Not selling anything here.
But wanted to share some thoughts
I am currently looking at all my stuff aquired over my 30 years of Underwater Photography journey, which started with Nikonos III when shooting today with Sony A1 in Nauticam USA Housing.

Sold a few things already.

And I found my 2 old Nikonos SB 105 flashes at the bottom of a box. They still work perfectly, and I'm actually amazed by their power and coverage for a technology that's more than 20 years old.

And the simple question that comes to mind is: why aren't they used anymore, and why have we abandoned them?

When I first added strobes to my kit around 5 years ago, I started with SB-105s because I could get them for very cheap (like $40-50). I was happy with them except that most of them developed problems or stopped working (I'm guessing just due to their age). I went through 4-5 of them before moving to Inon Z-240s. In my opinion the SB-105s had better quality of light, but the Z-240s were much more reliable, which is ultimately more important.

Edited 17 hours ago17 hr by Isaac Szabo

I don't think it was us abandoning them. SB-105s were great back in the day but the tech evolved beyond them and Nikon wouldn't, or couldn't keep supporting them for logistical or economic reality. Just like film, try finding a roll of Kodachrome 64 and then find a place to get it processed. At least there is still Ektachrome with it's blue bias. Need to pull out my Paul Simon LPs!!

The SB-105 that went out of the box today, was there for more than maybe 8 years if not more. Put 4 AA batteries (Eneloop Pro / rechargeable...) and the strobes fired without any problem. Condensator like day #1.

I stopped after may be 30 flashes. I the measure GN with a flashmeter : ISO 100, almost f/22 , yedt in the air. More than my Retra Pro X.

And Nikon TTL working perfectly. Can't belive it.
They deserve a 2nd life

The awful Nikonos connector system (and cords generally) vs modern (wet) fibre optic systems...

7 hours ago, dentrock said:

The awful Nikonos connector system (and cords generally) vs modern (wet) fibre optic systems...

????
N5 connectors/cables are yes, bulky, very bulky. However TTL is way much reliable and acurate...
And in 30 years of UW Photography, i never ever had a single problem with N5 cables or bulkhead.... which is not the case with Fiber optic cables.
Yet, i am using fiber optic cable today.
With th exception of my Subtronic strobes... (that i use with 14mm or Fisheye lens)... without TTL. Funny