Second Strobe Decision

Hi!

So I'm about to receive my new D-70 Ikelite housing with a single DS-125 strobe (a much anticipated upgrade for me ). I plan on shooting mostly macro with this set-up for a few months. However, I have a trip to Galapagos in September and obviously will want to do lots of WA stuff there. I'll be using a Sigma 10mm-20mm WA zoom and my plan is to add a second strobe to my kit before the trip.

Initially I was planning to add a DS-50 as the second strobe. My reasoning for this was that a lesser powered strobe for a "fill" light would paint better shadows and having a small, reliable DS-50 (with AA batteries vs. rechargeable) would make for a safe backup. Also the savings would allow me to get a nicer port for the WA lens.

Now I'm debating whether this is such a good idea . Should I just bite the bullet and get a second DS-125? And if so, should I also get spare charger/batteries? The added expense might put the 8"dome port out of reach for a while, so I would have to make do with a standard Ikelite port (5503.50) Also, would I be able to manually tune down one of the 125s and still take advantage of iTTL?

Thanks in advance for all the feedback.

congrats on your new housing.

I have the dual DS-125 and I highly recommend it.

With the dual strobe you can have a more homogenous lighting left to right(especially at farther distances) from your subject. The DS50 is a very good strobe but you will probably want to upgrade that right after you buy it. Besides if you want less fill lighting, just dial back the power on the strobes.

I travel with my two DS-125, one extra battery, and one charger. The extra battery allows me some redunancy. The moment i get out of the water, i start charging one of my "used" batteries. So by the end of the surface interval i have two fully charged batteries and the remaining "used" battery is charging waiting for me when i resurface. It works well.

O yeah, another cost to consider is the dual strobe cord versus the single strobe cord, when you add on the other strobe.

Ditto on the second DS-125.....same color light.....same power....redundant in case of flood.....one charger.....you'll need a dual cord and a single cord....duplicate cords is smart....cheap insurance

I carry two chargers and no extra batteries....again redundancy is your friend....I bought an extra battery once and never used it....the 125's will last several dives and they recharge very quickly....plenty of time between dive for charging...2 chargers are way better than one charger and one extra battery....IMHO and experience

Karl

Thanks for the feedback. I think I will go with the 125 and an extra charger. Now I just need to figure out how to pay for the nicer port before September.

I had a DS125 battery pack die on me in Indonesia. I know weight is a concern, but the insurance of an extra battery pack is worth the investment. I am a big believer in redundancy, mostly because I have experienced the pitfalls of not having back up equipment.

Joe