Ikelite vs Inon

It's been a half decade or so since I posted in here, but I need some advice on strobes. A long time ago I used the Oly 5050 with dual Inon Z220's in an Oly housing(triggered via optical cable). I loved my Inons and, as a freedive photographer, appreciated the size of them. I moved on to the Canon 20D in an Ikelite housing and bought a pair of DS-125s that worked nicely, but the heft of it was a bit much. I upgraded to the 5D MKII in an Aquatica housing and got a DS-161 to replace one of my DS-125s. I didn't like using the DS-125 and DS-161 together and sold the DS-125. I was going to buy a second DS-161, but have been having second thoughts. I have lately been developing wrist pain after several hours diving with the DS-125 and DS-161 and have been thinking about selling the DS-161 and getting a pair of Inons again(or could I even use my old Z220 strobes still?). Anyway, I was hoping to hear from anyone using Inons on an Aquatica setup with the 5D MKII...thanks in advance!

Mahalo,

John Johnson

One Breath Photography

www.onebreathphoto.com

John

Perhaps you should think about adding buoyancy to the housing to make it more neutral so the weight isn't so much an issue underwater? There are quite a few ways like using Stix floats, buoyancy arms from Inon to ULCS and even make your own.

I like the Inon Z240 but you already have 2 strobes which I assume are working fine so why bother buying new stuff?

I like the Inon Z240 but you already have 2 strobes which I assume are working fine so why bother buying new stuff?

hi - i also have a similar question...just got an ikelite housing for nikon d90, and because of time/place constraints, bought one ikelite ds 161 to start with, with the thought in mind that i would later sell it and get 2 inon z240s, since i too like the small size/weight of them (due to traveling)....

has anyone used the z240/ikelite housing combo? i hear you cant use it in TTL, only manual, which is fine, because TTL never seems to work well for me...so would it fire with a sync cord or optical triggered?

also..which arms/joints, etc would be compatible between the inon strobes and ike housing?

thanks...

I have two old Z220s, but don't know if they will be compatible with the Aquatica housing for the 5D MKII. I have only the DS-161 right now and have to buy another one and a smart charger(sold the one I had) or sell it off and buy two Inons. Weight in water has nothing to do with my delimma. It's surface area. In freediving you go up and down in the water column all day long and often you're booking it horizontally on the surface as well. I want something light and with minimal drag without sacrificing performance. The Inons have half to a third the weight of the Ikelite DS-161, so I am pondering whether to sell off the Ike and get two Inons or double down on my Ike...I was hoping to hear from folks using Inons on an Aquatica 5D MKII setup if possible...

John

Any housing with a Nikonos 5 pin plug will work with the Z220 or Z240. Since your housing is probably wired with Ikelite plugs now, you'll need to either get a Ikelite-Nik V cable or change out the strobe plugs on the housing.

I tested the Z240s with several housings for a review. They are certainly more powerful than the DS125 but I'm not sure about the DS161. They are smaller profile but the recycling rate is pretty slow. I use disapproved NiZn batteries to make cycling faster but there are risks involved.

As for balancing a housing, it will benefit every setup to get the housing nearer neutral to relieve weight stress on the wrists.

John

Any housing with a Nikonos 5 pin plug will work with the Z220 or Z240. Since your housing is probably wired with Ikelite plugs now, you'll need to either get a Ikelite-Nik V cable or change out the strobe plugs on the housing.

I tested the Z240s with several housings for a review. They are certainly more powerful than the DS125 but I'm not sure about the DS161. They are smaller profile but the recycling rate is pretty slow. I use disapproved NiZn batteries to make cycling faster but there are risks involved.

As for balancing a housing, it will benefit every setup to get the housing nearer neutral to relieve weight stress on the wrists.

When you say the recycling rate is pretty slow, you mean that the stated recycle speed of 1.7 seconds was noticeably slower than the stated recycle of the DS-160's 1.5 seconds? I'm not too sure if this is much of a factor for me...I was looking at the strobe comparison chart weighing the Z240 against the DS-160 and the specs are so similar...a few minor differences, but the most important specs seem to be near identical. The main differences of concern I have so far is that 1. The Inon is much smaller and easier to work with as a freediver(581g vs 1300g x 2 strobes), 2. Inon takes AA batteries, 3. I'm not sure what the status of Inon America is after the feud Mark Rupert had with Inon Japan so I don't know about ease of customer support issues...4. full recycle time is slight advantage Ike, 5. granularity of manual settings advantage(slight) to Inon, and 6. flashes per charge slight advantage to Inon, but really I guess my concern is in the top 3 issues mentioned...

I did get the Ike plugs for the Aquatica, but I believe there is a dual sync cord from Ikelite that allows you to connect Inon to Ikelite housings, so theoretically this should work with a dual sync cord purchase...

Still thinking on this one...

A quick trip to Japan provided me with the opportunity to pick up a pair of Inon Z240s. I got it from the same place as my Z220s way bak in 2004 or so...this time I didn't need him to meet me at the station in the middle of a typhoon. When the box arrived today at the office I was reminded of why I loved my Z220s so much...the box felt empty and yet it held two strobes...I opened the box just to make sure it didn't have just packing peanuts in it...

Next step is to get some arms and an Ikelite-Inon dual cord since my Aquatica is rigged for Ikelite...

I changed my Z-220s for Z-240s to use fibre-optic connectors. The Z-220s are under new ownership, still going strong, currently en route to Antarctica with my old D200 housing! The recycle time has never been much of an issue for me, largely because full power isn't often needed and the recycle time falls rapidly at lower powers. Eneloop batteries seem to help, too. I can't help with a comparison as I've never used Ikelite strobes.

Tim

Sounds like you have your situation resolved, though I'll put a couple of my thoughts out here anyway if it's of any benefit to anyone. I'll second the suggestion for Stix floats. I don't have the newer Mark II, but have the earlier model 5D in an Aquatica housing with ULCS arm setup. I use six of the Stix floats which doesn't make the unit neutral buoyant, but does help notably. You can check out the charts to calculate how much lift you'll gain from the floats, etc.

As a side-note, after starting out with INON Z220 strobes on my 5D, I sold them and then went back to Ikelite DS-125's. Perhaps my arms and wrists are stronger than most, but I don't find the extra size and weight of the Ike strobes a problem. Regardless of what guide numbers, etc are shown on the charts and specification sheets for the various strobes, I much prefer the light color or quality of the Ike strobes over the Z220 strobes for my mostly wide-angle shooting in blue water.

... I much prefer the light color or quality of the Ike strobes over the Z220 strobes for my mostly wide-angle shooting in blue water...

On the other hand, it's really simple to put a straw filter behind the diffusor plate of an Inon strobe for blue-water shooting and the naturally blue cast is perfect for green-water wide-angle strobe photography.

Tim

It's been a half decade or so since I posted in here, but I need some advice on strobes. A long time ago I used the Oly 5050 with dual Inon Z220's in an Oly housing(triggered via optical cable). I loved my Inons and, as a freedive photographer, appreciated the size of them. I moved on to the Canon 20D in an Ikelite housing and bought a pair of DS-125s that worked nicely, but the heft of it was a bit much. I upgraded to the 5D MKII in an Aquatica housing and got a DS-161 to replace one of my DS-125s. I didn't like using the DS-125 and DS-161 together and sold the DS-125. I was going to buy a second DS-161, but have been having second thoughts. I have lately been developing wrist pain after several hours diving with the DS-125 and DS-161 and have been thinking about selling the DS-161 and getting a pair of Inons again(or could I even use my old Z220 strobes still?). Anyway, I was hoping to hear from anyone using Inons on an Aquatica setup with the 5D MKII...thanks in advance!

 

Mahalo,

John Johnson

One Breath Photography

www.onebreathphoto.com

I'm interested in this thread as I'm having a similar dilemma.

i've taken the large STIX floats and cut them to match the radius of the battery bulge on the Inons and tiewrapped them to the top - makes them just about perfectly neutral

getty your rig neutrally buoyant is enormously helpful -- it's particularly important to get the strobes and arms indivually neutral so that the moment around the grip(s) stays the same with the strobes in different positions - ideally there is no fore-aft moment around the grips as this is particularly hard on the wrists

Hello all, I'm a newbie here and new to underwater photography.

I just got DS-160 strobes for Canon 5D Mark II, and now I'm kind of regreting my purchase for not getting Inon Z-240 or DS-161.

Do you think I should exchange DS-160 with either DS-161 or Z-240?

AJ

What is your specific regret? I am personally no longer a fan of Ikelite, but the DS-160 are a sound combination with an Ikelite housing.

I started out with a single DS-125 and compact housing with the assumption that my upgrade path would be to an Ike DSLR housing and

simply adding a 2nd DS-125. In the end I decided the Inon Z240 strobes being nearly half the weight, size and price were a more efficient

and economic option for my jump to DSLR. I have not once regretted that decision and have found the optical slaving to be excellent.

That said I did appreciate the Power and Warmth of the DS-125.

Cheers,

Jim.

On the other hand, it's really simple to put a straw filter behind the diffusor plate of an Inon strobe for blue-water shooting and the naturally blue cast is perfect for green-water wide-angle strobe photography.

 

Tim

 

I was using the straw filters on the Z-240's with a 1/3 EV loss as best I recall. I find it easier to WB in the camera.

Bob

I currently have two Ikelite Ds161 with my Aquatica D90 housing. I used ULCS bouyancy arms with it as well. After my last trip overseas I decided that I will be buying some Inon Z240's sometime this year for travelling and macro work. I will have to compare them both to see which way i will go. If I like the Inon's for my wide angle I can simply sell off the Ikelites and the few kilos of battery packs i have as the weight of the Ikelites with spare battery packs were a killer in my baggage weight.

Regards Mark

I was using the straw filters on the Z-240's with a 1/3 EV loss as best I recall. I find it easier to WB in the camera.

Bob

If you WB in camera the sea will have a green tint or the foreground a blue one: the straw filter on an Inon strobe allows a WB setting that properly preserves white tones in the foreground to yield a nice tropical blue in the background.

Tim