D2000 or Z-240?

[jghflash]

Having asked the question, I suspect I already know the answer! Aside from the price difference, is the extra horsepower of the Z-240 worth it? I have a D-180 that I have used for several years and am going to get a second strobe.......just in case I didn't have enough task loading with the camera, strobe, stacked macro's and wide angle already!

 

[Nemrod]

I would just get the D2000. No, IMO, the extra power is not worth it. But, ultimately, it is up to you and what you are trying to do. Save yourself some money and open the lens another stop or up the ISO a stop.

N

 

[Gilligan]

Just curious, since there is no more Inon America, where does one in the USA get an Inon strobe serviced should the need arise?
Ship it to Japan?

 

[Nemrod]

Just curious, since there is no more Inon America, where does one in the USA get an Inon strobe serviced should the need arise?
Ship it to Japan?

Not that again. Inon America was never the only conduit for Inon equipment, they were a middle man which Inon decided to do without for whatever reason, they were not a division of Inon. Reef services them and the fact is they don't need a lot of service because they don't much break. If mine does and if Reef cannot service it, I will send it back to Inon, don't really care.

Who services Patima or Fisheye or any of a number of Japanese products?

N

 

[Gilligan]

Not that again. Inon America was never the only conduit for Inon equipment, they were a middle man which Inon decided to do without for whatever reason, they were not a division of Inon. Reef services them and the fact is they don't need a lot of service because they don't much break. If mine does and if Reef cannot service it, I will send it back to Inon, don't really care.

Who services Patima or Fisheye or any of a number of Japanese products?

N

Ok, thanks for that info.

 

[bvanant]

You can never have too much light. Get the Z240. You can always dial down the power, increase the fstop etc, but you can't shoot with light that you don't have.
Bill

 

[HerraduraDivers]

bvanant,
you are completly right, it's better dial down than don't have the power when you need it.
But i rather would buy a real more powerful strobe like the DS-200
than investing +/- 200$ to step-up anounced 4 GN and to have a Nikonos type electrical TTL connection even if the DS-200 cost another 400$ more than a Z-240, so almost the double of a D-2000.
Unfortunatly there is no way (as far i know) to confront Ikelites Watts per Seconds to the widely used Guide Number, but looking at the big difference in strobe tube size i guess that the Ikelites (or the excellent YS 250 Pro) are much more powerful.
Just my personal 2 cents

Chris

 

[bvanant]

Chris:

But i rather would buy a real more powerful strobe like the DS-200
than investing +/- 200$ to step-up anounced 4 GN and to have a Nikonos type electrical TTL connection.

Huh: As far as I know the Z240 and the DS200 both have 24 meter guide numbers in air. The outputs are pretty much the same, both have Nikonos electrical sync but the Inon also has optical sync. The Inon uses AA batteries and the Ds-200 has a proprietayr battery and I am not a big fan of proprietary batteries but other folk love them. Both are great strobes and you won't go wrong with either one.
Bill

 

[jghflash]

Given that I need to use a fiber optic sync cable with my current set up, the Ike is not a good option. I think the "you can't use horsepower you don't have" theory will sway me toward the Z-240. Once you start investing in the underwater photography money pit...ooldive:

 

[Nemrod]

First, the Inon strobes like most are rated with a surface GN.

Second, to convert to an underwater GN you need to divide by about a factor of 3.

Third, the equation for your exposure is:

GN / Distance = f stop

or

f stop = GN / Distance

Now you only need to realize that the D2000 with a surface GN of 20 underwater is a GN of 6.6 and the Z240 with a surface GN of 24 underwater only GN 8.0.

Fourth, now plug those numbers and f stops and distances into the equation above and tell me if you really want to spend 150 more dollars for the Z240. You are talking inches of difference in working distance. You would be better off to spend the money on two S2000 or two D2000 than a single Z240. BTW, doubling your strobes only increases the area of coverage, not the effective distance.

N