Assistance required in choosing a Strobe kit

[Genno]

Hello all,

This is my first post of hopefully many more to come.

I recently brought the Ikelite case for Panasonic Lumix DMC-FT3 Camera #6270.03. And I am now looking at getting a strobe kit so I can start to take some underwater photos.

I was looking at the AF-35 but after reading some reviews I am not too sure. Can you share any information as to which one to choose, I was looking at spending around the $400.00 mark.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Jeff

 

[Interceptor121]

If that's for strobe and arm buy a sea and sea ys02 and an ultralight tray and arm set
you can go for a loc line as well but that will need changing at some point
If you go for loc line get a 10bar kit they are really sturdy and cheap but don't sacrifice the strobe at least to start

 

[General Po]

Hi Jeff,
I started with a DMC-FT1 in a panasonic case and did about 30 dives without a strobe. I added an Inon D2000 and the difference was huge. I would attach before and after shots but I have no clue how (maybe someone can tell me). The base, arms and clamps I used were an in-house brand sold by the shop in Singapore that the strobe came from. I think this might cost a bit more than your budget, your money's much stronger than ours, but if you end up upgrading the camera you wont regret spending on a good strobe.
I've since moved to an Olympus EPL3 in a Nauticam housing - its a slippery slope....

 

[Scuba_Noob]

I have a pair of Sea&Sea YS-01s, which are very good for my purposes. You can go with the cheaper YS-02s, but they lack TTL and a focus light (other than that, they're identical). I don't really use TTL, but the focus light is especially useful for focusing on subjects when there is low light (e.g., night dives or deep dives), rather than using an alternate light. Or you can just get one of each.

The AF35 is cheaper and I've heard good things about it as well. However, I believe its light angle is about 70 degrees (versus the 100 of the YS-01s or YS-02s) +10 with the diffuser on. That matters more for wide-angle shots than macro shots.

 

[Genno]

Thanks for the responces, i have decided to purchase the Sea and Sea YS-01 kit as my First strobe. Now i just need to figure out how to use it.

Jeff

 

[Scuba_Noob]

Good choice. I'd probably just use the camera and housing (with the diffuser) for 10-15 dives before adding the strobe kit so that you get used to the task loading of just the camera.

Adding the strobe is a significant difference in the tasks for which you have to pay attention, compared to just the camera alone.

 

[DazedAndConfuzed]

No need to go overkill with a strobe. If you are a beginner diver, you shouldn't task overload with thinks like strobes, etc. You should probably not even use a camera yet. But if you insist, just put your camera in underwater mode and shoot those snapshots away. After you get your buoyancy better, maybe you can start composing your shots.