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5050Z Price

1K views 15 replies 6 participants last post by  John Gulliver 
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When it comes to external strobe (cos as Rick has said the internal flash actually gives good performance) you've really got a choice between Inon, Ikelite and Sea & Sea.  Of these Inon and Ikelite seem to be the most popular choices to go with the 5050 / PT015 combo.  

From Ikelite you can go for the DS-50 although the DS-125 is better (in terms of power and colour temp) than the 50 but more expensive.  From Inon you have quite a wide choice from the Z220, Z220s, Z180 and Z180s.  I originally went for the DS-125 but, due to out of stocks, have reverted to the Inon Z220s - I'm still awating delivery so can't personally comment on its performance.

For suppliers of strobes you can get Ikelite stuff from Cameras Underwater or Inon stuff from  Ocean Optics in the UK.  You can also get stuff from the US - Underwater Camera Pros stock both Ike and Inon and gives good impartial advice on both (unlike the UK guys who behave a little more like dealerships - although they do know their stuff).

For even more info try Digital Diver, another forum where there is simply loads of info and people with lots and lots of experience with the 5050 and PT-015 set-up. (Don't you just love that sentance construction?).

I'd love to see some of your photos once you've got the rig given that you're an experienced top-side photographer.  UW is different (stating the bleedin' obvious) but you will have command of the skills necessary for all photographers eg. composition, knowing how cameras work with light etc etc.
 
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The ones I've mentioned above can be operated in fully manual mode so you have full creative control.

They aren't cheap tho cf standard flashes for top-side use you would be paying £700+ for strobe, arms, tray and cables at UK prices.  Get the right strobe tho and it will still be in use if you upgrade later with a housed D-SLR.
 
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C'mon John it doesn't look anything like sexy enough.

A flash like this just isn't, well, flash.

Actually its a good price, and if you know you're only going to do macro or close W/A then I'd say go for it.  For WA shots it wouldn't have the coverage (although only lacking by about 5 degrees) or the power output of the strobes I mentioned above (it does quote a Guide number of 15 cf the 10 of the DS-125, but the Ike specifies this as UW whereas the Epoque does not, potentially misleading? - difficult to say). It also doesn't have the same degree of precise control of the flash strength in manual - but I most for most uses this may not be an issue.  The recycle time, however, is also a painful 6/7 secs - it may not seem like long but when you're waiting U/W for that it'll seem like ages, esp compared to the 1 sec achievable with the Ike 125.

As you say it should also work well with the 5050 in a PT-015 or Ike housing.  It's not terribly big or heavy either so would be easy to travel with.

It does look like a nice little strobe.


Now my Caveat (applicable to me only):
I can feel UW photography starting to suck me in like top-side photography did years ago - but then I had far less funds so couldn't indulge myself.  Now its a different matter and I don't want to be in the same position with this as I have been with all my other diving equipment - ie having to upgrade because I end up wanting to achieve more than when I started out.  I know that I will upgrade to a housed D-SLR in the next year or so (in fact I'd have one now if I hadn't felt compelled to return my shiny Canon300d)  and I want to be sure that the strobe I buy will go with it  - the 5050 will be kept as a back-up and I would be able to use the strobe interchangably on both cameras.

I sometimes wish now that I had never been tempted to take my darn camera underwater.

Jules, I don't recall seeing any reviews for this but jsut go ask for peoples experiences over on DD.

EDIT:  Ok just done a search over on Dd and here is a thread on the here is a thread on this flash.

If your style of photography isn't demanding now and you know it won't be in the future then this does look a good buy.  No comments on build quality though.

here is another thread.
 
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