Question AOI Q1RC or Sea&Sea YS-D3 Duo

[reggy]

Hi. I can you help me to find the right strobe for me?
I'm just a regular diver who want to take picture of anything that interesting for me. But i really loved to take a picture of a turtle, and macro / wide sometimes. I have a TG 7 camera, and AOI 400A wide lens. Now i want to buy the strobe.
The option i considered is
- two AOI Q1RC
- two Sea&Sea YS D3 Duo

I live in indonesia, mostly dives in bali. Hopefully can dives in raja ampat or labuan bajonsomeimes.

Which strobe do you think is more suitable to buy?

Thank you

 

[noserider]

AOI Q1RC are great, small and easy to travel with but do lack a bit of power and spread. The Y3 are more more powerful and bigger probably more suited to wide angle.

I picked up some AOI last time I was in Japan and happy with them but do suspect that when I upgrade the camera from a TG 6, the strobes will be upgraded soon after

 

[reggy]

I think the AOI Q1 RC size is an advantage for travelling. But i'm not sure about the power, can it fit for 120° wide angle?
Also for the recycling time, can AOI Q1 RC fire when its not fully charged?

 

[bvanant]

With the TGx cameras the AOI will be fine, small sensors need a lot less light than if you were shooting full frame.
Bill

 

[Nemrod]

Per a dive friend who uses a TG. He has the YSD3 strobes and is using the RC mode which works very well for him.

 

[reggy]

Thank you @noserider , @bvanant , @Nemrod

 

[vkalia]

After having multiple Sea&Sea strobes die on me, while my Inon Z240 enters its 19th year of service, I am done with S&S for now - i believe they have new ownership or something but I am gonna hold off until there is evidence that their manufacturing has gotten more reliable and their customer service has come into existence.

I have an AOI Q1 that i have paired with a Seafrogs housing and a G7XIII, primarily as a rental unit for those looking to get started with I/w photography. It is a very sensibly priced unit: greater battery life, quick recharge and reasonable power.

A GN of 24 is enough for the distances one SHOULD be shooting at for good results. I have used Inon Z240s (similar GN) for nearly 2 decades before switching to Supe D-Pros last year, and i rarely turned the Inons up to more than 1/2 power.

The only thing it misses out on is the angle of coverage, which is pretty low at 85 degrees with a diffuser. But then, you’d pay a lot more to get 110-120 degree coverage for the same GN. And with compact cameras, this angle of coverage is sufficient for a lot of reefscapes, especially once you get a handle on how to position the lights (although if you start adding wide angle wet lenses, you’ll need a second strobe).

I took it this setup out for a dive a couple of weeks ago to test the strobe and have been quite pleased with its performance.

The angle of coverage and power output set to about midway position was enough to light this scene:

You can see that it hasn’t really lit the bottom of the image that well, but that isn’t a bad thing - adds some depth to the image.

The turtle below is also a tricky shot for a single strobe - but again, you can choose to work with what you have.

So TL;Dr: this is a damn good strobe for the price and the only limitation - the relatively low angle of coverage - can be offset by adding a second strobe down the line if you do desire.

PS: Is it just me or are the images looking blurry on other people’s monitors as well?

 

[noserider]

Two AOI Q1 and TG6 on the kona night dive was surprised at how good they were