YS-250 Release Announcement

http://www.seaandsea.jp/press/1186477422.html

There is also an interesting note on one Japanese vendor's site that states that the strobe will not work with the current TTL converters . . .

Will be interesting to see one (finally). It is a bit of a tank, though, at 1.8kg.

Mike

Hi Mike,

Any of the vendors offering a price at this early stage???

Bruce

Hi Mike,

Any of the vendors offering a price at this early stage???

Bruce

Yuzo at Naturephoto in Japan has it advertised for Y88,900 = approx $745. U.S. MSRP is supposed to be $995. MAP something like $975, I think. Haven't seen any U.S. availability as yet.

Mike

We got ours today, and I'm diving them in the am...

GN: 32! oooh... me want...

GN: 32! oooh... me want...

I'm anxious to see what Ryan says about it. But at 1.8kg, crikey that's heavy!

Is the battery pack integrated?

I was wondering if it is just a make-over for the venerable old YS-350 , or whether it is a brand new strobe from the ground up? They (S&S) are not giving much away with the announcement...

It comes TTL compatible, but doesn't state whether it is compatible with the S&S converters; mk I or II ?

It has three fibre optic/slave ports, but doesn't say whether it is carrying the S&S fibre optic TTL circuitry that is available in the new YS-110...I hope that this strobe doesn't have the teething problems that the YS-110 had...

Bruce

I had a chance to handle the production model of this strobe yesterday and it is not the same strobe some of use looked at in January at DEMA. I had the YS-200's and still own a pair of YS-300's and the design is not the same, I.E. the strobe does not open in the middle to access the battery pack. It is much more like a YS-120 on steroids. Imagine a rear cap about twice the size of the YS-120 which accommodates a proprietary battery which is about five inches long, three inches wide and over an inch thick. The strobe is 9 inches long v. 7.4 for the YS-120 according to the Sea & Sea web site. It has a 360 degree flash tube with a nice reflector and produces a beam wider than the Inon Z-240 by about 5 degrees without a diffuser. This appears to be a very nice strobe for those who don't mind trading off size for additional power and coverage.

I tested the YS-250 at full power against the Inon Z-220 and Z-240 at full power using a Minolta light meter at ISO 100 and one meter.

The results

Z-220 F11.6

Z-240 F20.9

YS-250 F22.6

So less than one stop of light diffrence between the YS-250 and Z-240 and about two stops of light between the YS-250 and Z-220.

Thanks to Reefphoto.com for allowing me to compare equipment, they are in stock and include fiber optics.

Phil Rudin

Phil, thanks for the comparison. Hmm...

less than 1 stop difference

about 1kg dry weight difference between the YS-250 and Inon Z-240...

but the YS-250 is positive u/w so no need to compensate with bulky buoyancy arms ...

Interesting...

Phil, thanks for the comparison. Hmm...

 

less than 1 stop difference

about 1kg dry weight difference between the YS-250 and Inon Z-240...

but the YS-250 is positive u/w so no need to compensate with bulky buoyancy arms ...

 

Interesting...

Oh go on Pak, you know you want it...

Just measuring the guide number in the middle doesn't tell you the overall "power" of the strobe. You really need to measure it toward the edge of the light pattern as well.

The Z240 and YS250 are totally different types of strobes - the latter is really made for wideangle - with its pigtail type flash tube.

Cheers

James

First James the YS-240 has a round 360 degree type flash tube, I haven't seen a pigtail type flash tube in an U/W strobe since the outstanding Subsea Mark 150 which took a 510 volt battery, had a crushed glass reflector and an E/O cord.

I agree that this is only one test of many that could be done but it does give an idea of the power diffrences. I also agree that it would be tuff to do macro with these big S&S strobes as well as with the Inon strobes which can do both wideangle and macro with ease. Manufacturers provide guide numbers using the same type of test, not the guide number at the edge of the light pattern. If you are looking for something else to compare it to the S&S YS-300's have the same type round tube and same bulk with an F-22 for the same test the reflectors are almost identical.

The round tube The pigtail type tube

Phil Rudin

Hi Phil,

When you say round tube, I say pigtail. That's just us using different names for a curved flash tube - which is what's used in most wide-angle strobes.

I have used just about every type of strobe and can tell you that there's a big difference between round tube units and straight tube units. There is also pretty strong consensus here on Wetpixel that taking a single GN reading at the center of the flash pattern is useless.

I bet if you repeat the test, and throw in a DS50 you'll find that it has a pretty high guide number in the center too :-) It actually beat out much larger strobes when tested that way.

Cheers

James

Hi James,

Regarding the DS50 I would agree it has a fairly high guide number and a 70 degree angle of coverage. If I were to change the angle of coverage of the tested strobes to 70 degrees those guide numbers would raise as well, I am not sure I see your point in comparing apples to oranges.

Not withstanding how you there at Wetpixel feel, I think the entire system of guide numbers is highly over rated. I have seen outstanding wide angle images from strobes with round tubes, pigtail tubes and stright tubes (especially two stright tubes at 90 degree angles to each other) and a verity of power levels.

Since you have used just about every type of strobe made perhaps you could show us some images of the big diffrences you have found between round and stright flash tubes.

Phil Rudin

After bench testing in the shop, the YS-250 was getting TTL with the Sea and Sea converter II. Can't test with converter I as I don't have any left. As soon as I have a chance to dive it and do a field test I can post my results.

It has the same light output and flash tube as the retina burning YS-350, so if you like the 350 you'll love the 250. The 350 only had 1/4, 1/2 and full power and sometimes 1/4 power was still too much. The 250 output can be lowered even less than 1/4 power. It has 12 levels of control built into the strobe, so I think this is going to be an awesome strobe.

Jim

Hi Phil,

Sure, I have a good example from a shoot I was doing last weekend actually. This flash has one straight tube and you can really clearly see the light pattern it throws. It's a square! The flash is placed directly over the housing for this photo - a typical macro configuration for single strobe use - ala the cold-shoe mount on the Nik5

I have also used strobes with 2 straight tubes - arrayed in a T configuration. I ended up only using them for macro because I was having a tough time with my light pattern and was getting a dark spot in the center of my photos.

Sincerely,

James Wiseman

PS yes folks, that is my foot and yes, it is hairy, I agree.

The strobes handle well in the water, right at neutrally buoyant.

Their recycle time is as advertised in the current documentation (1.8s). I didn't shoot enough to validate flashes/charge.

They aren't a gn 32. Phil illustrates that above.

YS-250 throw a tighter beam than my beloved DS-200 do. This is a disadvantage for me, as I never shoot the 200 with power robbing diffusers. YS-250 are cooler, too, but not enough to be a problem.

The strobe market is crowded with excellent options, and this is another one. Its competition includes the DS-200 and several varieties of European Exotica, and while it holds its own, it doesn't really beat them in any area.

The strobes handle well in the water, right at neutrally buoyant.

 

Their recycle time is as advertised in the current documentation (1.8s). I didn't shoot enough to validate flashes/charge.

 

They aren't a gn 32. Phil illustrates that above.

 

YS-250 throw a tighter beam than my beloved DS-200 do. This is a disadvantage for me, as I never shoot the 200 with power robbing diffusers. YS-250 are cooler, too, but not enough to be a problem.

 

The strobe market is crowded with excellent options, and this is another one. Its competition includes the DS-200 and several varieties of European Exotica, and while it holds its own, it doesn't really beat them in any area.

I am currently using 2 x dx-90's from c'n'c and one is only firing every 3-5 shots so i am looking for some new ones,never been particularly impressed with the power of my c'nç's but after reading you guys and already having reservationa vbout the weight and size of the new ys-250's i am thinking inon 240's . i like the fact they fit nicely next to my macro port and they seem pretty powerful, any one willing to go out on a limb and make a recommendation. i am in the middle of nowhere and have no chance to test or even see the strobes b4 i buy , need help here