Sea&Sea YS-110A or Ikelite AF-35?

[Paul Lenharr]

I have the Canon G9 with the Canon housing. After reading tons of threads about strobes, I thought I had decided on a pair of Ikelite AF-35's, but I stumbled upon the Sea&Sea YS-110 Alpha today. It appears that for a few more dollars, I would get a ton more features with the Sea&Sea. Anyone have any experience with the YS-110 alpha?

Any suggestions?

Either way, I will be buying a pair of strobes before my trip to Bonaire in October.

Thanks

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I recently purchased a YS-110a to go with my G10 and a YS-25 I already owned. A week after it arrived, I took the setup to Bonaire. On my second day in Bonaire, the YS-110a failed ... and even the guy who owned the photo shop (John Hall, who I recommend highly) couldn't get it to work. So I took it off and went with the single YS-25 (which performed flawlessly) for the remainder of my trip.

My YS-110a is currently back at Backscatter, where they're trying to figure out why it doesn't work.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[JackConnick]

I don't think there's much comparison between the AF35 and YS-110a. It's more powerful, has a great target light and a wider beam angle.

Bob, I'm surprised you had problems, I've sold lots of them and not seen anything like that. Should of bought from a local store, wink-wink-nudge-nudge ;-).

Jack

 

[Paul Lenharr]

The price difference is only about $50.00 so I think I'm going to go with the Sea&Sea.

Will wait a little while to see the response to this thread however.... Not leaving until Oct so I have some time to work on this.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Well, I just heard from Backscatter regarding the failure of my YS-110a strobe. Apparently the battery contacts inside the cap bent, preventing contact with the batteries.

The man who called me explained that this is a design "feature" with Sea & Sea strobes, and that I should occasionally check the contacts.

A minor thing, to be sure ... once one knows what to look for.

Has anyone else experienced this?

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Puffer Fish]

Well, I just heard from Backscatter regarding the failure of my YS-110a strobe. Apparently the battery contacts inside the cap bent, preventing contact with the batteries.

The man who called me explained that this is a design "feature" with Sea & Sea strobes, and that I should occasionally check the contacts.

A minor thing, to be sure ... once one knows what to look for.

Has anyone else experienced this?

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

I have a pair of the YS110's and assume the connection is the same... and yup, it is possible to bend them.

You have to be careful when putting the cap on, not to turn it before locking.. just push straight it, and turn the locking tabs.... I did the same thing when I first got them, but had two to compare...

I have a G9 and a G10, and they work amazingly well with them...

I have even had one leak....makes a nasty mess, but with a new cap, is working fine.

 

[Wisnu]

The price difference is only about $50.00 so I think I'm going to go with the Sea&Sea.

Will wait a little while to see the response to this thread however.... Not leaving until Oct so I have some time to work on this.

The price difference seem too low.
The AF-35 include arm/tray. YS-110a usualy offered without tray and arms. Depend on the type and mfr, you may spend USD 100 - 400 for arm and tray.

I agree, powerwise YS-110a is in different class compared with AF-35.

If your budget is limited and need more powerfull strobe; you can consider Epoque 230DS; although their claim of GN23 is overrate since the supplied difuser shall be used all the time; still much more powerfull compare with AF-35.
It work well with my sp-350 and G9 too.

 

[CUunderH2O]

...

Has anyone else experienced this?
...

Yes. One of my YS-110s does this all the time. During a week-long trip, if I don't remember to bend the contacts upward a bit before locking down the battery cap, the strobe may not work underwater. I had a lot of issues on a trip last summer where that strobe only worked half the time. It worked fine on land for a test shot, but not underwater. After I found out about the fix, it's been fine ever since. It's a poor design 'feature' for sure, but other than that, I love my YS-110 strobes. Another thing is that if you're having trouble inserting the battery cap, the o-ring might need a bit of lube; if it's cleaned and lubed correctly, the cap should go on without effort and the contacts won't get bent.

The YS-110/110a is much more versatile than the AF-35, as you can shoot both wide angle and macro with it, and the spotting light works well as a night diving light too. Since they use rechargeable AAs, I can have several sets charged and ready to go at moment's notice.

 

[Backscatter::Jim]

Well, I just heard from Backscatter regarding the failure of my YS-110a strobe. Apparently the battery contacts inside the cap bent, preventing contact with the batteries.

The man who called me explained that this is a design "feature" with Sea & Sea strobes, and that I should occasionally check the contacts.

A minor thing, to be sure ... once one knows what to look for.

Has anyone else experienced this?

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Hi Bob,

Sea & Sea have used the same battery cap on the YS-50,60,90,120,110,110a strobes any this is a common issue if the contacts flatten out, although we usually see this with older caps rather than newer ones. We've shipped hundreds of YS-110a strobes and have had hardly any issues.

On the original topic of YS-110a vs AF35, those strobes are not even in the same class. The AF35 is an entry level strobe that more compares with the YS-17. The YS-110a is much brighter, has a faster recycle time, and wider beam angle than the AF35, but is also hundreds of $ more. The DS-160 is a more comparable strobe if you want to compare the performance of the Sea & Sea YS-110a vs an Ikelite strobe.

Jim

 

[Cathy Church]

I agree with Jim, but want to add that I like a strobe that uses simple batteries like the AA cells in the YS110alpha. I do not like having to carry a proprietary battery and charger. I like things that lots of people carry and that I can purchase in lots of places in case something goes missing.

Cathy Church
Underwater Photography and Scuba Diving in the world of Cayman's Cathy Church