Budget lighting system for unemployed divemaster.

Hi,

I'm trying to put together a lighting system for my olympus t6. Right now I own the camera and the olympus housing.

I shoot a lot of macro but I don't want to but equipment that limits me to only macro. I also want equipment that is good enough to go to my next camera

when I eventually replace my a6000 with a new version and buy a housing for it.

I'm thinking of doing either the ys-01 or the inon s2000

I'm hoping to get some advice here on building a really good bang for the buck system. I know there is the thought to buy the best and cry later...but I also need to eat so that is not in the cards.

Below if what I'm looking at getting so far.

Also here is a link to my underwater flickr..You can see the kind of photos that I take.

For body and arms I looked at backscatter and was kinda blown away by the prices.

I found this tray and arm combo on amazon..Its prime so I figure if I get it and its no good I can always return it.

I also have a multitude of budget flashlights and instead of buying a purpose built video light or focus light my plan is to use one of my flashlights as a focus light.

I also found the cold shoe adapters on amazon and the mount.

I'm  looking for a better price on the fiber optic cables..they seem wildly expensive on backscatter for what they are.

Hi Dom,

I bought multifiber optical cables from Aliexpess for 28 $ each: https://de.aliexpress.com/item/32966164929.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.46c04c4dpwENCQ

They are as good as the expensive ones that I already had...

For other stuff the "Classified" section here and on Scubaboard may be a good source...

Wolfgang

Regarding strobes, the S2000 are great for macro but that is about it, they really don't cover much wide angle shooting.  I'm guessing the same about the YYS-01 but haven't used those.  I'd suggest buying one more capable strobe like a Z240 to start, then getting a second when you can. It's certainly possible to get great macro and even CFWA with one strobe. 

Hey domromer

As you identify, it's well worth buying the arms and strobes to grow with you. They are one of the few bits of the system that can do that. Buy once, buy well! It's hard to say whether the Amazon arm set are of good quality but it's certainly a lot cheaper than you pay with, say, ULCS, Nauticam or Inon. But they are not complicated or sophisticated items so, fingers crossed, should be fine. Durability in terms of the strength of the metal and ball plus ability to withstand saltwater are the key factors.

On strobes, troporobo makes a good point. I agree on the S2000 point and, like him, would recommend finding  an Inon Z240 strobe (a pair if you can run to it). They are more powerful than the S2000, cheap to run (they use 4x AA batteries) and up until Inon released the Z330 about 18 months ago, were very much the go-to strobes for many WP users - me included. I've been using them since the early 2000s and never had a problem. If you look on the WP Classifieds you may well find some for sale as a number of WPers are upgrading to the Z330 or the new Retra. But this is not to denigrate the Z240 at all. They are excellent.

As Wolfgang suggests, you can pick up cheaper fibre optic connectors (and the Z240 is very good at operating on not the very best ones). And, yes, the brand quality ones are crazy prices for what they are. You can even make your own using Toslink cable (available on Amazon) and the connectors. I made a set as a backup for my Inon Z240 (having paid the crazy price for the initial set) which cost about £20 for a pair. The connectors are the expensive bit as there doesn't seem to be much choice other than getting them from an u/w manufacturer. 

Good luck pulling it all together. Just bear in mind the first three sentences above!

The S-2000 and YS-01 would be fine with the TG-6 and usable on a m43 system, but not optimal.  I shoot at f8 for wide angle and with the Z-240 I set at half power or maybe half stop lower.  On the S-2000 you would probably be on full power and waiting a lot for the strobe to recycle.  If you wanted to go to an APS-C sensor, depth of field requires you to probably shoot at f11 do-able for the Z-240 with a touch higher ISO, but probably stretching it for the S-2000. 

If you stuck to smaller formats the S-2000 is a great little strobe.  Looking for a set of second hand Z-240 might be your best option?

The YS-01 is quite a bit more powerful than the S2000 (see the testing done by Backscatter ). Almost identical in power to the Z-240 once a diffuser is used (so for most people all the time). I am happy with mine on mu43. I agree with everyone else, that the S2000 are too weak. My Mother had a pair for mu43 and recently upgraded to D2Js.

Ultralight Control for arms and tray, they make quality arms that will last for years:

https://www.ulcs.com

The S2000 strobes would balance well with your TG6 as they are extremely small, super reliable and high quality and produce a wide illumination that is nicely even using four AA cells. The GN is 20 so they are not the most powerful but could still be useful on a upscale camera system. The Z240/Z330 strobes are overkill and would dwarf the tiny TG6, especially a pair of them. The S2000s recycle quickly even after a full dump. I like the idea of buying strobes once and carrying them forward, the good news is that Inon strobes have a loyal following and the S2000 hold their value and are a desirable strobe. Big strobes now with a tiny camera or tiny (but still potent) strobes later with a larger camera (format) or trade up when that time comes. I vote (FWIW) S2000s now.

As others have mentioned, the YS-01 is more powerful than the S-2000. However, for wide angle, both strobes will leave you wanting on the recycle time (time between shots).

Definitely look at some of the used gear listed here - picking up a lightly used Z240 as a starting strobe will mean you will not need/want to upgrade for a number of years.