Strobe choice for Olympus SP350 and PT030 Housing

I just purchased my 1st underwater setup, Olympus SP350 and the PT030 housing. I am now trying to decide between the Sea & Sea YS-110 and the Inon Z240 strobes. I am also going to add the Athena TTL Sync Cable. I have compared the two on digital diver and was wondering if the differences between the two are worth spending the extra money for the Z-240 for a beginner. The differences that I found with the Sea & Sea are the recycle time is slower, one less manual setting and it doesn't have the auto exposure option. The two main sites I have been comparing prices is Reef photo and Divervision. Reef photo has been very helpful with e-mails but Divervision has lower prices. I also read on this site that Divervision is out of Taiwan, so should I have concerns about that? From everything I have read, both are good strobes and I guess I just want opinions on what would be best for a beginner uw photographer?

You might want to do a search on on this website with the YS-110. Some people were having trouble getting that strobe to work with the SP-350 for some reason.

Reef photo has been very helpful with e-mails but Divervision has lower prices.

So, you wasted Reef's time answering your questions and you are going to buy from out of the country to save a few bucks????

Dave

No, Reef Photo was the first site I found to research the strobes and they gave me price quotes on the setups that go with this camera. I then found Divervision and compared the prices between both and wondered how they could be so much lower. I saw on some posts here that they were out of Taiwan, so I was hoping to get opinions from people who have bought from Reef Photo and Divervision. I haven't contacted Divervision yet for package prices but now I don't know if I should since I might be wasting their time. I just thought that was how it worked, you contact a store about something and then they give you price quotes on their products.

We highly recommend you buy Inon products from an authorized dealer in the country or region where you live, to obtain full local warranty and after-service, especially for products having electronics.

While buying overseas might save a little initially, you should calculate the time and expense of shipping back to your dealer in the event of warranty service and any other repair/maintenance. There are a variety of overseas dealers out there providing a wide range of service levels, some excellent. Please make sure your chosen dealer will help after you buy, no matter how easy it was to buy. Will they take the product back and help you? One reason you may see cheaper prices is because there can be a “once sold, forget†mentality where the dealer is not calculating any time you might expect them to spend supporting you, especially after the sale. Instead, reputable companies like Reef, Backscatter, MCD, Cal Digital, U/W Photo-Tech etc. end up handling such after-service woes, on their dime, hoping to prove their superior service & value, and build up a customer base.

If you must buy from overseas, please check:

1) Will seller offer me support before and after sale?

2) Will I receive a warranty valid in my country of residence? If not, what is time and cost of returning product back to dealer? Are you confident dealer will support you in this?

3) Will I receive a user manual in my language?

Too often we get calls from users needing help, who have purchased overseas but receive incomplete product, no warranty card or information, stripped serial numbers, wrong language user manual etc., so please be careful.

Thanks for your consideration.

-Mark Rupert

Inon America, Inc.

Thanks for taking the time to answer. Those are things I haven't really taken into account. I am new to all this so I'm trying to get as much information as I can before I invest a bunch of money into the strobe setup. I should have worded the store comparison different, I was hoping to get opinions from people who have bought from either Reef Photo or Divervision and see what their experiences were. Thanks again for your help.

I have done business with Reef photo, and can't say enough good things.

Ryan knows what what he is talking about, and does a great job, at very reasonable prices!

I would not consider buying from diversion, since, for example, you likely will be unable to get an english manual, and Inon has decided that they will not help you out, in that case!

That may also say something about doing business with Inon...

Hi,

Divervision is my local shop here in Taiwan and all my equipment is from them so I can vouch for their authenticity.

I think it is true that if you had a problem with a strobe, it would need to be returned to Taiwan for warranty repair to be carried out. I think this is made clear in their smallprint at the side of their website. I'm sure they will be very honest with you if you want to email them.

I got the Z240 strobes from them and the manuals were in English.. kind of... not the kind of English I could understand but definitely English.

Hope that helps

Alex

Also, I know Divervision have a TTL convertor (using Heinrich's convertor) for your setup which does not require a bulkhead replacement...

i used the sp350 with pt30 and athena ttl with a INON d2000w strobe. and i was absolutely satisfied. i cannot talk about the sea and sea ... but i can tell you, that you gonna have fun with the inon. small, handy and easy to use.

i havent had any problem jet. and dont worry about the manual. the strobe is easy to use and quite idiot safe.

Some times the lowest price will get you the cheapest product/service.

I just spent US$15,000 with Reef Photo/Ryan and in my case he earned his profit. Highly knowledgeable, willing to put up with you and will not 'tell you what you want to hear' just to get the sale!