S&S YS-D2J vs. Inon Z330

[Chris Ross]

The power of the strobe is related to the type of photography you intend to make, not so much to the type of camera you are using: Small strobes are by far enough for macro (and also more handsome), while with WA you want as much power as you can effort. Some people have small strobes for Macro plus big strobes for WA. Many (like me) use just big ones also for Macro (as a compromise).

Wolfgang

In general for the same camera you need more power for wide angle, but strobe power is directly related to aperture, you might might be using f11- f16 on full frame cameras to get sufficient depth of field. On a TG-6 you are at f2 or f2.8, that is 4 stops less light required, which would land you right about on minimum power if your base exposure was 1/2 power on a full frame camera at f11. You can open up the aperture because depth of field is greater with smaller sensors and in the TG-6 you are quite limited in how much you can close the aperture. The S-2000 and YS-01 are only about 1 stop less powerful than the bigger flashes and you can buy two S-2000 for the price of one Z-330, so the small flashes will also be turned down quite a bit.

 

[Dragonsrock]

The power of the strobe is related to the type of photography you intend to make, not so much to the type of camera you are using: Small strobes are by far enough for macro (and also more handsome), while with WA you want as much power as you can effort. Some people have small strobes for Macro plus big strobes for WA. Many (like me) use just big ones also for Macro (as a compromise).

Hi Wolfgang,
My bad! I agree with this statement. I had a previous version of the TG-6 and only ever used it for Macro photography, as such never even considered wide angle. The camera is a great unit and I found it outstanding for macro, hence the comment n the smaller strobes.

David

 

[BFRedrocks]

FWIW, I had a pair of S&S YS-D2s (not the "J" version) and had one completely flood through the unused sync cable port after only 24 dives on it. S&S customer support was less than helpful and the unit was deemed a total loss, so I bought a pair of INON 330s and have been super happy with them. A bit more powerful than the YS-D2 and personally I think the build quality is better. I agree with the comment above about the battery cap and o-ring twisting potential, but I also like that they use a clear cap so you can see if the o-ring is seated or not. Between the two, my experience has been the INONs were better. YMMV.

 

[outofofficebrb]

I'm still cashing in on the luck....I just added 84 dives to the total count with the YS-D2 strobes I bought in August 2017. They now have about 260 dives on them and are still going strong. Mr. OOO got a pair second hand and they are still going.

 

[Ardy]

My biggest issue with INON is their battery compartment o-ring design. They utilize a twist on cap, and this can lead to the oring pinching and causing a leak path. I had one of my D-2000's flood in this way, and unfortunately their battery compartment is not sealed from the rest of the strobe head, so I lost the entire strobe. I added an additional oring to my battery cap on my other D-2000, which pushed against the battery compartment for a secondary seal.

I recently switched to a pair of YS-110a's, and I much prefer the sea and sea oring design. It's a push in design, with a cam lock cap, and the oring never twists or turns. Additionally, S&S strobes have sealed battery compartments, so even if they flood, you can clean the battery compartment and replace the battery cap, and you're back in business.

That being said, I have not dove the the D2's, but have read about the issues some have with them, and they sound extremely frustrating.

I had the same issue and lost a Z240 type 4 after only 10 dives. I also had a SnS cap come off as I had not taken it to the 'click'. Cleaned it out and used if for another 5 years. I bought a SnS D1 to replace the Inon and never had a problem.