Sea&Sea YS-110a or Inon Z-240

I already have a Sea&Sea YS-110 with Canon 400D. Now I´m thinking of adding a second strobe but I´m not sure which one would be a good choice - Sea&Sea YS-110a or Inon Z-240.

I could use either Sea&Sea YS-110a or Inon Z-240 as a main strobe and the old YS-110 as a slave or connect them with a dual sync cable.

Is it a bad idea to mix Sea&Sea and Inon strobes?

Which one is a better choice?

Opinions?

Advice?

I think that the Inon Z240 is more flexible, and a better unit, but matched strobes often feel easier to use, particularly if you are trying to get even illumination, or closely control the balance between the two units. I used an Inon Z220 with a Sea&Sea strobe for a while, and ended up with two Inons. It was the wide range of power settings that I found most useful. With the Z240 it is the fibre-optic connection that I find most compelling.

You can use a fibre-optic to improve the slave performance of the Z-series strobes, by mounting the cable in front of the main strobe. I have always shied away from dual strobe cables, as you can lose two strobes for the price of one if the cable fails...

Tim

After much research, I think I will go with the new YS-110a (Alpha) strobes. The recycle time is now much improved as is their optical connection using DS- TTL. The performance is now pretty much almost the same as the Z240 in terms of recycle time.

The fact that I use all Sea & Sea gear and have their TTL controller gives me even more reason to stick with them. I believe that if I ever get a new camera and housing, I would consider Nexus for their optical TTL connection via the camera's on board flash. This is unless Sea & Sea offers this option in their new housings....

I have always shied away from dual strobe cables, as you can lose two strobes for the price of one if the cable fails...

 

Tim

 

How could the cable be affected in such a way that the strobe might be lost ?

How could the cable be affected in such a way that the strobe might be lost ?

If the sync cable leaks, it will flood whatever it is attached to.

So in a dual cable, it will flood both strobes and the housing.

I consider the sync cables to be a weak link and I replace them yearly.

Elmer

Does sound a bit scary... Replacing the sync cord might be a better idea that having to replace two strobes + housing, but the sync cord is also quite costly. I paid A$250 for a dual sync cord. Oh god !

Which is why I will move to optical connections for my next housing. I will get a Nexus for my next housing if Sea & Sea does not change it's design to allow on board strobes to pop up and be used for TTL flash.

As much as I am happy with my current set up, using optical cables is cheaper, less to carry (every gram helps with baggage allowances) and has less weak links.

Which is why I will move to optical connections for my next housing. I will get a Nexus for my next housing if Sea & Sea does not change it's design to allow on board strobes to pop up and be used for TTL flash.

 

As much as I am happy with my current set up, using optical cables is cheaper, less to carry (every gram helps with baggage allowances) and has less weak links.

I am happy with the 110a with optical cable connection...My only problem is I just got a second strobe and wat to do another connection to the camera but the housing only has a port for one (and I really don't want to do a connection strobe to strobe)...Do you know of anyone that makes a "splitter" that will provide two optical cables from one source?...Thanks