donboka

Guys, the YS-D1s and D2s have well documented problems, c'mon. If people choose to live in denial, that's another problem. Also, just because you didn't have a problem, it doesn't mean there's no reliability problem. It's a matter of statistics. I have spoken to 2 people who were SPONSORED by Sea&Sea and they acknowledged the faults. One of them went through more than 10 strobes in the span of less than 2 years. I have gone through 6 until I got smarter and switched to Inon. Let me be be clear about something: the functionality, TTL and quality of light of the Sea&Sea strobes is better (the TTL is MUCH better) but they don't last. How many times have I seen people on liveaboards using a single S&S strobe because one was malfunctioning... And the problem here in Asia is that it doesn't matter what the problem is, the assistance will charge you 90% of the price of a new one to fix it. I'm aware of confirmation bias, but the report by Silvana is enough for me to maintain my position of staying away from S&S strobes. It seems the service in North America is better. If you guys want to take a risk, by all means go ahead. We can all be splitting hairs if the o-ring needs to be lubed this or that way but the fact of the matter is they are not reliable.

I have on ein this situation, did you guys managed to get it fixed? Who could fix it? After all I experienced with Sea&Sea I wouldn't send it to them...

I have 3 half-dead Sea&Sea YS-D series strobes (2 D-1s and 1-D2). I already threw away 1 YS-D1 and one YS-01 in the past. I kept thinking I was unlucky and giving them another chance for years. Finally I switched to Inon. What can I tell you...Sea&Sea strobes don't last. They have excellent TTL and are simple to operate, but they last 2-3 trips. Their service, at least in Asia, is non-existent. You send them for servicing and they charge you the price of a new one, every single time. It has become a joke around here. When they moved their manufacturing to Japan it was too late for me. I mean, why give them another chance? Switch to Inon and you will have strobes for years.

I'm gonna stick my neck out a bit here... I cannot believe that people still support Sea & Sea strobes, I have to assume either 1) they produce a much better final product to sell in the US or 2) the opinions are heavily biased. As Wolf Eel mentioned, the Z240s are unnecessarily complicated with all the knobs, but I know A LOT of photographers who have been using the same strobes for years. They send them for maintenance every now and then, pay a bit of money and get it completely renewed. The Sea & Sea ones, on the other hand, present all sorts of issues. I have lost 3 YS-D1s and 1 YS-D2 to battery explosion, tube issues and just unidentifiable issues. I have met photographers who have lost more than that. I have seen many S&Ss ruin photography trips and the most important: at least here in HK the service is completely useless. Anytime you send your strobe for servicing, the warranty covers nothing, the price to fix it is the price of a new strobe, it takes forever to fix them and service is atrocious. Seriously, it's time to stop beating around the bush: Sea & Sea needs a wake up call, people have to stop buying their strobes(I know I have) and their products in general. Sorry if anyone is offended. I'm trying to help by being honest.