strobe advise for G11

[Wantonmien]

Hi

Trying work out what strobe to buy for use with my G11 and Canon WP-DC34 housing and wondering if anyone is using a Ikelite AF35 AutoFlash Kit ?

FUN-IN Underwater Photo Equipment
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In addition I'm looking at Inon strobes, and differences between the S-2000 & D-2000. I've read in other thread that one has built in focus light and the other doesn't - Question - do I really need the focus light ?

FUN-IN Underwater Photo Equipment
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If going for an Inon Strobe, any suggestion on Arm to go with it ?

FUN-IN Underwater Photo Equipment

Advise appreciated

Cheers

 

[Nemrod]

Hi

Trying work out what strobe to buy for use with my G11 and Canon WP-DC34 housing and wondering if anyone is using a Ikelite AF35 AutoFlash Kit ?

FUN-IN Underwater Photo Equipment
--

In addition I'm looking at Inon strobes, and differences between the S-2000 & D-2000. I've read in other thread that one has built in focus light and the other doesn't - Question - do I really need the focus light ?

FUN-IN Underwater Photo Equipment
--

If going for an Inon Strobe, any suggestion on Arm to go with it ?

FUN-IN Underwater Photo Equipment

Advise appreciated

Cheers

The D2000 has twin flash tubes, despite the similar specs, the D2000 IMO has better coverage and noticeably more power. The D series also have the External Auto mode that uses a built in exposure system in the strobe (you can see the Auto sensor at about 4-5 o'clock on the front of a D2000), the S2000 does not have this useful mode, only Manual and sTTL modes.

Yes, the new LED focus light is very nice and bright.

N

 

[Gilligan]

I am using this generic brand tray for my Canon G10 and Sea& Sea strobe. It's compact and versatile. Cost is about $114.00 US.

You can purchase it and other models from a seller named nyxell on eBay. He is reliable.

 

[pjhansman]

Changing the topic a little bit......

Gilligan.....do you typically use the difuser on your strobe? I have a new DS51 and Ikelite housing and I'm trying to learn how to use them.

 

[slowhands]

Hi

Trying work out what strobe to buy for use with my G11 and Canon WP-DC34 housing and wondering if anyone is using a Ikelite AF35 AutoFlash Kit ?
...
In addition I'm looking at Inon strobes, and differences between the S-2000 & D-2000. I've read in other thread that one has built in focus light and the other doesn't - Question - do I really need the focus light ?
...
If going for an Inon Strobe, any suggestion on Arm to go with it ?
...

I really like ikelite's TTL strobes. But the AF35 is old school and out of date, in my opinion. For your camera, a much better match is the Inon S2000 or Sea&Sea YS-01, triggered from your camera flash using fiber cord. The Sea&Sea YS-01 has focus light. I prefer a focus light for better focusing in dim light, say below 30 feet or at night. Here is a video showing the YS-01 in use, including on a night dive where the focus light is essential. Nice images of a star gazer too, check it out.

See:
Scuba.com Video: Sea & Sea YS-01 Digital Strobe Video Review - Camera Accessories

On his G10 in Canon housing, Gilligan is using a Sea&Sea YS-27 triggered by fiber cord from the camera flash. He blocks the internal strobe to minimize backscatter. See his website for how to:
Canon WP-DC28 fiber optic cable strobe attachment

 

[Gilligan]

Changing the topic a little bit......

Gilligan.....do you typically use the difuser on your strobe? I have a new DS51 and Ikelite housing and I'm trying to learn how to use them.

I use my diffuser all the time.

 

[Wantonmien]

Gilligan / Slowhands,

Thanks for the advise, I'm wavering now between

- The Arm/plate Gilligan shows + Sea & Sea YS-110a,
- The Arm/plate Gilligan shows + Inon D2000 strobe,

both of which I'm told have focus lights and equivalent features.

If I buy the arm 'off the shelf' from local supplier here, the end fitting on it is suitable for the Sea & Sea strobe (the YS110a), but if go for the Inon strobe I have to buy a seperate 'end' fitting (more cost !) for the arm to fit the Inon strobes.

The Arm/Tray + YS110a is a fair bit cheaper than Arm/Tray/end fitting + Inon D2000 - but from a couple of diving contacts I'm being told the Inon is the better choice, regardless of extra cost.

Decisions decisions !!

Cheers

 

[slowhands]

Inon has no distributor in the USA. The dealers who sell it buy directly from Japan. So if you buy this you should know that the support pipeline is long.

They dumped their USA distributor a while ago after the distributor opened up the market. Maybe the product is a little better technically, but I don't like their business practices. See:
Inon America

 

[Wantonmien]

Inon has no distributor in the USA. The dealers who sell it buy directly from Japan. So if you buy this you should know that the support pipeline is long.

They dumped their USA distributor a while ago after the distributor opened up the market. Maybe the product is a little better technically, but I don't like their business practices. See:
Inon America

Slowhands - I'm in Taiwan, the land of computer chips, noodles - and nice blue warm ocean but an hours drive from my house - and a couple of good dive camera shops around, but not too many English speaking expat divers/photographers around to pick the brains of.

Only thing missing here in the dive sites are plenty of large fish and sharks - as it's been over fished over the years ~ you might want a quick look at my first attempts with the G11 a couple of months back on -

ScubaBoard Gallery - Wantonmien Album

As you'll see from there, a novice in need of a strobe !

Cheers, and all your advise appreciated.

 

[Gilligan]

Gilligan / Slowhands,

Thanks for the advise, I'm wavering now between

- The Arm/plate Gilligan shows + Sea & Sea YS-110a,
- The Arm/plate Gilligan shows + Inon D2000 strobe,

both of which I'm told have focus lights and equivalent features.

If I buy the arm 'off the shelf' from local supplier here, the end fitting on it is suitable for the Sea & Sea strobe (the YS110a), but if go for the Inon strobe I have to buy a seperate 'end' fitting (more cost !) for the arm to fit the Inon strobes.

The Arm/Tray + YS110a is a fair bit cheaper than Arm/Tray/end fitting + Inon D2000 - but from a couple of diving contacts I'm being told the Inon is the better choice, regardless of extra cost.

Decisions decisions !!

Cheers

Here is another tidbit of comparison between the Inon and the Sea & Sea strobes, which I think is still the case:
The diffuser on the Inon strobe has a hole in it for the focus/target light to shine through and so does the Sea & Sea YS110-A. Not sure about the other models.
The old D-180 Inon strobe I had came with a small red plastic lens that popped into the hole on the diffuser. It made for a target light that didn't scare the critters, especially at night. The Sea & Sea doesn't have one. Of course you can always make a DIY one.
Now that those target lights are LED I don't know if they still come with the little red lens or if the light is strong enough to pass through it to be of any use.
Something to consider if that's an important factor to you.