SS2 Symbiosis

[Blatchy]

Hi All

Anyone using the SS2 Symbiosis strobes? Looking for some opinions or user reviews. Had a look in the forums but those posts are a few years old now so hoping there are some more recent users.

I have been shooting strobeless with an RX100 for a couple years now with decent results however I feel I have hit the limit of the cameras capability in natural light so would like to revive it by adding a strobe.

Looking at the SS2 due to the high guide number and included video light which I would assume is a pretty handy combination.

Unfortunately I am unable to visit a shop to see them first hand as I am living in Papua New Guinea at present so am reliant on info from forums etc.

Thoughts?

Thanks

Pete

 

[JackConnick]

These were an interesting strobe when they first came out. We sold quite a few and they worked fine. As time went on the quality suffered and we had nearly a 100% failure rate, either with the strobe or battery. They fixed some of them and we replaced others, only to see them fail again.

We sold a lot of I-DAS products for many years, but the quality control and disorganization got worse and worse and we dropped them. WeeFine/Kraken started up using some of the same engineers, but with a very high quality control in their manufacturer.

I-Das/I-Torch is run by a creative engineer who relied on others to manufacture, but never really understood or monitored the process. He also became very involved with the political situation in HK at the detriment to his business.

I would stay far, far away from the SS-2.

If you are looking for some of the same feature in a much better strobe, check out the new Kraken KRS-02 Strobe, although it doesn't have as bright a video light, the focus light is very bright and the strobe much, much better and more even.

 

[Cochise86]

Hi All
Hi Blatchy

I have been shooting for one and a half year, 3 dive trips total, with only one SS2 with a RX 100 M1 and M5A. I consider myself a beginner/intermediate photographer and intermediate diver with 250 logged dives to date and good buoyancy. Been using my RX100 for about 6 years now, the M5A for one year. Recent trip to Roatan Feb20 th to March 5th was the first dive trip where I only shot photo manual only...and still learning...

I like: -combination of strobe and light
-battery life( 6-10 dives in average)
-ease of use(manual)
-the red light , both as focus light and as light for a night dive
-reliability so far
-power of strobe(GN) and light

I don’t like: - weight(it’s GD heavy topside!) will be upgrading from flex arms to aluminium Arm segments and clamps...
- screwing of the battery pack is little finicky...

Would I buy it again? No hesitation!

François


Anyone using the SS2 Symbiosis strobes? Looking for some opinions or user reviews. Had a look in the forums but those posts are a few years old now so hoping there are some more recent users.

I have been shooting strobeless with an RX100 for a couple years now with decent results however I feel I have hit the limit of the cameras capability in natural light so would like to revive it by adding a strobe.

Looking at the SS2 due to the high guide number and included video light which I would assume is a pretty handy combination.

Unfortunately I am unable to visit a shop to see them first hand as I am living in Papua New Guinea at present so am reliant on info from forums etc.

Thoughts?

Thanks

Pete

 

[Blatchy]

Hi Guys

Thanks heaps for the replies, much appreciated. Only just joined this forum and am pleasantly surprised with the quick responses and honest opinions.

If the reliability issues really are that bad then I won't bother with the SS2. Being in PNG I have to make sure my gear is pretty tough and reliable as it is very hard to get things repaired/replaced here unless I send it down to Aus which ain't cheap.

Any other recommendations for strobes? Particularly for someone new to shooting with them?

Also, as this is my first strobe, would you recommend that I get one with sTTL or just dive straight into a manual strobe. I've been using dSLR's and mirrorless cameras on land for years so have a good understanding of manual/aperture priority shooting. How accurate is TTL underwater for good exposures?

Thanks

Pete

 

[Chris Ross]

Most strobes will have TTL available - whether it works or not I think depends a lot on the camera - the strobe is just mimicking what the onboard flash does. TTL is regarded as less reliable particularly for wide angle work and getting that exposure right can be tricky - a lot of TTL systems will turn down the flash as it thinks it has enough ambient light to work with. TTL for macro tends to be more reliable as long as the subject is large in frame. Manual flash is not that hard - you normally get in very close to your subject and the change in distance is not that big - the flash power required is set by distance to subject and aperture only so you can make life easier for yourself by sticking to one aperture and just changing flash power when distance of strobe to subject changes.

If you are sticking with the RX100 1" sensor and doing wide angle work you probably only need to be at f5.6 the Depth of field is equivalent to f15 on a full frame - depth of field in this context is having enough DOF to pull the corners of the virtual image from the dome into focus rather than the traditional having enough DOF to bring foreground and background into focus. For macro you are much closer to the subject and even if you stop down a little more most any strobe will have enough power for you. This means small strobes like the INON S-2000 will be more than adequate for you. Of course if you think you might change to m43 or full frame a bit more power is needed as you stop down some more with those formats then a Z-330 might be a better bet. The S-2000's are nice because they are so small and balance well with the small RX-100 rig and will be easier to place close in for macro shots. INON has a pretty good reliability reputation.

If you are in PNG when you order strobes also order spare o-rings, grease and maybe even a spare cap, the additional cost is not much and you don't have to pay postage again and wait for spares to arrive if you have an o-ring issue. You also may be less tempted to not change out an o-ring that is suspect if you have spares on hand. Order some Eneloop batteries/spare sets and a good quality charger to ensure you always have power for your strobes. Also look into what sort of arms you want - in a remote spot, some good quality aluminum arms and clamps would be a good idea as you don't want to have any issues that needs a trip to the store for replacement.