inexpensive slave strobe?

[arenny]

It seems nothing is really inexpensive these days...
I have a L&M tetra and a Oly C5050 with a S&S DX90, I was looking to add a 2nd strobe but don't want to pay too much $$$. I don't want to add the second bulkhead with synch cord etc... Just something that helped out my DX90.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

 

[Gilligan]

Does this one suit your price and needs?

 

[justin-branam]

Does this one suit your price and needs?

I dont think i could stand the "Recycle Time About 9 sec with alkaline cells". Plus that site doesnt say the power rating of the strobe? Personally i stick with the, "You get what you pay for " philosophy and it has yet to fail me.

and that's my $0.02

 

[Larry C]

Sounds pretty good to me! Anybody tried it or have specs? If nothing else, it's a relatively cheap, lightweight tray and arm and a slave second strobe if you find a decent buy on e-bay. I wonder how it compares to the Oly FL-20 w/housing that sells for about $40 more online and doesn't come with a tray or cable?

 

[lanwu]

This SunPak flash looks much like the old Epoque DS150 flash which gave great power for price (about US$200). Only, mine eventually flooded unfortunately. Otherwise, yes, i thought it was a great little strobe. Controls on the Guide number was very helpful too.

There's a strobe comparison pdf floating about in one of the forum posts (maybe digitialdiver or wetpixel) that compared it to the ikelites & Inon strobes & says pretty much the same thing.

I was happy w/ the strobe & even managed some decent lighting on wide angle shots w/ my 5050 WITHOUT a wide angle lense at the time.

 

[Larry C]

Can anyone tell me what this statement on the description for this light means? "ISO 100 guide no. 70". I assume it is a power rating. Also, the Epoque 150 is available from the same vendor. It is similarly priced, but the tray and flex arm are separate (and quite reasonable) as is the optional fibre optic cable. The recycle time is a bit quicker at 5-7 seconds. Again, any comparisons for power, and how does it compare to the Oly FL-20 which is made for the unit and does TTL at about the same price (without tray and arm)? Would we be better off picking up one of the many YS60's, or SB102-105's on e-bay for similar money in unknown condition?

 

[alcina]

5-7 seconds for recycle time? I'd go insane...and remember, that's time on a full set of batteries, it'll only get worse.

 

[jeraldjcook]

I just bought a Sunpak G-flash for $180. If you use half power or less, on 2 NiMH AA the recycle time is only two seconds. Fullpower about 7-9, depending on your batteries. Really cheap and it works for my needs.

 

[bobf]

Can anyone tell me what this statement on the description for this light means? "ISO 100 guide no. 70"

.

ISO is the sensitivity setting of the film or sensor during testing for the strobe's intensity. ISO 100 is the unwritten industry standard at which strobes are tested at. The lower the ISO number, the more light that is need to properly expose the film or sensor. For instance, ISO 50 requires twice as much light to hit the sensor as ISO 100 to achieve a similar exposure. An ISO setting of 200 would require only half as much light to hit the sensor as ISO 100, but at a potential cost of creating additional grain or noise in resulting image quality.

Guide Number is the number given to represent the intensity of light that is emitted from the strobe. The higher the number, the brighter the light.

What is missing from the information supplied is if the measuring was done in feet or meters and if the strobe was tested in air or underwater. I assume that the Guide Number of 70 implies that the strobe was tested on land, light traveling through air, and measured in feet.

To oversimplify the testing procedure, my assumption is that at a distance of ten feet from strobe to subject, the aperture chosen that resulted in the best exposure when the strobe was set to full dump was f/7.

The formula to determine the guide number is : GN=A times D, or guide number equals aperture times distance. If the Guide number was determined to be 70, then f/7 times 10 (feet) equals 70.

...................Would we be better off picking up one of the many YS60's, or SB102-105's on e-bay for similar money in unknown condition?

Considerations:
What type of camera do you have.
What material is the underwater housing is made of.
How will the strobe "talk" to the camera.
What shooting style do you prefer, such as full manual, auto, or TTL.
What types of lenses will you be using to determine coverage requirements.
What are your future goals.

hth,
b

 

[Larry C]

Thanks guys, all very helpful. Sounds like any of these might be a good starter and maybe later a slave substrobe with a better quality primary.