The problems with Sea & Sea YS110alpha

Hi all,

Am new to using strobe (above & below water) and am planning to get myself a Sea & Sea YS110 alpha as I think I'm getting fairly reasonable price. I'm using a Canon Powershot G10 with Canon WP-DC28 housing.

My problem is that the shop I went to was saying that there will be a lot of problems if I get the YS110alpha. These problems are:

1. The battery compartment will be easily leaked. Is this true?

2. Sea & Sea customer service "sucks big time" (no offense, but I'm just quoting what was told to me). Is this so?

Of course, the shopkeeper was trying to push for Inon Z240 or the D2000 strobe which are more pricey than the S&S. I don't have the cash to spend so much on the strobe and all I wanted is to use it for a macro shot here and there.

Can somebody clarify these S&S issues?

Thanks and hope to hear from someone here soon.

Cheers

Barttrigger

Hi Bart,

I think you are right to question the shops information. The 110A has only been out a few months but it's based on the 110 that a bunch of people own and I haven't seen anything here that would say it's going to leak. I have two 110's and haven't had any issues with them. I own two full S&S rigs and I can't comment on your service question because they have never needed any. Work first time every time. I guess it might depend on your location in the world but I've never heard of a problem. The Z240 is also very nice strobe based on the comments here but I would think seriously about finding a shop that will give you straight information.

My 2 cents,

Steve

Hi,

It is just my opinion;

1.Any strobe leaks. I leaked my S&S strobes many times & battery compartment itself was sealed

& I removed battery & put new battery on & re-greased the seal & I was back to diving. I think I

understand where his/her comment come from. S&S battery cap is just twist type vs. Inon and others

are screw type and it is easier to leak S&S than other one, but, S&S makes good strobes & there

are thousands of them in use.

2.I do not have any bad experiance on S&S customer support. I returned them few times & I got

returned in time.

3.On a website, http://www.divervision.com/catalog/index.p...t=3a&page=1 ,

D-2000 is listed cheaper than YS-110a and Z-240 is listed about U$100.- expansive than YS-110a.

All 3 strobes you mentioned handles optical connection which is good for G9 and YS-110a & Z-240

has electric wire connection for your future upgrade to dslr.

Sam

Dear Steve & Sam,

Thanks a lot for your input. They are really invaluable to me as it means I can go ahead and get the S&S YS110alpha with ease of mind. With regards to Sam's comment on leakage to battery compartment, I'm happy to hear that if it leaks, it's more likely to be due to human error (which is addressable) than a mechanical/design fault.

I guess, why I like the YS110alpha so much (more like love at first sight) is that it has a target light, uses AA batteries (which is convenient), does not rely on any particular AA batteries (unlike the Inon Z240), and just 0.1 sec slower recharge time than the Z240, all of which in a much cheaper package that I managed to find over here.

As this will be my first strobe purchase, with the intention to use on macro rather than WA, can both of you recommend the minimal/ideal arm length required? I'm thinking of getting a single 12inch 10Bar arm on a 10Bar dual tray (for future expansion). Is this sufficient for macro?

Which fiber optic cable is better? The ones by S&S or the one by 10Bar is sufficient? The one by S&S is twice the price of 10Bar.

Thanks again.

Barttrigger

I have a YS27DX for about 2 years now.. flooded the battery compartiment only once when I didn't close it properly. Removed the batteries, cleaned the compartiment with air, inserted new batteries and made my next dive.

Since I bought more wide angle lenses, my next upgrade will be a 110a!

I will buy 2 x 6 inch arm instead of 1 x 12 inch arm.

Sam

I will buy 2 x 6 inch arm instead of 1 x 12 inch arm.

 

Sam

Thanks Sam. Will most likely follow your advice. What about FO cable? S&S or 10Bar good enough?

Cheers.

Barttrigger

Thanks Sam. Will most likely follow your advice. What about FO cable? S&S or 10Bar good enough?

 

Cheers.

 

Barttrigger

Hi,

I really never used 10bar optical cable but, it looks O.K. at 10bar.com(nothing really can go wrong

with optical cable I think even though I heard only few company can properly bend/twist/coil fiber optic

cable).

Sam

I heard only few company can properly bend/twist/coil fiber optic

cable

Doubt that's true ... I took a $10 fiber-optic audio cable, wound it tightly around a wooden dowel, hit it with a hair dryer on HIGH for a good long while and it worked great ... and had a nice twisty coil ...

Doubt that's true ... I took a $10 fiber-optic audio cable, wound it tightly around a wooden dowel, hit it with a hair dryer on HIGH for a good long while and it worked great ... and had a nice twisty coil ...

Only you Jeremy! I would have set the house on fire! Are you using these UW? I was thinking about getting a center strobe & running it slave via an optical cable. It would probably look like the underside of my desk, but it might work! What do you think.

As for S & S, I've used their housings and many of their strobes, and have never had a problem, except with the new YS250 battery cap pressure relief valve which leaked on one strobe. They sent a new strobe and two new batteries without delay.

Only you Jeremy! I would have set the house on fire! Are you using these UW? I was thinking about getting a center strobe & running it slave via an optical cable. It would probably look like the underside of my desk, but it might work! What do you think.

As for S & S, I've used their housings and many of their strobes, and have never had a problem, except with the new YS250 battery cap pressure relief valve which leaked on one strobe. They sent a new strobe and two new batteries without delay.

Matthew, thanks for the vote of confidence for S&S, I'm currently set in getting the 110alpha.

Sam, many thanks....this means I'll just go for the cheaper option.

Jeremy, your DIY FO cable project sounds interesting. Maybe I'll try and do that...although I'm not sure what the ends of the cable should look like (ie: should it be barren, or should it be placed in a specific holder/plate etc). Any thoughts (or even better...photos) to guide newbie like me?

Thanks all.

Barttrigger.

I have a YS-110 Alpha which I used for a week in Bonaire in December. It worked flawlessly and I am very happy with the lighting in the pictures that I took.

I have a YS-110 Alpha which I used for a week in Bonaire in December. It worked flawlessly and I am very happy with the lighting in the pictures that I took.

Thanks peterdev. Do you post your photos anywhere?

I've bought myself a cheap ($2.40) Fiber optic cable yesterday and am modifying it. Now to get my 110alpha to use the FO cable with.

Barttrigger

I used the YS-110 and now the YS-110a. THe alpha is great and worth the upgrade. Recycle time is so much better now. I have had a leak just once on my YS-110. This was due to sand on the Oring. Keep in mind that each time you open the battery compartment, it's like opening the housing on the camera. You MUST check for debris and make sure that Oring is clean. If you dive in silty water, there is a good chance dirt and sand will accumulate on it and this should be cleaned out. Having said that, as mentioned in an earlier post, the battery compartment is sealed and even if flooded, it would be a simple matter of wiping it dry and free of salt and then making sure it's dry. No harm to the strobe at all (your batts may be screwed up though!)

I used the YS-110 and now the YS-110a. THe alpha is great and worth the upgrade. Recycle time is so much better now. I have had a leak just once on my YS-110. This was due to sand on the Oring. Keep in mind that each time you open the battery compartment, it's like opening the housing on the camera. You MUST check for debris and make sure that Oring is clean. If you dive in silty water, there is a good chance dirt and sand will accumulate on it and this should be cleaned out. Having said that, as mentioned in an earlier post, the battery compartment is sealed and even if flooded, it would be a simple matter of wiping it dry and free of salt and then making sure it's dry. No harm to the strobe at all (your batts may be screwed up though!)

Thanks eskasi,

So what do you do exactly the moment you discovered your strobe leaked? How do you ensure the battery compartment is free of salt? You pour fresh water into the compartment? Please bear with me as I'm new to all this.

Cheers,

Barttrigger

Thanks eskasi,

 

So what do you do exactly the moment you discovered your strobe leaked? How do you ensure the battery compartment is free of salt? You pour fresh water into the compartment? Please bear with me as I'm new to all this.

 

Cheers,

Barttrigger[/quote

 

I have the YS110 and had it leak on me during a dive due to O ring stuck in cap. Did not close it properly. Had the horrible sight of watching bubbles coming off the back of the strobe right in the middle of the dive. Continued the dive strobe kept working. Got back to dry land opened the battery casing took dead batteries out you should see what salt water does to batteries. Rinsed the battery compartment in fresh water dried it out with a hair dryer and it worked perfeclty the next day.]

I have the YS110 and had it leak on me during a dive due to O ring stuck in cap. Did not close it properly. Had the horrible sight of watching bubbles coming off the back of the strobe right in the middle of the dive. Continued the dive strobe kept working. Got back to dry land opened the battery casing took dead batteries out you should see what salt water does to batteries. Rinsed the battery compartment in fresh water dried it out with a hair dryer and it worked perfeclty the next day.]

Hi graffa,

Thanks for the tip. That's easy enough of a salvage operation of leaked strobe. Just one question though, if you used hair dryer, won't the hot air burn any of the innards of the battery compartment? Are there any other options instead of hair dryer? What about the air from dive tanks?

Thanks.

Barttrigger.

Hi graffa,

 

Thanks for the tip. That's easy enough of a salvage operation of leaked strobe. Just one question though, if you used hair dryer, won't the hot air burn any of the innards of the battery compartment? Are there any other options instead of hair dryer? What about the air from dive tanks?

 

Thanks.

 

Barttrigger.

The hairdryer worked for me just played the warm air over the battery compartment to dry it out did not allow the compartment to heat up completely. Air from a tank would work only issue I could see with that is that the pressure of the air may force water further in to the strobe only a thought

Hallo all,

To the good people who have responded to my questions. Thank you sooo very much.

I've finally taken the plunge and gotten myself a set of strobe:

S&S YS-110 alpha x1 packaged with a non-original FO cable, a YS 3" adapter and a clamp (I suspect it is something like the 10Bar's clamp) = $445 from ebay

An aluminium tray and dual handle = $67 from ebay

ULCS' new style clamp x1, 8" arm x1 and Handle tray wide adapter x1 = $118.85 from Divervision

The total was = $630.85 including shipping.

Can't wait for the item to reach me and thence to try it out. I'm sooo happy, yet a bit sad since the cost bit a little too deep into my pocket.

Anyway, thanks again all.

Cheers,

Barttrigger

Nice, I`m looking to buy same strobe, probably from same guy on ebay (seller is nyxell) he has 4 more left! This one goes for 405 USD!

I hope that it will work fine with YS110 (not alpha version)!