Inon S2000 or the Sea&Sea YS-01?

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Germie

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One of my older YS-02 strobes died. It did not completely die, but sometimes won't reload the condensator. So I cannot trust it anymore. It can work a complete dive, or it will refuse working the complete dive. Or it drains the battery fast.

I only use the strobe as a slave strobe.
This means that the cable is really important. I use Anglerfish slave triggers and they only work with original cables. I have tried selfmades and Ali-express ones, all fire the strobis with 100% ok from the camera, but if you use the Anglerfish, it goes doen to less than 1%. With original cables it works fine.

The Sea&Sea YS-01 is cheaper than the S2000. But the Solis is more expensive and you get the same.

With Inon you need to buy YS-mounts, you get them with the Sea&sea in the package.

I already have original Seasea cables, but need an original inon cable when going to the S2000. Theoretically you can cut the seasea cable and install the inon part, but the cutting can be a problem. It must be completely flat or the Anglerfish doesn't work anymore. So that is why I say you must buy a new cable.

I am a technical diver, a few times a year I dive over 80m. Till now never used slave strobes then. But Inon goes to 100m, seasea to 75m.

Recycle time: 1.6 for inon on full, 1.9 for seasea. I almost never use the full modes, most times it is 50 til 75%. Is the recoverytime an issue? I don't know, but the YS-02 is sometimes slower than I am. I don't know if the solis is faster.

Inon will become more expensive I think because of a new mount and new cable.

What is the best choice nowadays?
 
Edit: I mean the manual YS-01, not the 03 that is useless for me. So title and text edited.
 
When I upgraded (and simultaneously downsized) my camera gear, I bought a pair of S&S YS01s to replace my INON D2000s.

My next trip was a couple days in Nassau followed by a week on the Aquacat. One of my S&S YS01s failed on my very first dive and I spent the remainder of the trip with a single strobe. After much discussion* with the shop where I bought them, MOZAIK, I returned the fauly strobe and the shop gave me a full credit for it and I ordered a pair of S2000s. The S2000s are not by any stretch of the imagination the most powerful strobes available, but I would not hesitate to recommend them. I have been extremely happy with every INON strobe I have owned.

*I should probably note that when I mentioned "after much discussion...", the customer service at MOZAIK was amazing! The discussion centered on how they could best resolve the issue. They wanted to make sure that after all the dust settled, so to speak, that I was happy with the result.
 
I personally don't like INON's battery compartment design, specifically the o-ring being subjected to rotational force. One of my D2000's went out when it leaked into the battery compartment and flooded the entire strobe.

I immediately added this kit to my other D2000 strobe: H2O Tools Inon Optimization Set specifically for the secondary o-ring, which goes in the end of the battery compartment cap and ends up under compression when tightened. This gives double oring protection against leaks. The extended knobs are a great upgrade as well, and I highly recommend this kit to all INON users.

I recently sold that strobe and went with a pair of used YS-110a's. I like S&S's oring design more as a sliding interface, and I owned a YS-25DX for 10 years without a single flood by cleaning and greasing the o-ring every day before assembling my kit. I do the same to my 110a's, clean and grease before assembly in the hotel room.
 
Everything can flood sadly. 1 of my second hand seasea strobes has been flooded too (but still works).
I think I heard more floodings with seasea than inon. But yes, you can rotate the Oring with inon. I have seen that already, but then no leaks.
I see old s2000's in use and old seasea's in use.

Still difficult what to choose.
 
I personally don't like INON's battery compartment design, specifically the o-ring being subjected to rotational force. One of my D2000's went out when it leaked into the battery compartment and flooded the entire strobe.

Everything can flood sadly. 1 of my second hand seasea strobes has been flooded too (but still works).
I think I heard more floodings with seasea than inon. But yes, you can rotate the Oring with inon. I have seen that already, but then no leaks.
I see old s2000's in use and old seasea's in use.

Still difficult what to choose.
As long as the o-rings are lubed, the rotation should not be a factor. (As an aside, you never hear about people cautioning against PETREL or PERDIX Dive Computers because rotation is a potential problem for the o-rings on the battery compartment.) Just make sure that your o-rings are lubed.
 
The Orings from Inon are loose, that is true. It is quite easy to screw an oring between the cap and the strobe. But if you do it carefully and you see this happens, just unscrew a part, and screw on again. I haven't seen this with other brands, there Orings are a little bit more tightened.

But seasea has an auto turnoff and inon hasn't. It is quite annoying when you turned strobes on before that dive and if you want to use it, they refuse to work. And it is not just turning off and on again, you have to wait a couple of minutes and try again.

I have tried an s2000 now also. And the YS-01 (not the solis, if I have to buy, I have to buy the really more expensive solis with exactly same specs)
If strobes are on, with both you can get an 80-90% firing rate. Not 100% as the diver sometimes has his body in wrong position, or a regulator, stage, or hand in the way of the slave trigger.
I used the slave in full modus, yes, you can see the S2000 is faster in recycle time.

If you talk to photographers, inon and seasea is used as slave. Maybe it is really a personal opinion.
 
As long as the o-rings are lubed, the rotation should not be a factor. (As an aside, you never hear about people cautioning against PETREL or PERDIX Dive Computers because rotation is a potential problem for the o-rings on the battery compartment.) Just make sure that your o-rings are lubed.

You're also not changing dive computer batteries as often as you are strobe batteries.

I fully understand that proper lubrication and maintenance make this not a huge issue, but from a mechanical design standpoint, I do not like the rotation at all.
 
The Orings from Inon are loose, that is true. It is quite easy to screw an oring between the cap and the strobe. But if you do it carefully and you see this happens, just unscrew a part, and screw on again. I haven't seen this with other brands, there Orings are a little bit more tightened.

But seasea has an auto turnoff and inon hasn't. It is quite annoying when you turned strobes on before that dive and if you want to use it, they refuse to work. And it is not just turning off and on again, you have to wait a couple of minutes and try again.

I have tried an s2000 now also. And the YS-01 (not the solis, if I have to buy, I have to buy the really more expensive solis with exactly same specs)
If strobes are on, with both you can get an 80-90% firing rate. Not 100% as the diver sometimes has his body in wrong position, or a regulator, stage, or hand in the way of the slave trigger.
I used the slave in full modus, yes, you can see the S2000 is faster in recycle time.

If you talk to photographers, inon and seasea is used as slave. Maybe it is really a personal opinion.

My S& Strobes do not automatically turn off, so I am unsure what issue you are having.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/

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