Which INON strobe is right for you?
Strobes are very important for capturing well-lit action images. Shutter speeds must be fast enough to keep your image sharp and eliminate ambient light but still allow you to capture a strong, well-lit image. Strobe lighting is typically more powerful than LED lights - to get comparable power to one of the following strobes, you need to buy the top-of-the-line in LEDs. Strobes deliver high output power very fast, and this lets you experiment in ways LEDs don't.
INON are known as one of the most reliable, consistent strobe manufacturers in the market. You want a powerful, hard-wearing, workhorse of a strobe? These are the ones to get.
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The King of the Strobes: The Z-330
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The INON Z-330, released in 2017, was INON’s replacement for its flagship Z-240 – a strobe they’d been manufacturing for a decade! We really recommend this strobe to divers who are keen on wide-angle photography – it’s great for macro too, but you won’t need the strobe’s full power for that, so a macro-only photographer could use a less powerful strobe.
Asides from its power, one of the major highlights of the Z-330 is the intelligent beam design. Because of the dome lens on the front of the strobe, the 110 degree beam doesn’t require a conventional translucent diffuser which would normally sacrifice output. This strobe is 110 degrees at full output! (Although you probably will find yourself using this strobe at a lower output most of the time anyway as it’s very strong.)
Note: The light dome is easy to damage, take care!
- Built-in light shade that rotates 360 degrees to reduce ghosting, flare, and backscatter
- Radiation system that releases built-up heat inside the strobe
- 220 lumen shutter-linked auto-off focus light for macro critters
- Phosphorescent back panel which helps improve visibility of the main control panel
- More intuitive control dials are also larger for use with thick gloves
- S-TTL / 13-Step Manual Flash Mode with 1/2 EV increments
- Wide variety of dome filters and bayonet system for filters
- Optical/Electrical triggering supported (Nikonos Type 5 pin sync connector and slave sensor to trigger optically)
- Faster recycle time than Z-240 – 1.3 secs
- Guide number of 33
- 110 degree beam
“The power of the Z330 is unsurpassed. The handling and control dials are excellent. The new features such as the rotating light shade and bayonet diffuser are exciting new additions to an already great strobe.”
– narcosisnick.com
The Z-330 is $1395.50
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Midrange Magic: The D-200
The D-200 is fundamentally a simplified Z-330. It has the same basic body, but with a lower output: 20GN. (Just to stop right here a minute, it’s important to note that this lower output is unlikely to be an issue, even if you’re shooting wide-angle. Most photographers will not miss the power.) You also cannot use a sync cord connection, only optical cables, which is likely to be your number one reason to consider the Z-330 instead.
The D-200 shares with the Z-330 its 110 degree beam and rotating light shade, as well as the upgraded control dials which have increased usability.
The D-200 has all the listed features of the Z-240 with the two exceptions mentioned above – 20GN and optical-only connection.
The D-200 is $1050.00
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The First-Class Budget Option: The S-2000
Firstly, the INON S-2000 is the only one of the strobe range not to receive a makeover. And while this means you only get the 100 degree beam with the use of a diffuser that cuts some of your light, the most noteworthy thing about this strobe is its size. It’s really really small, guys. Normally we’d say this is the best option if you travel a lot but maybe that’s insensitive in 2021, so instead let’s say if you aspire to travel a lot this is the strobe for you. Seriously, it’s so small.
- S-TTL / 12-Step Manual Flash Mode with 1/2 EV increments
- Optical only triggering
- 1.5 sec recycle time
- Guide number of 20
- Without a diffuser beam is 105x95° which increases to circular 100° with supplied -0.5 White Diffuser for S-2000
Because of the S-2000’s small size you can get it into tight spaces to light up that little critter at the back of a ledge or hole. It’s super maneuverable to position it where you want it without too much difficulty!
The S-2000 is $710.00
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Macro budget option: The RL3000 Ring Light
Looking for a great affordable macro set up? The X-Adventurer RL3000 Ring Light is ideal. It comes with an adapter so you can use it with M52 or M67 and includes smart focus, so if you pair it with a fibre optic cable you can use this as a strobe. Give us a shout if you’re interested in this, and we can help make sure you get the correct cable for your housing.
The RL3000 Ring Light is $465.00
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Use this link or the following code at checkout & get $20 off the bigblue AL1200NP-II-CAMO 1200-Lumen Narrow Beam!
CODE: DT9YVXTCSB3R
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Happy to help.
Need anything? You can find us over at our website! Email or call, we're happy to help!
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