YS-D1 vs the new YS-D2

[chat2joe]

Hi all,

Last week I did my first big strobe investment and ordered 2 x Sea & Sea YS-D1. The next day (after dispatch) they announced the YS-D2.

I haven't received them yet but I'll have 14 days to return them once they arrive (EU law on online purchase).

Have any YS-D1 users here checked out the YS-D2? Worth the upgrade? The power output is the same and they say the buttons are improved but I think the YS-D1 buttons look much better for single-thumb settings changes.

Thoughts?

 

[bvanant]

If you shoot fast moving subjects, you will definitely like the faster recycle speed (20% improvement).
Bill

 

[smoore]

Now that the new strobes have been announced has the price on the strobes you ordered dropped?

 

[chat2joe]

No yet. But they'll not be distributed to the shops for another week at least and they don't have a guide price on the new YS-D2 yet; they haven't received cost details from the distributer/Sea&Sea yet.

 

[Jak Crow]

I would just return the D1s and get the D2s.

 

[Cali_diver]

Well I would get the new ones for the other improvements like the controls. I can't tell you how many times I have accidentally changed the controls and missed a shot, especially if you reposition your strobes... as for the recycle times.. according to Reef and Bluewater they perform the same as the YS-D1's. Recycle is the same.

 

[bvanant]

S&S says the d1 has a full shot recycle time of 1.9 sec and the D2 is 1.5 seconds, or 25% (more or less) better.
Bill

 

[JackConnick]

I just shot both on my trip. I'll write a review soon.

In practice the YS-D2 isn't much that faster. I mean >1/4 sec? What is nice is the audible note when it's back up to power and the greatly improved knobs. The YS-D1 power selector (left) knob has always drove me nuts, as every time you reposition it you tend to move it out of position. I found the strobe took much less attention during the dive.

I do also like the new mode color display and the slightly improved battery compartments. The (right) knob which indicates manual aperture/ev "power" (actually duration) takes some getting used to, I found it a little hard to read. And I've never found the suggested aperture settings to be meaningful.

Other than that, they pretty much are the same and you can mix and match; output, color temp, etc is the same. BTW, YS-D1s are almost sold out and they are discontinued.

 

[Jak Crow]

I dove with the -D2s for the first time this weekend and I thought the faster cycle time definitely made a difference for my own impatience of trying to take another photo as soon as possible, where the D1s wouldn't exactly be ready but the D2s were. They also have some minor body and diffuser improvement, I personally don't care about the different knobs, the ready light is easier to see. The audio indicator doesn't appear to be working as advertised. I only hear the audio indicator when I first turn the strobes on. So far there is no audio indicator when the strobe is ready to shoot again when in TTL mode. In fact, the manual makes no mention of the audio feature that I can find, searching for audio, sound, hear, tone, audible, and even under the Specifications - Indicator, there is nothing about an audio indicator. When I called Sea&Sea for to get some info, the person I reached first answered like he was answering his home phone, which made me first hang up thinking I had called the wrong number, and then when I called back, same kind of unprofessional answer, and then the guy showed me how completely ignorant of his own company's products he was. I was rather unimpressed.

 

[tangfish]

I just shot both on my trip. I'll write a review soon.

In practice the YS-D2 isn't much that faster. I mean >1/4 sec? What is nice is the audible note when it's back up to power and the greatly improved knobs. The YS-D1 power selector (left) knob has always drove me nuts, as every time you reposition it you tend to move it out of position. I found the strobe took much less attention during the dive.

I do also like the new mode color display and the slightly improved battery compartments. The (right) knob which indicates manual aperture/ev "power" (actually duration) takes some getting used to, I found it a little hard to read. And I've never found the suggested aperture settings to be meaningful.

Other than that, they pretty much are the same and you can mix and match; output, color temp, etc is the same. BTW, YS-D1s are almost sold out and they are discontinued.

Jack, any indication from SEA&SEA on whether they plan to release a successor to the YS-250PRO anytime soon?