Life of a Strobe?

I have searched the internet and can't find anything on this topic. Can someone give me an idea on the life of a strobe or at what point a servicing is needed? I bought a pair of YS-250. They look great both fire but as I mentioned in my previous post I am struggling with them. I can't seem to get any power out of them. Flash on the camera is set to manual But I have to be right on the reef to get a shot. Keep in mind I am moving up from a 4/3 system shooting in live view.

The previous owner had them for about three to four years and used them maybe 8-10 times a year. I can't imagine that is any usage on these strobes. Again both fire, seals are good.

Am I right in the assumption on the usage or should the be sent in?

Or is it I am expecting to much? Maybe I am asking the wrong question.

At what distance will these strobe fully illuminate a reef?

Thanks for any help.

Hi Clernix

Difficult questions. I'm not a YS-250 owner - my experience is with Inons. I've had a pair of 240s since 2010. They've done around 600 dives (!) Lord knows how many times they have been fired - 30,000-40,000 I'd guess. I think the tubes might now be starting to show a bit of wear - they are just starting to go slightly brown at the ends. I would have thought the YSs would last a similar length of time.

As for "fully" illuminating a reef, I just don't think that is possible. My experience suggests the most you can "light up" is a relatively small section maybe a 1-2metres in front of you which would stretch just outside the width of your extended strobe arms. So maybe you are expecting too much. With wide-angle images I try and find a piece of reef to highlight with the strobes in the foreground which is, maybe colourful or a great shape - and then the rest of the reef is light by natural ambient light not by the strobes.

I have a pair of YS 120s that I bought new in 2001, I have probably had them in the water for something like 5000 dives. They started acting up in 2009 (shooting too hot even on 1/2 power) so I had them serviced and they have been fine since. So yes, I think a servicing is a good idea, you will get many more years out of those strobes, they are fantastic strobes. They are very powerful as well. But.. it could be something else such, most likely your distance from the subject. Any strobe is only good to about 6 feet (2 metres) from the subject underwater (and that is only if it's paired with the correct f-stop) I think you need to start your investigation with distances and f-stops (and ISOs) before we can properly diagnose the issue. At f5.6 and ISO 100 with the strobes on full power you should be able to illuminate the reef from 5 feet away no problem at all. At f22 and ISO 100 with strobes on full power then you will still overexpose somewhat at f22 from 1 foot away. However, there is no way you are going to illuminate the reef from 3-4 feet away on f22.

What f stop settings are you using for what distances away from your subject and what strobe power? If you have your f-stop at f22 and you are 3 - 4 feet away from your subject you won't be able to light it properly.. So if you can post some examples of your underexposed photos with all info such as distance from subject, fstop, ISO, and strobe power that would help us try to figure out the issue

The Guide number of the 250 is 32 (on land) the same as a YSD1. With bigger batteries, they can recycle faster but are not typically brighter. This means that there underwater GN is probably 10 or so. Since GN = distance x f stop (at ISO 100) this means that at f 10 you can shoot 1 meter away. If you are far from this performance then something is wrong and it might not be the strobe, if this is where you are then things are as they should be.

Bill

Both of my YS-110's died about a year apart at 9-10 years. At that point they're generally unrepairable because Sea & Sea stops producing the PC board.

If the strobes fire, they're probably fine. Besides your setting and distance from subject, make sure your strobes are timed correctly for the preflash. Take a picture in the mirror. If your flash doesn't show, your camera setting or your strobe setting is wrong for the camera.

Are the tubes brown? Rapid firing in warm water or air will start to burn things out, reducing the available light output. The other option is maybe you are seeing the flash but the camera is only seeing the pre-flash.

Any experience with circular-tube units, like Subtronic and Ikelite? Their tubes look a bit more vulnerable to me (not being a physicist, that doesn't mean anything:D)

Any experience with circular-tube units, like Subtronic and Ikelite? Their tubes look a bit more vulnerable to me (not being a physicist, that doesn't mean anything:D)

Round flashtubes in underwater strobes have the same normal life time as linear flashtubes. Both of them brokes fast when a small crack appears on the glass. Cracks happenes because of overheat or because of faulty tube glass. Many tubes have a defect in glass at the factory, but these are hidden defects. I repair underwater strobes for friends, few times changed cracked tubes. So, some tubes are in good condition after 5 000 dives, but some tubes i changed after 5 dives (factory faulty).

The round tubes gives better light quality than linear tubes, because of the shape. The light spot repeats the tube shape. Round tubes better in that, but need much more energy to make the same light intensity as linear tubes. For example, Z-240 require 62 Dj energy for linear tubes to get GN=24, but DS161 requires 160 Dj of energy for the same GN=24. More energy requires more large size capacitor inside strobe body, large transformer and battery. So, you understand the big size of strobes with round tubes. But they give perfect lighting.

Round flashtubes in underwater strobes have the same normal life time as linear flashtubes. Both of them brokes fast when a small crack appears on the glass. Cracks happenes because of overheat or because of faulty tube glass.

That is holding me back from the Subtronic fusion. It appears to be the prefect hybrid lighting solution, however the LED-s are close to the flash tube and LED-s of this power generate a lot of heat:(.

…. the LED-s are close to the flash tube and LED-s of this power generate a lot of heat:(.

Xenon tubes are rather sensitive for overheat. I think, combined system needs a thermally isolation for LEDs from xenon tube or very good cooling.

I suspected so. Even my 2-Led Archon 36 (10w?) gets hot, I am curious about the stress, the tube of the fusion strobes getting.

Anyway, I have a lot of research to do before I find the ideal lighting system...

LED light technology seems to be developing rapidly whereas strobe technology is fairly much the same year to year. Look through past DEMA reports here on Wetpixel to see what I mean.

LED light technology seems to be developing rapidly whereas strobe technology is fairly much the same year to year. Look through past DEMA reports here on Wetpixel to see what I mean.

True. Still, we see sizable heat sinks on most recent video lights and not just the fish-grill 10k+ lumen units. Placing an LED 5-10mm's from a flash tube I see as an invitation for trouble, let it be a 10w, superefficient GaN/GaN LED...

 

True. Still, we see sizable heat sinks on most recent video lights and not just the fish-grill 10k+ lumen units. Placing an LED 5-10mm's from a flash tube I see as an invitation for trouble, let it be a 10w, superefficient GaN/GaN LED...

My comment was more about being stuck with old tech lights inside your strobe than any heat issue. Keeping them independent means you can update each according to tech and needs. Not to mention two things to fail instead of one. If the battery fails you might lose both at the same time.

You are right, a combo unit also means you are stuck with technology and you can loose double value in case of a failure/flooding.