ys90 or ys120

I am new to UW photography, and I'm still working out all the equipment. I currently have 2 YS120s. I shoot with a L&M D100 housing and either a 12-24 for WA, or a 60mm for macro. According to Sea&Sea, the YS90 GN is the same as the YS120, and w/NiMH batteries the YS90 recycle time is faster. The YS90 is also smaller and lighter. What is the advantage of the YS120? I would love to carry a smaller/lighter case on my next trip, but what would I be giving up if I switch to YS 90s? Thanks for any/all advise

The 120 has a wider spread of light, hence covering a larger area.

/christian

Actually the YS-120 has a faster recycle time than the YS-90 strobe. Ive used both of these strobes and I'll take the 120s just because of the recycle time alone. The beam angle is slightly larger, but not by much. I would normally say that a disadvantage to the ys-120 is that it only has 1/2 and full power settings, but since you have the Titan housing with ROC this doesn't matter to you. Both the YS-90 and YS-120 are no longer being made, so you may want to look at the YS-110. It's smaller, lighter, takes 4 AA batteries, and recycles faster than either the 90 or 120. It's also less expensive when you compare the prices when new.

Jim

I know that many people love their YS90s - but I have also seen many people struggling with them. The main problem seems to get them to produce a consistent light output - particularly with the YS90Duo. I have see several people shooting these strobes who just accept that they have a low hit rate of good shots - and put it down to their shortcomings as a photographer. Instead it is their strobe doing weird stuff.

I know you have to tape over the sensors etc. But why not just buy a strobe that does what you tell it to in the first place.

Also without NiMH batteries the YS90 can be very slow to recycle as the batteries drain.

As you can tell I am not a fan of the YS90. The newer YS110 is much improved over the YS90 in both these respects. It is straightforward to use.

The old YS120 is also a reliable gun. And once you realise that its limited manual powers are not actually very limiting it is a great gun.

Alex

Had the YS-120's for several years and they work well, however as a traveling photographer it was a complete pain to carry so many batteries and chargers, 8 AA's for each of my two strobes plus backups and few chargers at the time that would hold more than four batteries.

Phil