Sealife DC2000 what’s next?

[Nemrod]

Again, on the A6600, I am just wanting to make sure you understand the full implications of not having an onboard camera strobe for optical strobe sync. You will have to use a trigger and with no fall back to the camera flash if the trigger goes dead, TU, or otherwise is not appropriate for the situation. Also, with the exception of the UWT trigger, you lose strobe sTTL capability with the A6600. Mr. Chris is making some good points on the M4:3 cameras to take note of.

I got tired of shooting with my little (and wonderful) S90 and being chastised for my toy camera with a tiny sensor. Which the S90 sensor is huge compared to the little darling TG! But aside, the biggest sensor I could get with the most dynamic range was the Sony APS-C and still remain portable. The Sony sensor I believe is borrowed by Nikon. The A6400 body is weather resistant with sealed controls. I would not purposely leave it out in the rain like I would have my old Nikon FMII Titanium body with honey comb titanium shutter and the only battery in it ran the light meter. Nobody builds anything like those old Nikon tanks today, and that is a huge compromise to me much less the ruggedness of my Nikonos III. Yeah, everything today is a compromise, we have cameras with 28 menu driven controls or more!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WTH!

Okay I will play. You have a budget of $15,000. Then there is only one and that is the Sony A7-RIV full frame mirrorless and Nauticam housing and Retra Pro strobes. And the $4,500 to $7,500 WACP optical port. And the man servant, since you have no kids to help tote it. Not sure what those cost? Oh, and you can then afford a spare or two optical triggers.

I hate digital obsolescence. We used to be able to update our cameras to the latest sensor technology every time we bought a new roll of film. Let me know if you get a price on a man servant:

James

 

[Chanly83]

@Nemrod lol no man servant for me. Like I said nothing is off the table. If a m43 or a a6xxx does what I need then that’s what I’ll get, I did read some reviews of the a7R iv. I just want to get what will provide me a long time of enjoyment, so honestly if it is full rigged RX100 and 2 weeks in Cozumel then I’ll go that route. Once someone adds a response I go and start my google search and add it to a list of cameras I need to play with at the store.

 

[Nemrod]

And what I am saying is that any camera you purchase today is obsolete on about a two year refresh cycle. But, I used my S90/FIX for eight years, my Nikonos III (film) for twenty plus years. I think that eight years from now some camera makes will have abandoned the dwindling market leaving but a few who still make non-cellphone cameras to carry the flag. I think Sony will be one of them that remains. So when you say "long term" not sure what that means today in the digital realm. If you must stay on top, then it is no more than two years, if you can be happy with an obsolete but still supported camera, maybe ten years. Long term and digital camera just does not belong in the same sentence. The full frame A7 was underwater camera of the year for whatever that means. If you must have the current best, that is it quite likely and it will take the better part of the $15,000 you proffered. You will have to determine what best suits your purpose.

Okay, let us look at this another way, perhaps my weird way. I could have bought the A7 and Nauticam and at 66 yo that would have had to make the rest of my dive/photo life. Or, with the A6400 and Nauticam, I may, just may be able to swing another upgrade eight years again from now. So, go full bang now and empty the magazine or save a few rounds for later down the road when the new, shiny best camera of the year comes along. And BTW, the A6400 is getting great press.

N

 

[Chanly83]

@Nemrod yeah unfortunately we live in a completely disposable world. A new cell ever year, your computers software stops updating after 5 years, etc etc. I see the wisdom in buying a slightly older camera that basically has the same crucial specs.
Ok camera aside, let’s talk about things that aren’t too disposable. For instance strobes and video lights. I am new to this but it seems these have a lot less “revisions.”

 

[Nemrod]

Chanly, I am not an expert, just a guy who occasionally can get a decent shot mostly (all) by luck. Here and there I can help somebody not screw up too bad. In the real world of strobes, there is Inon and YS and in my universe there is only Inon and nothing else (that I can afford like Retra). But, which Inon strobe, S2000, D200 or the Z330, would depend somewhat upon which camera rig you go for and if you are a macro only guy are want wide angle too or are only wide angle and CFWA or if you get a RXVII or a M4:3 or APS-C. Inon strobes are rock solid reliable, at least all of those I have seen in use and the two I have owned (and own). They are Maytag reliable and superb operation. Video, I cannot help you because in my universe, I could care less about video above and beyond my GoPro Hero which rides on top of my camera. Back to Inon, for a macro focused photographer with a small sensor camera (Sony RX) or even an APS-C class camera the S2000 (GN20) is enough. For a APS-C or full frame and CFWA, I am told my old D2000 (GN20) strobes are too small in GN and I should get the Z330 (GN33). Yawn, I think they would do fine as long as I keep my aperture f8 or less and get close. But to get those beautiful sun balls in the back ground of my CFWA shots with my 1/160 shutter sync limitation (of the A6XXX) I will need to stop down to f11 or so and there, I would need the punch of the Z330 or get really, really close to my subject.

James

 

[Chanly83]

@Nemrod I have heard good things for inon. I need 2 new strobes and would rather have to turn them down then curse because I can’t turn them up anymore. So I’ll look at the inon z330’s.

 

[Chanly83]

Strobe questions
Kraken KR-S02 (pro-priority battery packs I am on the fence about)
Sea & Sea YS-D3 (is this old or extremely new?)
Inon z330 (ranked high on my list but reviews I have read say they are hard to come by)
Any others that should be on the list?

 

[Barmaglot]

Strobe questions
Kraken KR-S02 (pro-priority battery packs I am on the fence about)
Sea & Sea YS-D3 (is this old or extremely new?)
Inon z330 (ranked high on my list but reviews I have read say they are hard to come by)
Any others that should be on the list?

Kraken strobe shares its battery pack with other Weefine/Kraken lights, so getting spares shouldn't be a problem - and it's basically four 18650 cells in a casing, so push comes to shove, it should be possible to rebuild one with standard cells. The choice of Li-Ion is somewhat odd though - every other manufacturer uses NiMH for strobes and Li-Ion for constant lights with very few exceptions. Ikelite used to offer Li-Ion battery packs for their strobes as an option, and they discontinued it in 2016. The new Symbiosis SS-3 combination light/strobe and Backscatter Mini Strobe are using 18650s though, so maybe they're making a comeback. The 900 flash capacity of the Li-Ion pack means that even if you do 4-5 dives a day off a liveaboard, you should be able to get a full day's diving off a single charge.
YS-D3 is not so much 'new' as 'not yet available' - it's the upcoming replacement of YS-D2, but it isn't shipping yet. Likewise, Ikelite has shown an update to DS-160/161 line at DEMA, but it isn't shipping yet either.
Z-330 had availability issues early on, but by now plenty of places have them in stock. However, there are some reports of reliability issues - not as bad as YS-D2, but not as reliable as the old Z-240s either. One point against Inons (both Z-240 and Z-330) is the modeling LED being offset to the side - if you use a snoot, this makes aiming challenging. Without snoots, this doesn't really matter.
Retra Flash is another option - they are shipping now; I got my preorder last week. It's more expensive than Z-330/YS-D2, priced more in line with DS-160/161, but the circular flash tube produces a wider, more even beam, and it brings to the table some additional features such as high-speed sync, although taking advantage of that requires a compatible trigger, which is an additional expense. I believe an extended battery compartment is also in the works for those, allowing you to run them with eight NiMH cells, doubling the capacity and halving the recycle time.

 

[Chanly83]

@Barmaglot thanks for the info.
I noticed the kraken is the only one that I am looking at in this price range that has a circular bulb. Hopefully Sea & Sea addressed some issues with the YS-D3. I won’t be purchasing strobes until late summer so hopefully they get some reviews before then.
I also started looking at the Retra... need to read some reviews.
What about Isotta?

 

[Barmaglot]

I noticed the kraken is the only one that I am looking at in this price range that has a circular bulb.

It does, but somehow they've designed the reflector in a way that gives it a narrower beam than most straight bulb strobes, or so the reviews indicate. Go figure.

What about Isotta?

No personal experience - I own a pair of SeaFrogs ST-100 Pro strobes and a pair of Retra Pros - but one of those (assuming you're referring to RED64) costs about as much as a pair of Retras, or three Z-330s/YS-D2s, and seems to take about as much space. I'm sure it's powerful, but its cost and bulk put it in the same bracket as Seacam.