New Subtronic Pro 160!

Subtronic have announced their new strobe Pro160:

160Ws

14 GN

4600 K

120 degrees covarage

1/1 1/2 1/4 1/8 1/16 Auto

Recycling 0,1 s

Pilot lamp is operated with push button.

Length: 160mm Diameter: 75mm

Weight: 0,8kg

It´s delivered with external battery arm

999 Euro

Looks really nice! Small and powerful.

I wonder if you can specify it with internal batteries?

Alex

That really is small and powerful, and with nice angle of coverage. As I already have battery arms, it would be nice to get rid of my Midis and have a pair of these with the Novas I have.

What is their web site ?

I did a quick job on Google but did not come up with it.

( Can't afford any more strobes as I have too many flooded Ike examples to care and feed ).

Paul C

The images above are hotlinked - so you can follow them back.

www.subtronic.de

Alex

Alex, I would not be surprised if these can only be used with the arms, if they have incorporated this power into a strobe the size of the mini.

How heavy are the external battery packs?

How heavy are the external battery packs?

I'm guessing about 500gm, but I'll weight them later when I get home.

Thanks Alex.

Their Google profile is not very high!

What is their rationale for the external batteries ?

Just seems like another set of connections to care and feed to me.

Paul C

Hi Paul,

German airport security didn't like strobes/torches with unremovable internal batteries - a few years ago (even in hold baggage). Same in a few other countries too. There was never an issue at major UK airports.

I don't think that they care these days (I'm going in a few weeks - maybe I'll take a Subtronic along to check) - the whole liquids and gels fiasco (which of course came from the UK) - has given them something else to focus on.

My issue with the arm-batteries - is that it means using sizeable arms (see below) - which for lighting some photos I consider a major hindrance (as you know from our dives together).

Alex

Thanks Alex.

 

Their Google profile is not very high!

 

What is their rationale for the external batteries ?

Just seems like another set of connections to care and feed to me.

 

Paul C

I have no complaints with the batteries (not yet anyway); I have yet to run them empty even with a full day of shooting, and the S6 connection is not a problem.

For their larger strobes the external batteries probably are just a matter of personal choice, but as I think is the case with this new 160, it allows them to make a much smaller yet powerful and wide coverage strobe. A downside I see is that the whole setup - arms and strobe - are probably more negative than the Nova set up where the weight of the batteries is balanced by the buoyancy of the strobe.

The way I see it, this battery design trades a battery compartment seal for a multiple cabling seals. From a failure standpoint it's not really a win. You also have to travel with unnecessary packaging (extra arms) if you want backup batteries and you are limited in arm configuration as Alex already said. In order to compare travel-ability you need to consider the weight of everything; the strobe here may be small and light but idk whether it looks as good once you factor in the battery solution. Hard to say without all the data. I'd like to see more specifics and comparisons to other 150 Ws models. What is the voltage of the Subtronic batteries?

The way I see it, this battery design trades a battery compartment seal for a multiple cabling seals. From a failure standpoint it's not really a win. You also have to travel with unnecessary packaging (extra arms) if you want backup batteries and you are limited in arm configuration as Alex already said. In order to compare travel-ability you need to consider the weight of everything; the strobe here may be small and light but idk whether it looks as good once you factor in the battery solution. Hard to say without all the data. I'd like to see more specifics and comparisons to other 150 Ws models. What is the voltage of the Subtronic batteries?

I think it will come out about the same overall; when I travel with these I leave my long arms at home, so space is fairly similar. Up till now, my only beef with my Subtronics was the size, so I bought Inons for travel / macro. If these are as small as they appear, I would love to have a pair of these instead of my Inons. I would then be leaving my Eneloops and chargers at home, so overall space / weight would probably be pretty similar. I really prefer the Subtronics for WA, so having these strobes with a similar size and weight combo to the Inons would be preferable to me when travelling so that I do not have to compromise in this respect.

For someone who does not already own Subtronics and the arms like I do, it may not make as much sense.

P.S. The price also looks very competitive with the new Seacam, about half the price.

I just weighed a Z-240, diffuser, YS adapter, 8" arm, 4 AA batteries, and a charger at a total of 1050g (corrected from 1150g originally stated). Considering we have an 800g strobe here and need to add a battery-arm, arm adapter, clamp, and charger I'd be surprised if they are comparable in weight. Matters get worse when you add a second battery. I share my AA charger with my modeling light though not everyone does. AA chargers are small and light.

I would imagine these are preferable for wide angle and small enough for macro assuming you can accommodate the arm length. I think, though, that the travel weight will be heavier. Perhaps, Jeff, you could weigh and arm, clamp and charger so we can see the tradeoff. How long is the arm?

I just weighed a Z-240, diffuser, YS adapter, 8" arm, 4 AA batteries, and a charger at a total of 1150g. Considering we have an 800g strobe here and need to add a battery-arm, arm adapter, clamp, and charger I'd be surprised if they are comparable in weight. Matters get worse when you add a second battery. I share my AA charger with my modeling light though not everyone does. AA chargers are small and light.

 

I would imagine these are preferable for wide angle and small enough for macro assuming you can accommodate the arm length. I think, though, that the travel weight will be heavier. Perhaps, Jeff, you could weigh and arm, clamp and charger so we can see the tradeoff. How long is the arm?

The battery with charger, cords etc is 925gm, length of the arm is 13". Total would then of course be 1700 gm or so. Interestingly my arm has double cylinders, unlike the one's posted. I guess mine is an older version of the battery. I imagine the newer single cylinder one's are lighter. I use UCLS clamps.

Less than the difference between boots and fins and full foot fins!

Alex

P.S. The price also looks very competitive with the new Seacam, about half the price.

LOL...Jeff, that's really low!

Since it uses the Heinrich Weikamp converter, it won't have 2nd curtain TTL for Canon.For Canon shooters, Seacam is the only manufacturer which has rear curtain on the strobes, so those who want it will have to pay for it.

Not only weight but dimensionally Z240 makes the smaller package too. I'd estimate the Z240 is about 60% of the size of the Pro 160. Not to mention price ; 3x Z240 = 2 Pro 160.

One can filter the Z240 (losing about 1/3 stop of light) to 4800k and with the diffuser the Inon beam does get closer to 110°. Is 120° wide higher quality beam and 4600k worth the extra money and bulk?

The Li Mn akku arms are reportedly 330g.

LOL...Jeff, that's really low!

Since it uses the Heinrich Weikamp converter, it won't have 2nd curtain TTL for Canon.For Canon shooters, Seacam is the only manufacturer which has rear curtain on the strobes, so those who want it will have to pay for it.

 

Not only weight but dimensionally Z240 makes the smaller package too. I'd estimate the Z240 is about 60% of the size of the Pro 160. Not to mention price ; 3x Z240 = 2 Pro 160.

One can filter the Z240 (losing about 1/3 stop of light) to 4800k and with the diffuser the Inon beam does get closer to 110°. Is 120° wide higher quality beam and 4600k worth the extra money and bulk?

The Li Mn akku arms are reportedly 330g.

Hey...this is all about gear lust isn't it. I think Inon's are great strobes for the money, size etc. Seeing that I already own 3 pairs of strobes, the 160 is not on my list....this month!

Hey...this is all about gear lust isn't it. I think Inon's are great strobes for the money, size etc. Seeing that I already own 3 pairs of strobes, the 160 is not on my list....this month!

Well, economic lubrication is needed now. Just so your midi's don't go to waste, I'll buy them and pay you in ZAR.

The Li Mn akku arms are reportedly 330g.

If that's true then the package is pretty attractive for 160Ws. The Subtronic site isn't very helpful but the Li Mn charger sure is small.

The YS-250 ready to dive with a single 8" arm segment is about 1800g. I would expect its spare batteries to be lighter and cheaper. Just trying to add perspective to the overall weight of these strobes.

A Z-240 ready to dive with a single 8" arm is about 850g. I misstated Z-240 with charger weight earlier, it's 1050g not 1150g. I accidently weight two sets of batteries because the strobe had a set in it at the time.

I could see the Subtronic as weight-competitive at 1200g but not anything special at 1600g. I would like to see an optical trigger even if it screwed into the sync cord socket.