Sea&sea YS110s any good?

After lots of looking on the net and downloading of specs the overall best compromise strobes in the UK seem to be the new Sea and SeaYS110s, combining reasonable power, good beam coverage, small size and weight and a reasonable price tag.

So, are they too good to be true?

I've seen a couple of posts on here from owners of these beasts, do you think they're:

1 Ohmygawd fantastic - why does anyone buy anything else?

2 Good strobe for the money but no better than (Insert strobe name here)

3 OK, but nothing special

4 They're already on ebay

Ta!

Mike.

Hi Mike,

As I'm sure you already worked out, there's horses for courses in every walk of life. I've got a pair of YS-110s and I like them a lot. They're smaller and cheaper than Inon Z240s and can do all the things that I'd want a Z240 to do on either my or my girlfriend's rig. That is, work with cabled TTL from my Sea&Sea converter, or do optical slave TTL from her Sony P150.

Potential downsides are largely limited to the recycle time. After a full dump you are looking at about 3 seconds, which is a little pedestrian compared to some of the bigger guns and even the Inon's 1.6 seconds. It doesn't bother me too much, but if I end up needing a faster fish scaring system then I may upgrade to the new YS-250 PROs when they make it through the tectonic Sea&Sea product release procedure.

Whether or not the YS-110s are a good match for your rig is ultimately for you to decide. It's going to be interesting to see what the quality of light is like off them in the water. It seems fine topside, but then I like diffusers, so YYMV. If you can get along to Alan James or Cameras Underwater and have a play with them, that'll help you work out if they're up to scratch for you.

Martyn

I've just ordered one from Alan James (Heather is great to deal with), and i'm looking forward to having a play. I like the simplicity of the unit and the new beam pattern. I've had an Inon gun in the past (D2000) which was great for my old digicam and light weight too, although the buttons and dials on the back were a bit 'fiddly'. I've gone with Sea & Sea due to the backup here in the UK.

Thanks, guys, that's two and a half votes for the YS 110s (Including one on DDN!)

Anybody had 'em in the water yet?

I wonder if they will possibly do pre-flash, when hooked up with wire to sony camera?

Is there any big difference in the capabilities of the S&S vs Inon for optically slaved TTL with preflash?

Thanks!

Don

Thanks, guys, that's two and a half votes for the YS 110s (Including one on DDN!)

 

Anybody had 'em in the water yet?

Of course they have been underwater!! No fun to have them sit around doing nothing!

I had 2 - D2000W strobes that I used underwater on about 300 dives, I traded them in to get the Sea and Sea 110s.

Mine 110s have been used for about 12 hours u/w time so far (sorry I can't rate per your system of #s cause too many other factors come into play, etc) here's what I've found and rate for yourself:

The 110s are a good strobe for the money.

The 110s are much less negative in the water than my former Inon D2000Ws (that is why I got them).

Sadly the 110s are not positive or even neutral in the water, they are a tad negative, but this may not mean anything to some users. I wish they were positive like the YS90s.

Their beam angle is a little whimpy in my experience, I have not used diffusers.

If you use manual strobe operation the button regulating flash output is easier to turn on the 110s than on the Inons, but there are no guide numbers, etc so it is harder to be as precise on the 110s and easier to make an error with the output control in manual operation with the 110s as opposed to the Inons. Also it is still a small and somewhat "fiddly" button on the 110s, but not as "fiddly" as on the Inons. Also there is no "full dump" guide like on the Inons, if you want full dump you have to dial it in all the way. This may actually be a good thing cause lots of people used to accidently click into full dump with the Inons.

It looks like the 110s will work well with the Sea and Sea TTL converter, when I'm able to get a converter that actually works that is.... (heard it is coming..)

Recycle time on the 110s didn't bother me, slightly longer than the Inons, but didn't affect my style of shooting. Use them with 2700s, recycle time is then shorter. They work better with 2700s than my Inons did. Some Inons have issues with some 2700 rechargeables (I think battery compartment related??).

The 110s have a little stronger "model/target light" than the Inons. I hardly ever used it in any case but it might come in handy for some users?

That's my opinion, if you want more detailed info probably some retailers have conducted "tests" on the specs, I know Ryan Canon from ReefPhoto has dome some quick tests of beam-angle, etc. Ask those who know.

The 110s are a good strobe, easier to handle in the water because of their shape and being less negative than the Inons. That's why I got them. I too am looking fwd to the YS250s in the "distant??" future.... . Wow a real positive - in-water - weight strobe again!!! Yea!!!

But personally I think the Inons are better in the power, beam angle department and feature department / along with the ability to be a little more precise in manual strobe operation.

Ergonomics of the Sea and Seas are better in my experience. That means a lot cause better ergonomics = more precise positioning!! And that is way more than 1/2 the battle.

Just my experiences! Carol

Thanks again, Carol, most useful

Seagrant/Carole,

I'm in Florida from the 8th Feb for 2 weeks. Where is reasonably good to dive around Sarasota?

Seagrant/Carole,

 

I'm in Florida from the 8th Feb for 2 weeks. Where is reasonably good to dive around Sarasota?

You can PM me on this as it is a bit off-topic in this thread. And to answer your ?, of course, just depends if you want to "low-viz" search for huge prehistoric shark teeth (very close to Sarasota but river water is COLD in Feb), drive to see lemon sharks across the state (3 hrs), or go see manatee (3 hrs). Gulf diving is good when conditions are good but Feb is too volatile for viz and water is cold for Florida (maybe upper 50s).

Best, C