Looking for small but powerful strobes

I recently returned from Indnoesia, and I had some difficulty getting wide and powerful enough reef coverage with my little Inon Z220s, so I'm thinking perhaps I need something beefier (though hopefully not TOO much bulkier) for WA. Any ideas in that regard?

You should look into the Ikelite DS125. The Inon Z220 has a GN of 22, while the DS125 has a GN of 32, while not being much bigger (only about twice the length

To be sure this is enough for you, just take the typical aperture and distance-to-subject you've shot, multiply them to one another, and that's the GN you want to get.

Cheers,

Mat

You should look into the Ikelite DS125.  The Inon Z220 has a GN of 22, while the DS125 has a GN of 32, while not being much bigger (only about twice the length

 

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Not a valid comparison. The Inon GN is in units of meters in the air. The Ike GN is feet in the water.

The tests that I've seen seem to indicate that the DS125 have a wider beam but not as bright in the center.

To be sure this is enough for you, just take the typical aperture and distance-to-subject you've shot, multiply them to one another, and that's the GN you want to get.

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The problem is, that the guide number is only valid for a certain distance underwater, usually for 2m light travel distance (1m distance). The guide number decreases rapidly over growing distances. For example, there is not much left in 5m distance compared to topside.

Although the DS-125 might not be brighter in the centre (typical for ring type tubes with wider coverage), the beam pattern at the edges and angle of coverage are important for wideangle. It would be interesting to compare guide numbers in the red colour channel only between those strobes.

Having that said, I’ve never used a DS-125.

Julian

I had little success with a big Sea & Sea strobe, and settled for twin Inon z-220s (sad to see them phased out, they were a pretty good bit of kit). I found that a big strobe blows out the foreground, but two light the mid-ranges nicely. Nothing is going to add colour to the background more than 3m away except in gin, so angle of coverage and even-ness of illumination are the important factors. I have rarely used my Inons at full power (but I am using a 200ASA-equivalent Nikon D-SLR), and always with a diffusor. Having written that, I shot some landscapes with one strobe out of action in September, and one shot's gone off into competition....

B)

Tim Priest

Solihull

I find it easier to compare strobe outputs in Watt Secs-1 rather than guide numbers.

I use some DS125s earlier this year and liked them very much. Less manual power settings, but I found them more powerful that the various Inons I have used.

Alex

p.s. there are also rumours that Inon might have something more powerful out soon?

I think it will be difficult to find one big strobe that provides better wideangle lightning than two small strobes together can do in terms of coverage. Adequate update from two small strobes are two wider strobes for wideagnle.

Julian

We've used both SS-200 and SS-125 from Ike.

Although our preference power-wise goes to the SS-200, we now travel with the SS-125s because of the bulk/weight factor and also the lightning-fast recyle time.

YS-350 from Sea and Sea would also be a very god choice but more $$$ involved.

Michel

Michel

Bruce, I think I was on the trip before you - Ondina with DebF....so dived the same spots.

I got some very nice results using dual Ikelite SS200's. They may be too big for what you are looking for size-wise, but for power, recycle time, reliability and bang for the buck I think they are great. The only problem is changing strobe power and that will soon be solved as Ike is bringing out the DS200 so you can use the manual EV controller - I am getting mine retrofitted, which is a bit of a pain as I live in Australia and Ike doesn't....

Don

Hi Bruce,

Many of us have used dual Inon Z-220's for years because of the small size for packing, power output, recycle times, common battery types and more. Most have shot with Velva 50 (rated at 40) and 100 cromes. These strobes combined with proper technique have produced stunning images and are used by many well respected photographers. Scrapping them to gain a half stop or so more power seems pointless in the digital age where most cameras begin at an ISO greater than many slide films.

With all respect to the other products noted in this thread I don't see the upside to replaceing one of the best tools available, its the results that count not the specs.

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Phil Rudin

Many of us have used dual Inon Z-220's for years because of the small size for packing, power output, recycle times, common battery types and more. Most have shot with Velva 50 (rated at 40) and 100 cromes. . . With all respect to the other products noted in this thread I don't see the upside to replaceing one of the best tools available, its the results that count not the specs. 

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Good points, Phil...I guess we're always looking for simple (i.e., gear rather than skill) solutions...that grass sure seems greener...

Positioning of your strobes is extremely important - you have to remember that most red light is filtered out within 10m - so if you're 5m from your subject, the light has traveled 10m through water (from strobe to subject back to camera) by the time it gets back to your camera. Having your strobes too far out or back can reduce the light reachign the camera. What is your strobe arm setup? I've seen people shooting with 2 6-8" arms on each side getting good results with Inons - if you're using longer arms, they may be placing your strobes out too far to the sides.