HerraduraDivers
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The Intova is - like most of their things i know - a well built and designed strobe for a extremly low price. Taking normal care of it i guess that it will last far more then 50 dives and that you may use it later as second slave on a more fancy strobe.
I don't even consider the Ikelite DS-51 due to lack of power
There are a few differences between the Ikelite DS-160 and the Intova ISS200.
1. +/- 600$
2. no e-TTL on the Intova
3. theoretically better build quality and customer service of Ikelite
4. the Intova has a strobe beam of 60°, the DS-160 of 90°
Now:
1. +/- 600$ is a bunch of money and they may be better invested in a second strobe, Wetlens, Underwater Photographer Course, etc, etc
2. I personally find my TTL strobe not a huge vantage and struggle with it (i guess my personal problem).
The G11 can be used without TTL and taking picture in manual mode will increase your understanding of (underwater)photography.
3: When i bought my DS-125 at Leisurepro i brought it down to Costa Rica and discovered that he did not fire. Had to ship it - brand-new and never touched water- from here to Ikelite and back on my expenses, so the strobe cost me 250$ more. Ikelite said thet the strobe bulb was defective... Ikelite repaired it quick, but i am disppointed that i had to ship it on my expenses even if it was factory defective. My error was to not check the strobe at Leisurepro.....
4. The angle of coverage may be a problem of the Intova at wide angle shots, but any single strobe will have the same problem. On maco it would not be visible while on WA Macro there may be a drop off in light on the edges. Building a difuser will extend the angle of coverage.
Ikelite builds excellent housings for their price but i am not too excited about their strobes.
I would think twice about buying a used Ikelite strobe for one reason, Ikelite is using propietary battery packs. If the seller is dishonest he will sell the strobe with a worn out battery pack and you have to buy a new 170$ one.
The way in between - and from my point the best way to go - is a Inon D/S-2000 / Z-240 strobe as they work very well with most of the cameras.
Or 2 Intovas.....
Chris
I don't even consider the Ikelite DS-51 due to lack of power
There are a few differences between the Ikelite DS-160 and the Intova ISS200.
1. +/- 600$
2. no e-TTL on the Intova
3. theoretically better build quality and customer service of Ikelite
4. the Intova has a strobe beam of 60°, the DS-160 of 90°
Now:
1. +/- 600$ is a bunch of money and they may be better invested in a second strobe, Wetlens, Underwater Photographer Course, etc, etc
2. I personally find my TTL strobe not a huge vantage and struggle with it (i guess my personal problem).
The G11 can be used without TTL and taking picture in manual mode will increase your understanding of (underwater)photography.
3: When i bought my DS-125 at Leisurepro i brought it down to Costa Rica and discovered that he did not fire. Had to ship it - brand-new and never touched water- from here to Ikelite and back on my expenses, so the strobe cost me 250$ more. Ikelite said thet the strobe bulb was defective... Ikelite repaired it quick, but i am disppointed that i had to ship it on my expenses even if it was factory defective. My error was to not check the strobe at Leisurepro.....
4. The angle of coverage may be a problem of the Intova at wide angle shots, but any single strobe will have the same problem. On maco it would not be visible while on WA Macro there may be a drop off in light on the edges. Building a difuser will extend the angle of coverage.
Ikelite builds excellent housings for their price but i am not too excited about their strobes.
I would think twice about buying a used Ikelite strobe for one reason, Ikelite is using propietary battery packs. If the seller is dishonest he will sell the strobe with a worn out battery pack and you have to buy a new 170$ one.
The way in between - and from my point the best way to go - is a Inon D/S-2000 / Z-240 strobe as they work very well with most of the cameras.
Or 2 Intovas.....
Chris
