Inon S-220: A SERIOUSLY impressive (tiny) wide angle strobe

[DreiFish]

I've finally gotten around to testing the INON S-220, and the results really surprised me. Despite its size, it's a really capable wide angle strobe that can (almost) keep up with the likes of the Sea & Sea YS-D3 and even best (coming close to the Marelux Apollo 3) it when it comes to continuous shooting.

 

Color Temperature: 6400k (no diffuser); 6100k (soft diffuser);  5350k (4600k filter)

Flash Duration: 1/350s full power; 1/640s at half power; 1/1000s at quarter power

 

Flash Power (measured in air)

 

 

and compared to the Marelux Apollo 3 and Sea & Sea YS-D3

 

 

 

So as you can see, it's only about 2/3 stop less bright than the YS-D3 with no diffuser, and similar in power with its soft diffuser as the YS-D3 with the dome diffuser.

 

Flash recycling is also impressive -- it can shoot continuous action at higher power outputs than the YS-D3, and almost as well as the Marelux Apollo 3. The interesting thing is that the flash seems to fire before the capacitor fully recharges, so when shooting in continuous mode, you get 2-3 shots near full power, then the power gradually tapers down 2/3 of a stop or so and stabilizes, which means the pictures are still usable. I measured the power output at the end of a series of 20 shots in the table below. Had I used the first shot in the series, it would be even higher.

 

 

Finally, the beam pattern. Here it is, first with no diffuser, then soft diffuser, and then with the 4600k filter. The 4600k filter doesn't really diffuse the light at all, so it's not, IMO, a good option for wide angle shooting.

 

 

 

And here is the YS-D3 without diffuser and with flat diffuser for comparison. 

 

 

To me, there's not a lot of difference between the Inon S-220 with soft diffuser and the YS-D3 with flat diffuser.

 

[makar0n]

And this is why I hope Inon will make the Z240/Z330 successor one day....they do know how to make those light things alright 🙂

[dhaas]

I"ll only say this......I follow for informational fun new strobes and realize there's lots of choices these days.

 

RETRA, Sea and Sea D3, the new Backscatter HF-1, Ikelite DS230, SEACAM and many more.....

 

But for long term reliability and simplicity I agree with DreiFish the Inon S220 is way underrated (and undervalued.) 

 

Small size and Envelop AAs batteries make them an easy traveling and diving unit. The simple clear battery door and YELLOW o-ring you can see is sealed are other advantages too.

 

Just one old guy's opinion 🙂

 

DH

 

 

 

Edited June 16 by dhaas

[humu9679]

14 hours ago, DreiFish said:

I've finally gotten around to testing the INON S-220, and the results really surprised me. Despite its size, it's a really capable wide angle strobe that can (almost) keep up with the likes of the Sea & Sea YS-D3 and even best (coming close to the Marelux Apollo 3) it when it comes to continuous shooting.

 

Color Temperature: 6400k (no diffuser); 6100k (soft diffuser);  5350k (4600k filter)

Flash Duration: 1/350s full power; 1/640s at half power; 1/1000s at quarter power

@DreiFish Good stuff. Thanks!

[Adventurer]

On 6/16/2024 at 2:56 PM, dhaas said:

But for long term reliability and simplicity I agree with DreiFish the Inon S220 is way underrated (and undervalued.) 

Exactly my impression after 4 weeks in the water with two S220 in Indonesia. I think I previously wrote almost the same as Dhaas somewhere here in the forum a few days/weeks ago.

 

It’s the most underrated, attractively priced and underestimated underwater strobe in 2024 ! 
 

Cursed by the look a like S-2000’s legacy because many noobs will mistake the purpose of the previous Modell with the potential of the new S-220.

 

Also the often mentioned wait for a Z330 successor is totally pointless. Just my personal opinion.

[turandot]

After being a user of the S-2000 and now the Z-330 Type 2, I wouldn't mind going back to the size of the S220, the truth is that I was delighted with them.

[Troporobo]

I’m in the same camp.  I shoot mostly macro and so regretted selling my S-2000 almost immediately, although I do like the Z-240 that replaced them. I’m thinking seriously about going back to the smaller form factor. They’d be excellent for CFWA which is my near term project. My only hesitation is about shooting true wide angle reef scenics.  I could keep both sets but don’t think I’d want to travel with four strobes. Thoughts?  

Edited June 18 by Troporobo
Typo

[turandot]

Traveling with 4 flashes.... I don't see, besides the price. Traveling light is the best thing and with the 2x Z330 I have lost that advantage. The bad thing is that selling the Z330 you lose a lot of money.

 

Obviously the Z330 with its greater power, will illuminate the reef better, but I think the S220 can be perfectly valid for it.

The S220 has significant improvements over the S2000, such as the standard dome, is equipped with a bayonet mount to use various dome filters or improved button size or pre-flash button placement, operates on four AA batteries and double o-rings that significantly reduce flooding risk.

 

It has the best of both worlds S-2000 and Z330 Type 2.

 

 

[Lewis88]

6 hours ago, Adventurer said:

Cursed by the look a like S-2000’s legacy because many noobs will mistake the purpose of the previous Modell with the potential of the new S-220.

 

I don't think I'm a noob, and even I thought they were the next generation of S2000 strobes.