Fantasea nano strobe

[yoav 0]

Does anyone has any experience with the Fantasea nano digital strobe. I'm looking for a strobe to go with my compact digital camera (Canon A720IS with canon DC16 housing) This strobe look good on paper and is significantly chipper then any other strobe I could find (200$ with arm, tray and fiberoptic). Does anyone know if its any good.

Thanks.

[sgietler 1]

I used one a few years ago.

 

I think I got one for $75, not including the tray & arm price. I never needed the fiber optic cable. it slaved off my camera's internal flash pretty well without the cable.

 

is it any good? that is very subjective.

 

It doesn't have a lot of power or angle of coverage, but I thought it was a good value for the money. It was very small and light, great for beach diving, climbing down cliffs, rocks, etc. worked decent for macro photography. It allowed me to significantly reduce backscatter on my shots.

 

of course, you really can't compare it to more expensive strobes like the ike Ds-51, S&S Ys-90, or inon D-2000, those are more expensive, but much better strobes.

 

so if you spend more, you get more.

 

hope this helps

scott

[yoav 0]

I used one a few years ago.

 

I think I got one for $75, not including the tray & arm price. I never needed the fiber optic cable. it slaved off my camera's internal flash pretty well without the cable.

 

is it any good? that is very subjective.

 

It doesn't have a lot of power or angle of coverage, but I thought it was a good value for the money. It was very small and light, great for beach diving, climbing down cliffs, rocks, etc. worked decent for macro photography. It allowed me to significantly reduce backscatter on my shots.

 

of course, you really can't compare it to more expensive strobes like the ike Ds-51, S&S Ys-90, or inon D-2000, those are more expensive, but much better strobes.

 

so if you spend more, you get more.

 

hope this helps

scott

Thanks.

What got me a little worried was the fact that this one is significantly cheeper then other strobes from the same category so my concern was that it will turn out to be the kind of product that stop working 5 min after you got it out of the box.

[ibsroushdi 2]

Hi, thought i would add my 2pence worth - I had one of these for 18 months - worked fine for the entire period BUT and its a big but I did spend most of the time wishing i'd got a 'proper' strobe HTH

[yoav 0]

Hi, thought i would add my 2pence worth - I had one of these for 18 months - worked fine for the entire period BUT and its a big but I did spend most of the time wishing i'd got a 'proper' strobe HTH

Thanks

what would you say is the biggest problem. I'm looking for something to improve pics taken with a point and shoot camera if not this one what strobe would you recomand at this price level.

[tie 0]

of course, you really can't compare it to more expensive strobes like the ike Ds-51, S&S Ys-90, or inon D-2000, those are more expensive, but much better strobes.

 

What if you only shoot closeup and macro photos (no wide-angle adapter)? Then coverage angle doesn't matter. Compact cameras only close to f8 anyway, so more power also doesn't help at close ranges. What else do the more expensive strobes add?

[james 0]

The nano flash uses a commercially available flash (sunpak I think???). It uses 2x AAA batteries whereas most strobes for underwater photo use 1x AA batteries - so that should give you some idea of the power difference. With that said, the nano flash IS small and inexpensive. If you get one, your photos will improve because it's not on the camera and you can aim it creatively. But after a few dives you'll be wanting a bigger one :-)

 

Cheers

Jaems

[jeremypayne 0]

The nano flash uses a commercially available flash (sunpak I think???). It uses 2x AAA batteries whereas most strobes for underwater photo use 1x AA batteries - so that should give you some idea of the power difference. With that said, the nano flash IS small and inexpensive. If you get one, your photos will improve because it's not on the camera and you can aim it creatively. But after a few dives you'll be wanting a bigger one :-)

 

Cheers

Jaems

I've used some small strobes - both the YS-15 Auto and the Fantasea Nano - and they are both nice and small. I would estimate that the Nano is about as powerful as the internal flash on the G9 - with the added benefit of off-camera positioning.

 

I agree with James - they'll work and give decent results, but you'll quickly want more power than they can provide.

[yoav 0]

I've used some small strobes - both the YS-15 Auto and the Fantasea Nano - and they are both nice and small. I would estimate that the Nano is about as powerful as the internal flash on the G9 - with the added benefit of off-camera positioning.

 

I agree with James - they'll work and give decent results, but you'll quickly want more power than they can provide.

Thanks everyone for your advice. I guess it will have to be down to how much I can afford to spend. Another option that is within my price range is the sealife digital flash. On paper it look like it will be more powerful than the nano would you recommend it.

Thanks

Yoav

[jeremypayne 0]

Another option that is within my price range is the sealife digital flash. On paper it look like it will be more powerful than the nano would you recommend it.

Thanks

Yoav

 

A buddy of mine uses it with the SeaLife camera and likes it ... but he is definitely a scuba diver who wants a camera around and not a photographer.

 

He complains about the battery on the camera - needs a change each dive - but says the strobe lasts for a few.

[yoav 0]

A buddy of mine uses it with the SeaLife camera and likes it ... but he is definitely a scuba diver who wants a camera around and not a photographer.

 

He complains about the battery on the camera - needs a change each dive - but says the strobe lasts for a few.

A scuba diver who want to have a camera and not a photographer describes me exactly so I guess this may be a good option for me.

Thanks

[tie 0]

I've used some small strobes - both the YS-15 Auto and the Fantasea Nano - and they are both nice and small. I would estimate that the Nano is about as powerful as the internal flash on the G9 - with the added benefit of off-camera positioning.

 

I agree with James - they'll work and give decent results, but you'll quickly want more power than they can provide.

 

Hmm, I can't see wanting much more power than the internal flash. Shooting macro at f8, the internal flash often is too strong. Shooting closeup shots, I'll open the aperture up to 5.6, but I don't go much beyond that.