Which strobe?

I'm 'stuck' and need some advice on strobes. I've bought a Canon 7D

>and a Tokina 10-17mm lens to do wide angle shooting. I have little to

> I am going to get either an Aquatica housing or

>maybe a Nauticam (leaning heavily toward Aquatica) to house a Canon 7D dSLR

, which I'll use primarily with a Tokina 10-17mm lens for shooting WA-no interest in Macro

I'm looking at a

>set of

>(2) Ikelight DS-161's, Inon Z240's, or Sea & Sea ys 110a stobes. The

>Ike's are heavier and more bulky but warmer, and the others are

>lighter, easier to travel with, and offer TTL metering, so I'm torn,

>and don't know which way to go. Any advice you can give would be appreciated.

Thanks for the help!

I would go for the Z240's along with a set of optical cables, especially if you travel and are into Macro.

Mike

John,

Take a look at the S&S YS-250 pro. Fantastic piece of equipment for W/A shooting. It has a dedicated battery which some don't like but if you dive where you have access to power to recharge it does a great job. I love mine for macro too even though you don't have an interest yet. The recycle time is amazing. It can almost keep up with the 7D in hi speed continuous with the strobes at half power.

Cheers,

Steve

Steve,

I noticed you are using the Nauticam housing for your 7D. How do you like it? As to strobes, I appreciate your advise, but are the Sea & Sea's you recommend heavy and bulky to travel with? Thanks so much for taking time to give me some advise!

Warm regards,

John Davis, PADI MSDT

I would go for the Z240's along with a set of optical cables, especially if you travel and are into Macro.

 

Mike

Thanks Mike, that's the way I'm leaning due to the travel size and weight, but I'm more a wide angle shooter than Macro. I understand I can gel the lens to make them warmer. Thanks for taking time to try and help.

All the best,

John Davis, PADI MSDT

Steve,

I noticed you are using the Nauticam housing for your 7D. How do you like it? As to strobes, I appreciate your advise, but are the Sea & Sea's you recommend heavy and bulky to travel with?

Loving my Nauticam John. The Aquatica for the 7D is impressive too. The 250's are bigger than the 240's but power doesn't come for free. I'm traveling tonight as we speak going out of LAX bound for Bali. In my Think Tank roll on International size bag is the housing, 2 YS-250s, a 100mm port, a 100mm Zen dome, a sola 600 focus light and a mimimum set of stuff to get me in the water. Would I trade the 2 extra pounds for each strobe, no way. If I was planning to do a lot of TTL shooting for macro the 240's make a lot of sense. I've never had much luck shooting TTL with W/A so I don't miss it. Lots of paths to the treasure, just thought I'd throw out another option.

Cheers,

Steve

Loving my Nauticam John. The Aquatica for the 7D is impressive too. The 250's are bigger than the 240's but power doesn't come for free. I'm traveling tonight as we speak going out of LAX bound for Bali. In my Think Tank roll on International size bag is the housing, 2 YS-250s, a 100mm port, a 100mm Zen dome, a sola 600 focus light and a mimimum set of stuff to get me in the water. Would I trade the 2 extra pounds for each strobe, no way. If I was planning to do a lot of TTL shooting for macro the 240's make a lot of sense. I've never had much luck shooting TTL with W/A so I don't miss it. Lots of paths to the treasure, just thought I'd throw out another option.

 

Cheers,

Steve

Thanks Steve. Interested to hear that you are using the 100mm Zen dome-considering the same thing right now.

I second the Nauticam !

I also agree with Steve on the YS-250's...powerful and fast. I do have two for sale which include extra batteries if you have any interest.

I must say I like my Z240's along with the option for shooting optically....I'm into wide angle too 90% of the time and not sure if I made the right choice, but 'size matters'.

Good luck!

Mike

Thanks Steve. Interested to hear that you are using the 100mm Zen dome-considering the same thing right now.

Another vote on the YS-250's. I'm very happy with the two I have although I am in the market for a smaller single strobe for fill when shooting macro- maybe a YS-110. The recycle time on the 250's is extremely fast, as Steve mentioned. They are big, but they certainly get the job done.

Wendy

Thanks Mike, that's the way I'm leaning due to the travel size and weight, but I'm more a wide angle shooter than Macro. I understand I can gel the lens to make them warmer. Thanks for taking time to try and help.

All the best,

John Davis, PADI MSDT

I would gel the strobe instead, all you need is a sheet of warming filtration from either Lee or Roscoe Filter, available in pro camera store.

I'll vote for the Z-240 for warm water shooting destination anyday, so much smaller than both the Ikes and the YS-250 and optical is the way to go, soooooooooooo much less maintenance than classic sync cords.

I just got me a pair of inon 240s. So impressed with the size and recycle time. on my old strobes i was stuck with manual so am used to that but now TTL is a bonus. So far only been in the pool but off to the Philippines tomorrow (permenantly!!! WOOOHOO!) so will give them a good test.

I also got the Nauticam housing for the 7d, and i love it. So sleek.

Olly

off to the Philippines tomorrow (permenantly!!! WOOOHOO!)

Hi Olly - I am a newbie to this board but a long time Philippines (expat) resident and diver. This can be a great place to live and work, and the diving can be extraordinary. Where are you headed? I may be able to offer some tips. Happy diving, Robert