Adam, would be great to get a direct comparison against the RETRA as the cash is burning a hole in my pocket and not sure which option to choose 
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New Inon Z330
109 posts
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So today the UPS man delivered a very interesting box from Japan..
Testing will begin in earnest tomorrow. Sadly, a side by side comparison with the Retra Flash is looking unlikely for a while.
Adam
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Out if curiosity, do you know how the Z-330 compares physically to the Retra? Are they very similar in size, or is one larger than the other? My current setup packs fairly tightly into a Pelican case, so new strobes might mean a luggage...
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So today the UPS man delivered a very interesting box from Japan..
Testing will begin in earnest tomorrow. Sadly, a side by side comparison with the Retra Flash is looking unlikely for a while.
Adam
Looks so nice! We are waiting for the test results!
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Adam, that's good news!
It would be interesting to compare how much are changes of Z330 light beam angle and uniformity compared to Z240 (on the same power, without diffuser). Could you please show us the beam shots, if possible?
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Recycle speed testing
I'm pleased to report that it looks like we will have a Retra on its way too...
It would be interesting to compare how much are changes of Z330 light beam angle and uniformity compared to Z240 (on the same power, without diffuser). Could you please show us the beam shots, if possible?I'm going to test the strobe underwater very shortly and will test beam angles then.
Adam
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Adam, would be great to get a direct comparison against the RETRA as the cash is burning a hole in my pocket and not sure which option to choose
I took some pix to address your question. The Inon Z220 shown in the pix is the model that preceded the 240 and now 330 is the same form factor as the newer models. The Seacam 60D also shown is another new strobe for 2017. Maybe we should call 2017 the year of the underwater strobe! As well, there is a new J version of the Sea and Sea AA battery model - I keep wanting to call it R2D2 but that is not the correct name. All these new strobes use AA batteries. We just got a foot or so of rain (with storm and gale force winds) so the snow is all but gone (why not in pix) - air temp right now is 8C.
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Recycle speed testing
I'm pleased to report that it looks like we will have a Retra on its way too...
I'm going to test the strobe underwater very shortly and will test beam angles then.
Adam
Adam,
Were the histograms for all your shots identical? When I have done such a test the first shot was brighter than the rest.
T
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Thanks for the photos, Tom
For me (without underwater testing, just by comparing the specs) the "want-to have" strobe would be the Seacam: small, beautiful design, 4.400K colour temperature, 130° coverage (GN8 metric / around GN25 imperial), accessories like diffusor, snoot available.
When I changed from analog to digital I changed from Ikelite SS200 to Inon Z240. What I really missed was the circular flash tube from the Ikelite. For my personal taste the Ikelite gave a much more "pleasant" lighting; maybe because of the circular tube, maybe because of the colour temperature, or maybe bcause of a combination of both). The Seacam has this circular flash tube, the other two not.
BUT: For the price of one 60D you can buy two Inons or Retras.... -
Thanks Tom,
Just to point out that the Z330 is the same body size and form factor as the Z240, but it has a domed lens that protrudes from the front, as opposed to the flat lens cover of its predecessor...This makes them around an inch wider.
I have some Seacam 60Ds on the way to!
I have had the Z330s in the pool today and shot them side by side with Z240s. I think they are definitely around 20° wider and the power difference is obvious.
All the best
Adam
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@ Jock. I have a similar history with four SS200s at my start with digital. Seacam 60D is the only strobe of the new models with cabled TTL in separate Nikon and Canon versions.
@ Adam. Good point about the protruding dome. The Retra and Seacam 60D also have protruding domes though maybe not to the same extent. One can put on protection rings hide to enable placing the strobes face down on a table to work on them. I just did this with one of my Retras as I had to swap out the wired bulkhead - this was very easy to do. I left these rings off in the pix. I used the groove in the Paterson developing tray you see in the pix to help with balancing the strobes when placed dome down. It look as if your plate will be full comparing these new strobes!
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I am just wondering what INON has done in order to be able to handle the roughly 50% higher Output Level.
The used to have an internal heat issue. That was eased when the Eneloops came, due to lower internal resistance.
This extra Heat must dissipate somewhere. An Aluminium Housing has a clear adavantage here.
They must have reduced the resistive losses by approx. a 1/3 in oder to compensate for the Higher Output
/Erik
Ps! Engineering thinking over a Cup of Coffee!.
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Would very much like to hear a battery life comparison between the 240 and 330. One would assume you can't get double the output without losing significant battery life.
I'd like to be wrong about that. The price is certainly good.
Also, I guess my Retra snoot will not fit the new model?
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Reef Photo and Backscatter are both now taking preorders at $650... I think that I know what I am getting for Christmas...
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Retra is $829 - really curious what I am going to gain for the extra $. Reliability is another concern. Inon proved mostly reliable in the past, hope the Retra is not going to lag behind.
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I think the battery power usage for the new Inon Z330 strobes will be very similar to what the battery usage of the Z240 was.
The reason being that the power gain is most likely gain through the use of the Fresnel lenses.
In fact, I would guess that for the Z330 set to match the same power output as on the Inon Z240, we will most likely see the batteries lasting longer. -
Fresnels can only increase output (Guide number) by concentrating the light into a narrower beam, but this new model has a wider beam. Battery life will be a function of how you use it. If you shoot on the same settings it won't make a lot of difference, if you use the additional output every shot (greater distance, stopping down or lower ISO) then life would likely be less as it uses the same 4 x AA batteries. The beam however is wider and to get the same light intensity at any spot you'll need more output. There may be a more efficient charging circuit and some small gains made in more efficient diffusers which could go someway towards cancelling the power increase needed by the wider beam. Basically there's no free lunch.
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Its strange to me that there is such a lack of information for the launch of a new product by Inon and no input on these forums.
Obviously one or two advance Strobes have been sent out and then again the information from these is quite limited. I expect with time more information will drip out but expect there are many of us eager for more detail.
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Hi all,
There will be a full review of these strobes by mid January. In the interim, testing is taking place. I am awaiting a Retra too. It is on its way to me, but hasn't arrived as yet.
Whilst I can describe how the strobes perform, in comparison to the Z240 (and hopefully with the Retras soon), short of disassembling the Z330, I am not going to be able to tell you how the strobe achieves its performance.
There are lenses mounted in front of both tubes, but whether these broaden or intensify the output is hard to say...my guess is the former.
Battery life looks to be very similar to that of the Z240, at around 230 flashes at full power with Eneloop Pro batteries. Again, testing is ongoing, and we need to build up an average before committing to this number, but this should give you an idea.
Recycle time looks to be around 1.6 seconds, again at full power with new Eneloop Pro batteries. More pertinently, the strobes will fire pretty much continuously at half power at 4fps. At some point the batteries fade, but for underwater action shooting, this is plenty powerful and should be fast enough for most people.
We are planning to have these strobes in Egypt in early January, where the bulk of the in water testing will occur.
Hopefully, they will also be going to the Caribbean in late January too.
Adam
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For those concerned about heat buildup inside the Z-330 strobe this is what has been improved over Z-240. It may be hard to recognize in the photos you have seen published but the front of the strobe has a new design. The ring around the new front dome is made of a black metal (I would assume aluminum) rather than the Polycarbonate resin used in Z-240. This metal ring is connected directly to the internal circuitry allowing heat to be effectively released into the surrounding water. The surface area has been maximized and the metal ring also butts up against the threaded aluminum ring used to attach the light shade. The bayanot style soft defuser that ships with the strobe also has the fresnel design on the backside and only reduces output by about -0.3 stops.
