Inon Z-XXX Prototype at Paris Dive Show

[PBAlves]

On 2/21/2025 at 4:08 PM, makar0n said:

 

I always wondered - do people still use the 5 pin ? Fiber sounds like so much easier/simpler solution really. Personally I think i've opened that 5 pin cap on Z-240 once...for greasing xD

 

Well, if you want to use the strobe off-camera with a Triggerfish Slave Sensor, you need the electrical plug. It is easier to hide the strobe and put only the triggerfish slave in line of view.

[Nemrod]

Is there any hope for this strobe in my remaining lifetime? 

 

I sure hope Inon is not going out of business? It has always been difficult getting repairs for Inon gear but the upside was that it never broke, thus never needed repairs, mostly. 

[Architeuthis]

Me and my wife have together four Z330s. Happy with these strobes, quality o.k. ... 👍

 

When one of our Z330s started to exert the, not seldom reported, "loose contact" problem of the ON-switch, I hoped they (or a similar flash)  would become available soon. At this time there I knew just about the Sea&Sea YS-D3 beeing available in this class (since we have very bad experience with YS-D2, these were out of discussion). No Z330 sucessor became available and when the Backscatter HF-1 flash appeared, I switched to two of them. The HF-1 are even better than the Z330s in my hands, I never looked back (together we have now 2*HF-1, 2*Z330 and 2*Z330 spares (one of them working, but with loose contacts))...

 

=> In the meantime several other strobes in the league of Z330s and even better (including also strobes with circular tubes; none of these strobes appears to have "Bastard Buttons" 😁), became available from different companies at moderate price levels. The offer of available good quality strobes in this class has never been so diverse before. I am not sure that there are really many people out there, who are still awaiting a Z330 sucessor, the need for such a strobe became quite small (maybe Inon has abandoned this project because of low demand)...

 

 

Wolfgang

[Nemrod]

The problem with most of the strobes you mention @Architeuthis is that they are much different in buoyancy and size in the water and more $$$$$ with the exception of the YSD3 which like you I am dubious of them due to the poor reliability of the previous generation. The HF1 is just huge, heavy and negative in the water. For those of us shooting mid size rigs they seem awfully large in comparison to the camera/housing.

 

I have an older D2000 (of a set of two purchased new around 2005?), which has the On/Off switch problem after being dropped. It has been at a well known repair place for nearly a year. I give up on it and got some S220 strobes to fill the gap until Inon releases the new ZXXX or I decide upon something else.

Edited March 26 by Nemrod

[Barmaglot]

I was just on a liveaboard with a diver who moved to a pair of Weefine WFS07s after one of his YS-D1s died. They're quite compact and have good power - here is one next to my Retra Pro and a YS-D3:

 

 

I'm not very convinced by its method of closing the battery compartment though - the entire back panel is a separate unit that is clamped into place by a threaded annular piece of plastic, with about a dozen contact pads facilitating communications. On the upside, it keeps the fairly small back panel from getting cluttered by a battery compartment lid, which is normally just so much dead space, but on the downside, the sealing surface is quite big, and hidden from inspection by the clamping ring. On the gripping hand, the Li-ion cells provide enough charge for several days of diving, so you're not opening that lid too often. 

[Nemrod]

8 hours ago, Barmaglot said:

I was just on a liveaboard with a diver who moved to a pair of Weefine WFS07s after one of his YS-D1s died. They're quite compact and have good power - here is one next to my Retra Pro and a YS-D3:

 

 

I'm not very convinced by its method of closing the battery compartment though - the entire back panel is a separate unit that is clamped into place by a threaded annular piece of plastic, with about a dozen contact pads facilitating communications. On the upside, it keeps the fairly small back panel from getting cluttered by a battery compartment lid, which is normally just so much dead space, but on the downside, the sealing surface is quite big, and hidden from inspection by the clamping ring. On the gripping hand, the Li-ion cells provide enough charge for several days of diving, so you're not opening that lid too often. 

 

The Weefine is an interesting strobe but it is GN 17 vs my current S220s at GN22 (for whatever those numbers are useful or not) and it is kind of expensive for an unproven brand. I guess I can give Inon a little more time and if nothing comes out from them or elsewhere I guess it will be some DS3 Duo strobes. Neutral in the water, GN33 and relatively compact. And somewhat affordable. 

[Barmaglot]

34 minutes ago, Nemrod said:

The Weefine is an interesting strobe but it is GN 17 vs my current S220s at GN22 (for whatever those numbers are useful or not)

Circular tube strobes tend to have a better beam spread without diffusers than straight tube ones, which leads to a lower GN rating, but better overall usability. For instance, Ikelite DS160s are rated at GN24, but you wouldn't dispute the massive difference in capability between them and S220s - they are, in fact, more powerful than GN33 Z330s. 

[Chris Ross]

It's well established that GN is a poor metric for strobes, it gives you a general idea, but the beam size and light distribution has a big bearing,  A beam size changing from 100° to 130°  doesn't sound like a huge change but it requires 1.7x as much light and hence at least 1.7x as much power to fill that cone.  Similarly light falloff means an easier time as you don't need as much light to fill the cone.  If you look at the test results from Backscatter as plots of light intensity such as this:

 

You can see the circular flash tubes are 1 - 1.5 stops brighter in zones 2-3 which is the area that overlaps between two strobes and the main light being recorded in your shots. This means you can down a circular tube flash such as these 1- 1.5 stops compared to a flash with poorer fill of the cone that has the same guide number in the centre.  More of the light is pushed into the area where you want and incidentally the tube pushes out more light overall to fill the larger cone.

 

Having said all that various reports have come in come in that I recall indicating that the S220 has a nice full beam and seems like it would easily compete with the old Z240 and certainly seems good enough for something like a m43 rig for wide angle.

 

[Nemrod]

21 hours ago, Barmaglot said:

Circular tube strobes tend to have a better beam spread without diffusers than straight tube ones, which leads to a lower GN rating, but better overall usability. For instance, Ikelite DS160s are rated at GN24, but you wouldn't dispute the massive difference in capability between them and S220s - they are, in fact, more powerful than GN33 Z330s. 

 

I think you underestimate the S220. Before I bought the S220s as a filler set until something comes along that is better and that I can afford, I had borrowed a set of Z240 strobes. This is because one of my ancient D2000 strobes had a malfunction (after being dropped one time too many) so a friend who was going home earlier than me lent me his Z240s. I am shooting nearly the same settings overall with the S220 strobes that I was with the borrowed Z2409 set and both are considerably stronger than my old D2000 set.

 

The Weefine does look like a nice strobe, not saying it does not. I do not shoot video at all but still, I suppose the video light is a good addition as a back up light during night dives. Circular or not, that is a big jump from 17 to 22 regardless of the flash tube and it is not as if the S220 has a narrow beam exactly itself and the S220 really does not need a diffuser due to the dome lens. Maybe Weefine will offer a new strobe model with a little more power without becoming huge in both size and $ range. It is kinda expensive already without being proven reliability in the market.

Edited March 27 by Nemrod

[Chris Ross]

3 hours ago, Nemrod said:

 

I think you underestimate the S220. Before I bought the S220s as a filler set until something comes along that is better and that I can afford, I had borrowed a set of Z240 strobes. This is because one of my ancient D2000 strobes had a malfunction (after being dropped one time too many) so a friend who was going home earlier than me lent me his Z240s. I am shooting nearly the same settings overall with the S220 strobes that I was with the borrowed Z2409 set and both are considerably stronger than my old D2000 set.

 

 

The little S220s are great value little strobes they really are tiny  and they have improved them significantly over the prior model.  I hope we get as good an improvement out of the eventual Z330 replacement when it finally appears.

[Barmaglot]

6 hours ago, Nemrod said:

 

I think you underestimate the S220. Before I bought the S220s as a filler set until something comes along that is better and that I can afford, I had borrowed a set of Z240 strobes. This is because one of my ancient D2000 strobes had a malfunction (after being dropped one time too many) so a friend who was going home earlier than me lent me his Z240s. I am shooting nearly the same settings overall with the S220 strobes that I was with the borrowed Z2409 set and both are considerably stronger than my old D2000 set.

Inon doesn't publish the watt-second rating for their strobes, but Z-240 was measured to use 52 joules per full-power flash, and it's rated for 240 full-power flashes on regular Eneloop batteries, whereas S-220 is rated for 380 full-power flashes on the same, which gives a watt-second rating of about 33. WFS07 is rated, by the manufacturer, at 60 watt-seconds.

[Nemrod]

On 3/28/2025 at 12:53 AM, Barmaglot said:

Inon doesn't publish the watt-second rating for their strobes, but Z-240 was measured to use 52 joules per full-power flash, and it's rated for 240 full-power flashes on regular Eneloop batteries, whereas S-220 is rated for 380 full-power flashes on the same, which gives a watt-second rating of about 33. WFS07 is rated, by the manufacturer, at 60 watt-seconds.

 

You have me convinced and the strobe table listed in this forum agrees. But per that chart it has twice the UW weight also of the S220. The reliability is unproven and it is a manual only strobe and for me I shoot TTL a lot. And on the subject of reliability. With my Nikonos II I shot flash bulbs circa 1973. With my Nikonos III I shot Oceanic strobes for a decade or more before finishing with Nikon strobes and used both into the digital era trying to make them work with an Oly 5050 and then buying the set of D2000 strobes circa 2005. So that is 20 years on one set of strobes (and hopefully they have life yet). In other words, reliability is important to me because reliability equates to longevity. I do not have the expendable income to jump cameras, housings and strobes every year.

 

These Weefine strobes could be great but I would like to see a year or two of use in the market before buying a set because they are not inexpensive strobes and they are from China, not Japan. Inon I would buy now if it existed. The video light, phooey, I would rather a modeling/focus light and HSS and/or sTTL. Of course, if I could have all for the same price, sure why not. But I do not even know how to make either of my camera systems do video, not a high priority. If I want video I just shoot it on a GoPro, maybe. 

[Barmaglot]

2 minutes ago, Nemrod said:

and they are from China, not Japan. Inon I would buy now if it existed

Japanese manufacture is not a guarantee of quality. June 2021, I bought an Inon LF800-n torch from Divervision for use on blackwater dives. November, I took it on a test dive at Kata Beach, Phuket, Thailand, and it immediately flooded. Shipped it back to Divervision, and a month later, I had a replacement. Took it on a liveaboard trip, and first dive, it floods again. Three more Eneloop Pros into the trash bin, another shipping fee, but this time I ask Divervision to test the replacement before shipping it out. They had two on hand, tested both, and both flooded. Three months later, Divervision gets a new shipment from Inon, I confirm my address, but then they forget to ship it out - the person handling the case thinks it's been shipped, while in fact it hasn't been. Two more months pass before they straighten it out and ship the replacement, but it's missing the battery holder. Takes another week to get than handled, and finally, by late June 2022, I have a working torch.

[Dave_Hicks]

The Inon 330 has a flaw that tends to result in the Power Switch getting "loose" and failing to work over time. I've had one that was serviced for this failure, and another that is just dead now. My remaining functional Inon 330s are retired now for emergency backup.

[hellhole]

Meanwhile in the Japan dive show...

 

Taken off from a friends FB post...

 

[hellhole]

And then...

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Aa47RK3G3/

[John Liddiard]

Good to see the simplified controls. I like the robustness and reliability of my Inon strobes, but after many years I still have not got my phd in Inon.

 

Moving the optical connector to behind the arm mount could also be good for protecting it.

Edited Friday at 09:17 AM by John Liddiard

[Nemrod]

There is hope then. It looks good with some useful improvements. I do not see HSS so I guess that was too much to wish for. I am probably in for a set since I am a long time Inon user and speak Inon. However, I may just have to go take out a loan or a second mortgage or something and get some Retras though they are way overkill for my skill level. 

 

I like the extended knobs, the multiple selections for the modeling light and it appears the case has been extended to the rear in that tapered area. I wonder if there will also be a new full size D model, perhaps a D240? Maybe not looking in the right place but I do not see an e-sync available, optical only? 

[TimG]

22 minutes ago, Nemrod said:

and get some Retras though they are way overkill for my skill level. 

 

If you do you are not going to get hit with that curse: ".... if only I'd bought the [fill in something you REALLY wanted to buy here but "compromised" and now regret it]...."

[makar0n]

I wonder what the heck is "cTTL" ...and there seems to be two manual modes ? Could it be HSS hiding somewhere there ?

Light seems upgraded too, now one can choose between white and red - good idea,  while inserts were fine, it was not something that was easily changed during the dive really.

Edited Friday at 03:32 PM by makar0n

[Dave_Hicks]

Looks like the Preflash "Bastard Button" is gone. Perhaps it is using a learning mode now like most other strobes. And no electrical sync at least on this model. There is a plugged disk on the back, so perhaps electrical is an option.

Edited Friday at 04:06 PM by Dave_Hicks

[Nemrod]

2 hours ago, TimG said:

 

If you do you are not going to get hit with that curse: ".... if only I'd bought the [fill in something you REALLY wanted to buy here but "compromised" and now regret it]...."

 

True. The Retra are bigger, heavier and likely more $$. I am not sure how useful HSS is but I would like that option if only to play with but perhaps not a requirement.  And I am an APS-C, M4:3, 1 inch type picture taker. No way I will ever go FF. Not UW or surface shooting. And I have 20 plus years old Inon strobes that still work. I was looking at the Weefine but reports are that some are flooding on first use. I figure Inon is good to go for reliability, the Retra, well, I have no idea but it seems they are a responsive company and would be able to support the strobes with service if and when needed. Which is a problem with Inon, service if needed in North America.

 

Regarding the pre-flash button/knob, I would prefer that to a confusing learning mode that needs to be learned again every time the strobe is powered up or switching modes.

Edited Friday at 05:15 PM by Nemrod

[Chris Ross]

7 hours ago, makar0n said:

I wonder what the heck is "cTTL" ...and there seems to be two manual modes ? Could it be HSS hiding somewhere there ?

Light seems upgraded too, now one can choose between white and red - good idea,  while inserts were fine, it was not something that was easily changed during the dive really.

 

7 hours ago, Dave_Hicks said:

Looks like the Preflash "Bastard Button" is gone. Perhaps it is using a learning mode now like most other strobes. And no electrical sync at least on this model. There is a plugged disk on the back, so perhaps electrical is an option.

If the so-called bastard button is gone, you need to have two manual modes - pre-flash/no pre flash, which is the way it is setup on S&S strobes.  The Z-240 has two TTL modes - one was a low powered option.  Interesting to see how it performs when they finally release it. 

[Nemrod]

An Inon strobe defaults to pre-flash regardless of the magnet or the switch. That switch does nothing as long as sTTL is selected on the mode dial. I suppose there are cameras that have real time TTL strobe exposure with no pre-flash. That is interesting that there are two TTL and two M modes?

 

 

Edited Saturday at 01:22 AM by Nemrod

[Dave_Hicks]

28 minutes ago, Nemrod said:

An Inon strobe defaults to pre-flash regardless of the magnet or the switch. That switch does nothing as long as sTTL is selected on the mode dial. I suppose there are cameras that have real time TTL strobe exposure with no pre-flash. That is interesting that there are two TTL and two M modes?

 

 

Well, that's wrong.

 

Even the screen shot you shared instructs that you need to Push in the button to Position 1 when using Manual strobe power control on a non-preflash camera. Except for Olympus shooters, pretty much everyone is using Manual mode with these strobes.