Yet another which 1st strobe for my digital point and shoot camera

[DazedAndConfuzed]

Hi,

I use to shoot film SLR in ikelite housing w/their old Substrobe M, adjusting the F-stop based on estimated distance and hope I get 1 good shot out of that roll of film.

Then I move to the Oly C5050, where back in those days, strobes for those cameras did not exist, so I had to do alot of tricks to get decent pictures.

Lately, I see more and more of the point and shoot cameras with strobes in the camera bucket and thought maybe it is time to get on board. I didn't realize there were so many options now. I am looking in the $400 range. Basically which one would be the best in that range?

Looking for:

Power (as much as these wimpy strobes can give (GN of 20 are toys in land cameras, I have a GN 60 @ 28mm flash)
Auto exposure (lots of talk of TTL, don't know if they are real or not).
Detachability?(stretch strobe farther, or removal to point camera into hole).


The entry level ones I know of are:

Ikelite AF35 underpowered?.
Fantasea is junk(?)
Intova ISS 4000 doesn't seem to have auto mode.
Sea&Sea YS-02 is a manual slave.
Bonica Neon XP?
Sealife SL961, I was told is decent.
Olympus UFL-1? does it integrate with my camera any better than the above?

Any preferences from people?

 

[Shayne]

the intova 4000 strobe supplies good lighting for underwater photos, I use twin ISS 4000 strobes they work really well

 

[DazedAndConfuzed]

But is the Intova 4000 a auto strobe? I am not sure I want to fiddle with the power setting for ever shot.

 

[flareside]

Spending $400 on a toy strobe you will outgrow fairly quickly does not seem like money well spent. Why not stretch your budget a little more ($429 YS-01, $469 Inon S-2000) and get something at the lower end of the "real" strobe range?

 

[DazedAndConfuzed]

Those strobes, with arms, tray & fiber optic cable will cost alot more. I know I miss much of the shots because the built in flash doesn't light up anything. But even with a strobe, it is not like a whole underwater cave will be lit up. Even for macro shots, most come out fine. It is just the silty ones are at a loss.

I use to do all the dive photography thing, dragging the bulky SLR housing with the giant dome port and external strobe on its giant arm. It slowed me down on every dive. Always having to settle the camera to compose like its a 8x10 camera, then swim to catch up to the group with what feels like a giant parachute.

I've had my 5050 for a while (actually 2nd one, one flooded when battery exploded and pushed the o-ring out). Learned to live with its slow shutter lag, etc. The only path I might upgrade is if I could stuff my old D70 into the old SLR housing.

Anyway, are any of those strobe heads compatable with Ikelite arms? I got a whole bunch of trays and arms lying around.

 

[FWADIVER]

Anyway, are any of those strobe heads compatable with Ikelite arms? I got a whole bunch of trays and arms lying around.

you can always get adapters, especially for the inons.

 

[flareside]

I don't know what you have in the way of Ikelite arms, but as is the case with most strobes and arm combinations it all comes down to having the right adaptor. As far as cables, if you don't stick to brand names, they are not that bad Sync Cords - Strobes - Optical Ocean Sales Underwater Photo or 6315 Fantasea Nano Fiber Optic Cable Kit

 

[DazedAndConfuzed]

Inon doesn't need sync cables? If so, then it would be better, but then I am not sure if it could do its S-TTL accurately w/o it.

 

[flareside]

"Need?", no but it's best to use one or else any other strobe in the area may set off yours. If you are on a budget, it doesn't need to be an Inon branded cable though as long as it has the right connectors.

More information on the Strobe here INON S-2000 Strobe [Feature]

 

[DazedAndConfuzed]

Thanks. Lots of info gathered in the past day.

So main thing YS-01 and S-2000 stands above the others are their TTL? Is that the reason they are recommended over all the other strobes that only has a built in light metering?