Anomalous YS-110 Strobe Operation When Shooting With 1G Camera in a DX-1G Housing

[hutterw]

I am shooting a Sea and Sea YS-110 strobe, 1g camera, DX-1g housing and a fiber optic sync cord.

I have been having issue taking consistent flash photos and have discovered the following anomalous system behavior.

If I position the strobe on the floor pointed towards me, set the power to minimum, the selector switch to manual1 and take a flash picture the strobe fires every time and the flash is captured in the picture.

Looking at the front of the camera housing there are two ports for the fiber optic cable. If I attaché the fiber optics cable to the right port the strobe fires every other time, and regardless of the power setting, the strobe appears to be firing at max power. If connect the fiber optic cable to the left port the strobe fires every time and the power setting appears to be functioning nominally. The left port is more centered on the camera flash and the right port is somewhat offset.

Regardless of the port used, the YS-27 strobe fires correctly every time.

Another member has informed me that the fiber optics sync cord has an upgraded with a larger sized optical port. He needs this upgrade to get his YS-90 strobe to function nominally with his system.

Has anyone else seen this behavior?

What is the upgraded sync cord part number?

 

[SEA&SEA]

Hi Hutterw-
Thanks for the inquiry. The new L-type Fiber Optic cable is part # SS-50107 and features a larger diameter cable and 90 degree end-connectors. The YS-110 has a manual mode and a DS-TTL mode. The proper settings for the DX-1G are as follows:
Manual: Manual 1, Slave on and power adjustment as necessary
DS-TTL: TTL, Slave On, Power to 1/2 for best performance.

 

[backinthesaddle]

We have just received a message from Sea & Sea and this is what we were told about the YS-110 used with the DX-1G.
"Yes, we have had some issues with YS-110 reliability with the DX-1G. We can warranty them and exchange for YS-27’s or new YS-110’s, however, we can’t say if the new 110’s will rectify the issue." The issue (as above) was the strobe not firing.
I was also told by another photo store that the 110s work flawlessly with the sync cords (DSLRs) but they will not sell them with the DX-1G. We were told that a 110 replacement "may" be available in the fall.

Can the Sea&Sea rep please respond to this?

 

[hutterw]

[FONT=&quot]I would like to know if the new larger port sync cord is guaranteed to fix my issue.[/FONT]

 

[backinthesaddle]

I would say no. The problem is not with the fiber-optic cable, the problem is with the YS-110 working with the fiber-optic cable. The dive store I teach through has stopped selling the YS-110 with the DX-1G and any of us that already have the YS-110 have returned them and are now purchasing the INON Z-240 Strobe Type 3. Apparently it works flawlessly if you find the right sync cord. The guys at Reef Photo told me that they have a custom Sync cable for this application.
The information we received on the YS-110 not working properly was directly from one of our contacts at Sea and Sea, not from a 3rd party (not to mention from personal experiences with that setup)
Chances are you already have the correct fiber-optic cable. The YS-27 uses the exact same fiber-optic cable as the YS-110 (when used with the DX-1G)

 

[hutterw]

Conducted a few additional test and even using the port on the right side of the camera the strobe has intermittent operation.

 

[AndyT]

FWIW a buddy of mine has 2 x YS110's and also does not get consistent exposure in S-TTL and F/O cable with his Oly 350. Works perfectly with a converter and electrical sync cord.

 

[S_mendez]

I have a YS-110 with fiber cable triggered by a sony dsc-w300... The problem Im noticing is that it randomly fires and when it does it does so with max intensity in spite of manual dial setting. It gets better as battery drains and even more odd is the fact that only happens under water. Above water behavior is fine. I was told to send it in for replacement/service but Im thinking changing it for a 27DX or other... Any thoughts?

 

[backinthesaddle]

Everything I have heard is that the YS-110 works flawlessly with an electrical sync cord, the problem is with compact digital cameras using the fiber-optic cable. The dive shop I am affiliated with had returned all YS-110s and has started selling the INON strobes. I personally have one 27-DX and have ordered an INON Z-240 Strobe Type 3. The Z-240 is very similar in function to the YS-110...except it works perfectly with the DX-1G. Sea and Sea gave us the option on returning the 110s for replacement but could not guarantee that the problem would be corrected. Because of their lack of being forthcoming about the problems with the 110s (even after we asked) and their apparent inability to fix the problem, we have stopped selling Sea and Sea arms and strobes and have started selling Ultralight arms and INON strobes.
My advice, if you want all of the features that the 110 offers, return yours and get the INON Z-240 Strobe Type 3, if you just want a strobe that flashes, the 27-DX works great.

Still not sure why the Sea & Sea rep has not tried to respond again to this thread???

 

[hutterw]

Here the latest in my YS-110 saga.

I purchased the strobe from an on line an authorized dealer. They told me there is an issue with the YS-110 strobe and they have informed Sea&Sea but Sea&Sea insists the strobe works with the 1g. They said they would not knowingly sell this strobe for use with a 1g camera. The shop was willing to take the strobe back as long as it had not gotten it wet but unfortunately I had taken it diving. They are willing to take it on consignment and suggest I purchase the YS-27.

Called Sea&Sea DX-1G Service/Warranty and they said they only deal with the distributors not the public and chased me away. I called the Service Center – East and they wanted me to send in my complete system, which seemed like a logical thing to do but I noticed they are not a warranty repair center. Service Center – West, which is the warranty repair center and they said to send them the strobe.

Presently the strobe is on route this service center.

[FONT=&quot]Anyone want to make a prediction on the outcome?[/FONT]