tubestance 33 Posted April 16, 2020 Anyone else have this on their dream gear list?! https://wetpixel.com/articles/seasea-ships-ys-d3-lightning-strobe 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Interceptor121 533 Posted April 17, 2020 13 hours ago, tubestance said: Anyone else have this on their dream gear list?! https://wetpixel.com/articles/seasea-ships-ys-d3-lightning-strobe You will not find many Sea and Sea lovers on this forum due to the YS-D2 reliability issues and known issues with SS customer services I find the thoroidal lens a very interesting solution for widening the beam but I also believe that if I took those in the pool with my YS-D2J using a diffuser the performance improvement will be negligible so am not planning to invest in those strobes Nobody performs strobes tests in pool but I do and with a single bulb strobe and a good diffuser I don't feel I need anything more Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oneyellowtang 53 Posted April 18, 2020 @tubestance Let me give you a slightly different perspective... Sea & Sea needed to get another higher end strobe into the market because of the various issues they had with the YS-D2 (even with the "J" upgrade). There were several distributors (mostly in Asia) that were recommending only going with the INON D330's because of the various issues they had getting defective Sea & Sea strobes getting serviced. The YS-D3 changes this dynamic and likely puts Sea & Sea back into position to lead the market (on unit sales based on their distribution channel - not a comment on quality or anything else). INON doesn't have the same distribution capabilities, and the Retras (which I have) don't have the distribution & marketing (yet) to compete fully with Sea & Sea. So if the quality is improved (electronics and build), and the specs are close to accurate, these strobes will do very well in the market. If the Retras hadn't shipped, I would certainly be looking at these as potential replacements for 2 of my older Z-240s. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tubestance 33 Posted April 18, 2020 5 hours ago, oneyellowtang said: these strobes will do very well in the market. Exactly. I’ve probably been through 3-4 D1s, 5-6 D2s, etc, so if these work, combined with S&S’s favorable dealer pricing, they’ll be very popular Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kraken de Mabini 118 Posted April 18, 2020 A simple price comparison from two reliable merchants: Inon Z330 $571 now shipping from Fun In Taiwan Photographic Equipment Sea&Sea YS-D3 $850 special order from B&H Photo, New York. NY. I found no other on-line sellers for the YS-D3. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Barmaglot 171 Posted April 18, 2020 Backscatter and Bluewater Photo both list YS-D3, but ouch - $850 is within spitting distance of Retra Prime, and thus far there are no statistics to demonstrate improved reliability over YS-D2(J). With diving being shut down (almost?) everywhere, it'll take a while for these statistics to build up too. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tubestance 33 Posted April 18, 2020 All great points. Certainly a MAJOR price difference that could really affect whether it will become as popular as the earlier versions. A lot more folks like to machine gun fire strobes at 1/2 power these days vs compose a single shot, so they may be very happy to pay a bit more. Guess we’ll find out. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jock 14 Posted April 18, 2020 Color Temp seems to be 5,800K without / 5,500K with diffusor. A bit blueish, IMHO. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Algwyn 11 Posted April 21, 2020 Too expensive, from a manufacturer with too many reliability issues ... Never again will I buy a Sea and Sea strobe. Manufacturing defaults may happens, but in that case, the manufacturer should put in place a repair program. Sea and Sea did not, the cost of repairing one of their strobe was too high to be worth it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oneyellowtang 53 Posted April 22, 2020 (edited) @Algwyn Definitely not an excuse (and BTW - I'm not a huge fun of the modern Sea & Sea strobes for the same reasons you mention) - Sea & Sea went through some management changes, and as part of that (as I understand it) moved some (more?) of their manufacturing to China. This combined with a definite drop in customer service focus and we've all seen the results. It looks like they've addressed a number of these issues now, but they've lost a lot of trust, and there are other options now. Edited April 22, 2020 by oneyellowtang Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
raarsen 8 Posted April 22, 2020 (edited) I just ordered two YS-D3's. Very curious to see how they perform. Sea&Sea user since 1991 and never had any issues, however I realise that many people did. My YS-D1's kept going (and still do) so I didn't have the trouble that many D2 users had. I trust Sea&Sea learned a few things from this episode. Fingers crossed :-) Edited April 22, 2020 by raarsen Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Interceptor121 533 Posted April 22, 2020 If you take away the reliability issue and focus on the innovation the toroidal lens is an aid if you shoot on land Underwater if you don't use a diffuser the beam narrows anyway and once you apply a diffuser there is no gap between having or not having the lens due to how the diffuser works I sometimes think that the efforts to come out with something new are just for marketing purposes and to stimulate demand in consumers Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kraken de Mabini 118 Posted April 22, 2020 Here is a preliminary, commercial review of the YS-D3, no uw photos. https://www.bluewaterphotostore.com/sea-and-sea-ys-d3-strobe-review?utm_source=Bluewater+PHOTO+Newsletter&utm_campaign=49797e57f1-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_04_10_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_e7c41d298c-49797e57f1-310877389 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hyp 72 Posted April 22, 2020 3 hours ago, Kraken de Mabini said: Here is a preliminary, commercial review of the YS-D3, no uw photos. https://www.bluewaterphotostore.com/sea-and-sea-ys-d3-strobe-review?utm_source=Bluewater+PHOTO+Newsletter&utm_campaign=49797e57f1-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_04_10_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_e7c41d298c-49797e57f1-310877389 That's just them advertising their preorder. There is nothing that would make me consider this a review. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Barmaglot 171 Posted April 23, 2020 Indeed. I'm curious to see an actual comparison between YS-D3, Z-330, Retra Prime/Pro and that new Ikelite strobe that was shown at DEMA. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tubestance 33 Posted April 23, 2020 16 minutes ago, Barmaglot said: Indeed. I'm curious to see an actual comparison between YS-D3, Z-330, Retra Prime/Pro and that new Ikelite strobe that was shown at DEMA. Same. Maybe Wetpixel can pull off this review (hint hint!). Getting the demos is the hardest part. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
