ds50 vs ys90?

a question to the owners of either ds50 or ys90...how do u like your strobe, what are the advantages and disadvantages of owning your strobe? what camera do u use with it?

i'm thinking of getting a ds50 for my canon s300 camera, since it's but a small camera i think it would be better to get ds50 rather than the ds125 which may be too good for my cam...is there such a thing as this? like too strong for the camera? or would the ys90 be better?plans of upgrading to a g3 or 5050 are considered but the thing is i rarely dive so this wont be in the near future....what do you think is best for me?

thanks in advance.

If you decide to use the manual controller with the DS50, then both of those strobes will be pretty much the same. You can also use the DS-50 with the TTL controller if you want to go that route. But you can't have both at the same time.

You will be happy with either strobe.

Cheers

James

btw how do i know if my camera works ttl?

Sorry I didn't get back to you on email, I had to spend most of the day organising the travel plans prior to heading off to UK on Sunday.

Both strobes are very good and it's difficult to recommend one over the other.

YS90DX - Small, reliable and very durable with good tray systems.

Ike 50 - Superb coverage, adaptable for ball joint type arms.

Cheers,

Bob

A couple thing to point out. My first choice would be the DS125 if expense is not an issue. In my opinion, I would hate to have a strobe that does not allow for manual adjusment of power (DS50 has full and half power only). If you do decide on the DS50 I would get the manual controller but it kinda sucks that you can't use both at the same time (are you sure James). With the YS90DX you have the option of using it manual, with a sync cord or using a fiber optic cord. This gives you a lot of option for adapting and changing your system later on.

You definitely cannot use TTL with the Manual controller at the same time. Also, the DS-50 doesn't have 1/2 power, it's either TTL or Full. It's not such a horrible thing really, you can adjust to using it in Full if you have it hardwired with a non-TTL camera (D60), it just takes some getting used to. I'd personally go with the DS-125 too if you could, because it has better coverage if you only want to use a single strobe and it has some built-in variability (Full, 1/2, 1/4). That being said, the DS-50 is not a bad strobe to start with.

I have no experience with the ys90 though.

thanks very much for your input. but i can say, now i am confused is there a thread which explains ttl/ttl slave and manual mode in depth? i dunno if i understand it correctly...u guys say that the downside of the ds50 + manual controller is that one cannot use manual controller + ttl at the same time which means what? i mean the strobe will be triggered by the ttl slave sensor of the manual controller right (?)so what would be the problem with that? (aside from the instances where it will be triggered by other strobes which aren't connected to the camera)

for ttl (using sync cord?), the strobe will be triggered by the camera's internal flash(?) in which case the digital cam has a preflash so the strobe will go off 2x? or does it have a certain option which tells it to fire when the *real flash* is fired?

for the manual will it also be the case? will it fire both for preflash and the real flash??

rstark --- what do u mean by saying that 'sucks you cant use both at the same time'?what is both? (ttl + manual controller)

tshepherd - what's the difference between ttl and full? and what is a ttl and a non-ttl camera?

i'm sorry for asking too much....if there's a thread which explains it pls. inform me...

thankssss so much.

The TTL cannot be used if the manual controler is fitted.

Full, refers to full manual stobe output - Empties!

Hey, Gotcha. Let me try to help.

DS-50: Nifty little strobe. It's switch has three positions: Off, Manual, and TTL. The "Manual" position is for use with hardwired systems only. You would never use that with your camera. With your camera, you have two options to establish communication between your camera and the strobe, and with either one, you will switch the strobe to TTL. Ikelite sells two separate controllers for the DS-50 and DS-125. You can use either one with your set-up. The TTL controller mimics what your camera's internal built-in flash does. It pre-flashes and then starts and stops in sync with the camera's little flash, which theoretically is gauging how much light it needs to expose the picture properly. The manual controller makes the DS-50 work very similar to the Sea & Sea YS-90DX, in that, it ignores the pre-flash and fires on the exposure flash. The amount of light delivered is determined manually by the photographer and controlled with a 12 position switch. Even though it is called the manual controller, when you have it connected to a DS-50, you will switch the DS-50 to TTL (I know, that is really confusing).

YS-90DX: Pretty much like the DS-50 with manual controller, except the manual controller is built into the strobe. It ignores the pre-flash and fires the strobe in sync with the camera strobe, but you have to tell it how much light to deliver.

You can read more about the YS-90DX at: http://www.digitaldiver.net/photoinstindex.html Hit the link for "Choosing and Using Underwater Strobes". Unfortunately, I wrote this before the manual controller was out, so it is not discussed. I am planning on updating it, but will probably wait until the combo controller is out.

thanks thanks very much ....now i understand (a bit) the ttl stuff....

now if i can only test the strobes.

Does anyone has experience of taking close up photos (e.g. less than 6 in) with either strobes (DS50, DS125 or YS90DX) in manuel mode (not TTL)? Will it always overexposure? I ask this question because last time when I used a big strobe YS300, it always overexposured even thought I set to the lowest power (1/4 of full power). Now I want to buy one and I need to make sure the strobe is suitable for me.

Somewhere in this forum have a comparison between DS50 and YS90DX. It showed that the GN# for both strobe are almost the same. But when I checked their official website, GN# for DS50 and YS90DX are 28 ft (underwater) and 72 ft (land) respectively. It seems to have big different. I am in confuse why someone said they are similar. Does anyone do a real test on it?

I've owned the pre digital versions of both the Sea and Sea 90 and Ike 50 strobes. The Sea and Sea offical guide number is overrated. Look at the numbers on Ike's web site that has the 2 strobes as about the same guide number. Much more accurate by my experience. Both are fine strobes. I like the Ike manual controller better than the controls on the S % S. Mostly because the dial is big, easy to use, and you can put it right in front of you. I liked the color temperature (maybe not that relevant in digital) of the 50 better. The 50 is smaller though both are very compact. Neither are great for wide angle but my gut feeling that you can do wide angle better with the 50. You won't lose with either strobe.

Firstly, I lost the link for the comparison between DS50 and YS90DX. Can you show me once more?

You mentioned the color temperture of DS50 is better than YS90. Please explain in more detail. Is more blue, more yellow or other else?

It seems that you have all 3 strobes: DS50, DS125, YS90DX. What is the performance in close up/macro photography? Will they be too strong (always overexposed)?

I lost the link for the comparison between DS50 and YS90DX

here ya go:

http://www.ikelite.com/web_pages/compare_strobes.html

and

http://www.ikelite.com/web_pages/compare_ys60.html

You can set up the S&S 90DX to minimum power @ f8 with the strobe very close and get good exposures.

I wouldn't trust Ikelite's website to provide unbiased comparisons of their competitiors' strobes. The same would be true for any manufacturer. I also don't know why anyone would prefer the 50's 5700K color temp to the 90's 5500K. If those numbers are to be believed, the difference is about a foot of water but in the WRONG direction. Check out the battery compartment door on the two strobes.

I am sorry Craig doesn't trust the results we showed based on identical test procedures. They are honest. I wish someone would tell me how to compete against claims that are blatant lies.............

ike

I wish someone would tell me how to compete against claims that are blatant lies

Probably an independent 3rd party review and comparison would help. I for one would love to see results of all comparable strobes, not just ike and s&s. Also revealing the method of testing gives a good perspective.

I am sorry Craig doesn't trust the results we showed based on identical test procedures.  They are honest.  I wish someone would tell me how to compete against claims that are blatant lies.............

 

 

ike

It not specific to your company. I believe I made that clear.

I based my evaluation of the guide numbers of the 2 strobes upon measurment with a light meter. It says they are the same. By experience I think the Ike has a stronger guide number.

The color temperature of the strobe is listed by the manufactures. I found the S & S too cool until I put on the diffuser. It seemed okay then. The color temperature of the 50 seems just right for macro to me.

Because you can change the WB with a digital camera I'm not sure the color temperature of the strobe is that big a deal.