"Entry" Strobes

Hi all:

Posted on the beginner's forum (also appropriate for me) but I am looking for info on relatively inexpensive strobes. Surely I will receive some appeals to invest in a high quality strobe unit, but I think that such a strobe will likely cost as much as the new camera and UW housing I just bought.....

I began with a Sealife Reefmaster film unit a few years ago with my first few dives, it introduced me to the challenges of underwater photography, but I know there are improvement opportunities to going to a digital unit, and real improvements probable with a strobe

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I am acquiring a modest digital underwater setup and would like to add a simple/affordable strobe to improve my photos. I am not looking to go too deep with this (50-60'), primarily when I have the opportunity for carribean dives, and I am assuming that nothing I get in this price range will allow me to take decent shots beyond about 5 feet. Macro and fish portraits will be most of what I will be snapping. In the future, I may upgrade to higher end gear but would like to do some entry stuff for a while.

If anyone has experience with these units or cares to offer a recommendation, I would greatly appreciate it. That includes "application" info, like with all of these units should I expect significant scatter from particles, being that all have very short arms?

(My camera is a Canon G7 with the Canon WP-DC11 housing)

Barring a lucky opportunity to find something excellent in this price range on Ebay, the following are what i have found in the ~$200 price range.

Sunpak G-Flash: (I found a place that seems to have a few left). Have heard that this slave flash packs a lot of punch for its price and size, includes fixed arm in the ~$200 price. Have also heard that it may have a limited life (perhaps seal is not as good as better units). Due to discontinued nature of the product and its relative scarcity, service of this unit is probably out of the question if something goes awry.

Fantasea Nano: Looks very compact and lightweight, flexible (but short) arm a plus. Have heard that it doesn't have much power, might be okay to help some macro shots but not much else. ~$200 with flexible arm and optic cable.

Sea & Sea SL-960: read some positive reviews on this unit. Most expensive of the three. Short flexible arm. ~$250. (By the way can I use the old SL-960, which I might get for cheap, or do I need the newer "SL-960D" unit to be compatible with my Canon case? Are the two units really the same?---I have since seen that the 960D handles preflashes and has adjustable output where the 960 does not)

Thanks in advance for any help.

Jim

I generally had good results with a G-flash but the battery door is tricky and you can flood it if you're not careful. The Epoque series of strobes are cheap. I think you can still get a YS-27DX for about $275 on ebay brand new. Here's a great little site http://www.digitaldiver.net/strobes.php that should help you identify a strobe.

I just listed a Sunpak G-flash in the classifieds, it's yours for $120 + shipping.

The NanoFlash is a decent upgrade from the camera strobe. It will do fish portraits as well as macro. I think a GN of 12. It depends a lot on the water clarity where you're shooting a lot.

I think to get something else you're going to need to spend more in the $4-500 range. The new S&S YS27DX is like $400 and is a good step up.

Here's a shot I took with a CoolPix P3/NanoFlash, nothing special, auto settings, just an auto levels in PS, no other adjustments or cleanup. This was taken in about 15' of water at The Seattle Aquarium, so it was controlled conditions. But certainly typical of a clear day of diving in the islands.

Jack

Thanks all.

If I were to buy new I am thinking I would go for the SL-960D--saw its guide number of 20+, adjustable and still in production. The Nano gets points from its compactness, and the power might be sufficient....but if I can get a good deal on Jerald's G-flash that might be a low-risk route.

Jerald, I'll send you a separate PM.

Regards,

Jim