What we need in a strobe

For digital prosumer cameras it seems to me that what the strobe manufacturers need to do is come out with a small, wide angle, fairly low power strobe with multiple power settings. The Sea & Sea Auto90 sounds interesting, but it might be better if the sensor were on a cable so it could be positioned or mounted near the lens.

Any manufacturers listening?

Since when have manufacturers listened to consumers!

Profit! Profit! Profit!

Sounds like you're talking about the Ikelite DS125...:-) It's got really wide coverage (has a round flash tube too for great even lighting), decent power for good wide shooting, and it can be used in TTL or manual - and w/ the new controller, you get 10 power settings. I think it's pretty compact for what it does.

Cheers

James

Small! The new S & S 90 sounds good but a ys60 with an ike sensor is only 30% of 125 - It will fit in a jacket pocket!

I don't think the Ike sensor will work with Sea and Sea strobes though. It will work with Ike's DS50 though - but then we are back to a straight flash tube.

I'm in agreement with Bob about small. I've dove with people using bigger strobes, and am away glad that I don't have to try to manuver something that big into some of the tight spaces that I'd like to shoot.

Ike has two sensor. I think one of them, the older one, just allows the strobe to follow the internal flash: flash on -> strobe on, flash off -> strobe off. So the TTL function depends on the camera itself. The new one has strobe duration settings to control exposure. Neither is what Foliver is looking for, something like the S&S Auto 90 with TTL built into the strobe using a sensor to detect the reflected light from the subject.

It's a bad idea IMHO even if you can get the sensor near the lens. At best, it'll be clumsy to use for one strobe, and really bad for 2 strobes.