YS-D1 or Inon 240?

Regarding the Nikonos V type single and dual sync cords, I have two Inon Z-220 strobes that have been in the field for well over twenty years and Z-240 strobes that have been in use for over six years now. I have moved over to using fiber optic cords in the past few years but prior to that I used dual Sea & Sea sync cords for many years with excellent results. When I did have a failure in the system if was always as a result of the cord and/or bulkhead connector, not the strobe.

I don't beleave that Inon has ever even sold a hard wired cord for the strobes and have always relied on Sea & Sea for cords.

Regarding the Sea & Sea YS-D1 I did a review on the strobe for Under Water Photography magazine (uwpmag.com issue #69) and I did not have the battery problem. I did use the strobes in manual quite a bit because that is my shooting style. While I thought the strobes did a good job I will continue to stay with the Inon strobes based on my past success in 1000's of dives with zero service issues. I would also highly recommend the color temp filters for wide angle use with the current Inon Z-240 D-2000 and S-2000 strobes. I have the 4900K -0.5 stop filters and I am sure that the 4600K filters work just as well.

Phil Rudin

really useful info Phil

cheers

Darragh

Went to order the 4600K colour temp filters and Yuzo in Japan informed me that both the 4600K and 4900K are included with the strobes at no extra cost as part of an inon promotion. Thanks Inon :-)

Went to order the 4600K colour temp filters and Yuzo in Japan informed me that both the 4600K and 4900K are included with the strobes at no extra cost as part of an inon promotion. Thanks Inon :-)

With the Yen starting to weaken, this is a doubly interesting promotion...

made a new post sorry

I have two Inon Z-220 strobes that have been in the field for well over twenty years

Might be a typo here. I don't remember when the Z220 was released, but I think it is only about 10 years old?

Alex

You are of course correct, I got the Z-220's in 2002.

Phil Rudin

Went to order the 4600K colour temp filters and Yuzo in Japan informed me that both the 4600K and 4900K are included with the strobes at no extra cost as part of an inon promotion. Thanks Inon :-)

It sounds like that deal is only with purchase of new strobes - is Inon offering anything if you just want the filters for Inon strobes you already own?

I only ever shoot in manual mode but I've just bought a second YS-D1 (total 2) to go with my three Z-240 because I was so impressed with the output of the YS-D1. However, I note that the modelling light of my first YS-D1 sometimes comes on at depth and there's nothing I can do to turn it off.

You can take the batteries out John.

Alex, the water pressure makes it impossible to open the battery compartment although I agree if one could take the batteries out the modelling light would go off but recycling time would also be extended (until you dried the battery compartment out after the dive).

Jak, Dangerzone, and Jlyle,

Can you tell me if your strobes are within or outside of the range of serial numbers that were recalled?

Thanks

Jak, Dangerzone, and Jlyle,

Can you tell me if your strobes are within or outside of the range of serial numbers that were recalled?

 

Thanks

The two that I originally purchased in August that were replaced by Sea & Sea were within the recall range. The replacements that I received at the end of September, one of which blew a flash tube a few weeks ago, were not within the recall range.

Sorry for reviving an old thread, it was shocking to read the ys-d1 stories. Do D2 owners experience the same issues? (sudden death, red-green flashes, etc...)

I owned a pair of YS-D1s for about a year, largely trouble-free. Then switched to 2 z240s last November mainly because of the custom warming filters.

Again, no real problems to report, though the controls on the z240s are much more convoluted and changing batteries requires about twice the time of the YS-D1s. The way the battery cap screws on pinching the oring was also a concern, though I've never actually had water inside the battery compartment.

Two months ago, I bought 4 YS-D2s in Japan. Initially, I was quite pleased with the improved controls and the segregated battery compartment, which make the strobes' even more pleasurable to use and makes batteries swaps even faster. I used the YS-D2s with straw filters and CM diffusers for warm, nicely-diffused light.

However, in the last 3 weeks, two of my strobes have gone out of commission. One of them refuses to work in TTL mode at all and only fires a full discharge in manual mode, regardless of the power setting. No idea when/why this happened.

The other mysteriously got a few drops of water inside the battery compartment leading to battery corrosion. I only noticed in the evening after a full day of shooting where the strobe appeared to be fine. Took out the batteries, cleaned the electrodes with a q-tip and tried it with new batteries. Strobe turned on for a few moments then went dead and refused to turn on again even after rinsing battery compartment with rubbing alcohol and letting dry for a couple of days. I assume there's been a short circuit somewhere, though don't understand how -- I though the battery compartment was supposed to be isolated from the rest of the strobe? Only a few drops of water got into the battery compartment -- it wasn't a full flood at depth or anything.

So.. these two incidents have made me rethink the reliability of the YS-D1/2 line. I will try to get the two strobes sent back to Sea & Sea for servicing to see if anything can be done about them, but I'm a bit concerned about the oring seal on the battery compartment in general. I like the ease with which the battery cap clicks into place and the one-piece design (vs. the convoluted design of the z240's battery compartment). However, it seems like there's a bit of wiggle room when the cap is in place, and I can't bring myself to quite trust the oring seal on my remaining 2 ys-d2 strobes despite inspecting and greasing the o-rings.

So now I'm actually considering "upgrading" to more expensive, larger, more powerful strobes (likely the Seacam Seaflash 150s). Has anyone else experienced these kind of problems with the YS-D1/D2 line? Any thoughts on whether the inon z240s or the Seacam Seaflash 150 strobes are more robust?

Quite bad statistics, I think I won't take the risk. I am simply unable to find a trouble free D1/D2 customer... My inon s2000's are rock solid, happens that they sit in my cupboard for months, then without changing/charging batteries,

I jump in the water and they work flawlessly. Tank-built battery cap, clearly visible o-ring, etc.

Any recommendation on a strobe, stronger than the z240 but not obscenely expensive? (<1k$/unit) I was considering Subtronics, however they also get bad reports on support...

Quite bad statistics, I think I won't take the risk. I am simply unable to find a trouble free D1/D2 customer... My inon s2000's are rock solid, happens that they sit in my cupboard for months, then without changing/charging batteries,

I jump in the water and they work flawlessly. Tank-built battery cap, clearly visible o-ring, etc.

 

Any recommendation on a strobe, stronger than the z240 but not obscenely expensive? (<1k$/unit) I was considering Subtronics, however they also get bad reports on support...

I think you are not taking into account the very large number of S&Ss sold, vs a rather small number of complaints. Remember that people without problems don't come on forums like this and say everything is working fine.

You are right, still, it is a surprisingly large number I saw on Wetpixel's and Scubaboard's forum. The z240 is also sold in large quantities but much less complaint. One thing is 100% sure with S&S:

TTL sync is an issue.

Anyway, I am putting subtronic back to the hat, I have to revise my arm system if it can handle the weight. GN14 at 120 degrees and the right color temperature underwater is appealing:).