Inon Z240 - Optical or Electrical Sync?

I have recently managed to get a great deal on two Inon Z240 Mk 4 strobes. I have an Ikelite housing with a Canon G11 camera and I'm trying to figure out whether to go with the Ikelite 4118.2 sync cord or use fibre optic optical sync cords. I undertand that the Ikelite sync cord only works in manual mode with Inon strobes - this isn't really a problem for me as to date most of my best shots have been taken in manual mode. I assume that as TTL doesn't work with the Ikelite cable it must be due to the strobe's 'quench' signal note being compatible with the Ikelite cable, which means that I would loose the ability to control the flash power via the camera and would have to use the power settings on the two strobes.

To date I had always viewed the use of fibre optic sync as a very basic / noddy / low-end approach but I have spoken to a couple of retailers who tell me that it works very well.

My thoughts in terms of pros / cons for optical are:

Pros:

• You get TTL
  
• The optical sync cords are relatively cheap
  
• Ability to have a buddy hold one strobe for improved lighting
  
• Less clutter at the back of the housing and no cable / damage
  

Cons:

• Reduction in camera battery life
  
• Possible increase in backscatter from nternal strobe
  
• It still feels rather basic for such an expensive strobe
  

Any tips, thoughts, suggestions, experience, etc would be welcome

I use two Inon strobes (Z-240 + D-2000) with my Hugyfot housing which could be equipped with either electrical or fiber-optical connections; I choose fiber-optics because they are indeed cheaper, but mainly because you have less "water-ways" both on the strobes and on the housing: to me this is the most distinctive advantage of fiber-optics. As far as the cons are concerned you may experience a little more battery consumption (though my batteries would last for 3 dives/400 pics when I shoot macro or close-ups) but you can "blind" the internal strobe simply by placing a piece of black tape over the housing strobe window .... It may look basic but, IMHO, it's smarter and more advanced !!!

All the Best ..... Francesco

My thoughts in terms of pros / cons for optical are:

Pros:

• You get TTL
  
• The optical sync cords are relatively cheap
  
• Ability to have a buddy hold one strobe for improved lighting
  
• Less clutter at the back of the housing and no cable / damage
  

Cons:

• Reduction in camera battery life
  
• Possible increase in backscatter from nternal strobe
  
• It still feels rather basic for such an expensive strobe
  

Any tips, thoughts, suggestions, experience, etc would be welcome

TTL: yes

Optical cords: not really: Inon optical cords cost more than Sea & Sea cables

Buddies: only if the cord reaches, otherwise it can be tricky to trigger the strobe

Clutter: maybe...

Batteries: the internal strobe fires at low power in TTL or inhibited settings (tho' working this out from the Inon manual takes a PhD in mangled Japanese-English translation), so camera life isn't affected too badly

Backscatter: trivial, if the housing is designed to work with optical cables: light doesn't escape into the water or onto the optics

Basic: Inon optical connections seem to preserve full strobe function

Tips: so many threads on Wetpixel, I couldn't tell you where to start....

Tim