for strobes that work well.

I'm not upgrading as I want to retain my investment in the old analog strobes.
My SS50's have a GN 28 and recycles in 3.5 secs while my SS300 has a GN 44 and recycles in 2 secs (Big Bertha). Using the digital adapter and new Nickel Metal Hydride baterries has given my old gear new life.

If you need to know more, pm me as it was a learning experience on getting it all to work correctly.

My next project is to reuse my Vivitar 283 strobe housed in a Ikelite housing updated with a Seagull SYK-5 Slave trigger adaptern ($12) for digital cameras. I'm looking at reusing a short TOSLINK fiberoptic cable $3 to catch the internal flash's triggering the external housed flash.

Good luck with your hunt for strobes!