Which strobe?

[rhlee]

I'm looking into strobes to get for my camera, and I'd like to understand differences between these two models, the SeaLife SL960D and the Sea&Sea YS-90DX. There is a quite a price difference between the two and I'd like to try to understand how much more bang I would be getting for my buck.

Also, if there are other strobes that people would recommend, I'd be eager to hear suggestions. I have an Olympus C5000 and am using the PT-019 housing.

thanks.

 

[f3nikon]

Ebay and look for a workhorse like this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Ikelite-Substrobe-50_W0QQitemZ7606475941QQcategoryZ4703QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Hardwire this strobe directly to your camera's hotshoe via the Ikelite cord and bulkhead.

My next choice would be a Sunpak G-Flash.

If I may ask, how much did you pay for your camera and housing?

 

[rhlee]

The housing doesn't have any port that I can use to connect to the hot-shoe unfortunately. Among other things, this means that I can't fire the flash (internal or external) in super-macro mode

My intention was to fire the strobe in slave mode, so I'm under the impression that I need a digital strobe to get around the pre-flash (is this the case?).

I've read some fairly mediocre to negative reviews on this board about the sunpak strobe.

I picked up the camera on ebay and the housing from adorama for fairly cheap. I think I spent maybe $150 combined for both of them. Having used it for a bit now, I may have made a different choice, but it was a good, not too expensive way to get into photography. I'm looking for a strobe that will work well with this setup, but that I could continue to use if I upgrade the camera in the future.

 

[f3nikon]

Check this thread:

http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=128360

I installed an Ikelite feedthru connector on my Olympus housing plus a hotshoe connector, fires everytime! Just because you upgrade your camera does not mean you have to upgrade your strobe. You have a good deal on your setup at $150!

 

[dbh]

The Sea & Sea would be a good choice. It can be fired with a fiber optic cable or a sync cord. Other choices would be Inon (make sure it is the model that can be fired both ways) and Ikelite DS-50 or DS 125. Any of these strobes will grow with your system....even if you end up with a DSLR some day.

HTH,
Dave

 

[rhlee]

Thanks. Any feedback on the SeaLife SL960D?

 

[Gilligan]

The Sea & Sea and the Inon are good strobes but more pricey than the Sunpak. It all boils down to what kind of money you want to lay out. I don't know about the SeaLife.

I am using the Inon D-180 and have no complaints with it. One of the big advantages to the Inon strobes is there focus light. It is an invaluable feature for both day and night dives.

Fiber optic cords can vary in their applications. Inon uses a patch to cover the camera's flash while Sea & Sea uses a patch to cover the housings flash. If the Inon strobe fails to work then you cannot use the cameras strobe. It only happened to me once in hundreds of dives and it was my fault not the strobes.

There is an alternative to not being able to use the external strobe on your camera with a fiber optic setup in super macro mode. Purchase the Inon Close-up lens, UCl-165. It has a narrow depth of field so it takes a bit to get used to it. IMO you will get a lot more use out of the wide angle lens. Get both and two lens docks to mount them on.

I am using the C4000Z which is similar to your camera and have both lenses. Click on my camera rig link below.

 

[rhlee]

Thanks Gilligan. Funny you should mention the WA lens. I just purchased a WA lens, but discovered much to my dismay that the C5000's internal flash which I have been using up until now is partially blocked by the lens which casts a huge nasty dark spot over the image. This is partly what is motivating me to finally get a strobe, so I can use the lens.

Does the inon's fiber optic cable go through the housing somehow? I'm trying to understand what you mean by how it covers the camera's flash.

Oh the slopes and how slippery they are....

 

[dbh]

Thanks. Any feedback on the SeaLife SL960D?

I am not familiar with it. I would check the number of power settings it has and recycle time.

Inon's do not go through the housing. They attach to the outside. Look at the bottom picure here for an idea:

http://www.inonamerica.com/news.php?news_id=33&newscat=0

Dave