New Inon Z330 Strobes

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Inon are a very popular brand of strobes when it comes underwater photography and for good reasons. They are very hard wearing, deliver excellent light, reliable and easy to handle. The older z440 range has been around for a while now and the industry was excited to hear that Inon were launching a new range of strobes in Dec 2017. Everyone was eager to get their hands on them and see what the reviews were like. Photographers worldwide were not going to be disappointed.

I have used S&S YSD strobes in the past and I have had a chance to play around with some friends Z440’s. Many of my friends have Inon strobes and they’ve tried to lure me away from Sea & Sea to Inon but I remained brand loyal through all the problems I have had with S&S strobes.

After using Sea & Sea strobes now for over 4 years with numerous problems, I finally had enough. Over 3 strobes have had technical problems and their bad customer service is something to believed. As an example I have one YS-D1 which is still being repaired (over 9 months now) and a new YS-D2 on its way to Japan for a years holiday in the hope of being fixed. Sea & Sea moved their production of strobes from Japan to China and now back again (hence the model YS-D2J) which shows the problems they are facing. The timing of the release of the new Inon Z330’s was around the time I was having problems with my S&S strobes.

When my (5 month old) YS-D2 stopped working on manual mode I was 4 weeks away from a trip of lifetime. We were heading to Alor and I was in a bit of a pickle. I only had one working strobe to go on my trip. I had to make a decision of getting another new S&S strobe and facing more problems or investing in Inon or Retra (though the price point was too much on these). Luckily there was a dive show in Bangkok and there were Z330’s on sale there. I decided to move away from Sea & Sea and invest in these new strobes, I was not going to be disappointed.

On first reflection I thought the Z330’s were a little more bulky than the YSD range. On closer inspection they seemed a lot more robust and better built. The first things that really impressed me were –

  1. A light shade that rotates 360 degrees to direct light or reduce flare flare and backscatter

  2. Easy and large control dials with an phosphorescent back panel for ease of use on night dives

  3. More power than my YS-D2

  4. Dome port for the flash

  5. A new designed radiation system that releases additional heat inside to underwater

  6. Recycle time was very similar to the YSD2

  7. The battery storage and design

Testing

I was very keen to test them out in the waters of Indonesia on my impending trip. My first time in the water with them was with Big Fish Diving in Lembongan at Manta Point and Crystal bay, all fantastic Wide Angle dive sites. Manta point didn’t disappoint with the subjects, many Mantas gliding in close for some nice shots. It took my a while to get the strength of the new strobes correct as I was so used to shooting with my S&S, though by dive I was getting the hang of them. And the power of them… wow, I didn’t even come close to 3/4 power of the majority of the shots as it wasn’t a very sunny day.

As we moved on from Lembongan to La Petite Kepa in Alor I had the chance to test them out a lot more on wide angle subjects as well as on macro. I experienced very little backscatter from the strobes. The beautiful conditions helped as well! I also got to try a few other strobe positioning styles. I got to test them out in more difficult conditions on macro with Bali Dive Resort and Spa in Tulamben.

The power of the strobes is the one thing that really stood out amongst other things. Shooting into the sun I didn’t need to hit full power. As my friends on the same trip to Alor were shooting with Z440’s I had the chance to compare a lot of shots. The illumination I got shooting the same subject into the sun vs the Z440’s was very noticeable. I used them on full power only on a few times. I was very impressed with the distance of illumination and the spread of light on the subject.

My companions were also jealous of the easy and larger controls and the phosphorescent back panel. One thing that could be included that I missed from YSD strobes was the automatic shut off. A handy feature to have if you forget to switch off the strobes in-between dives. Having said that the battery life was more than adequate.

Also extraordinary was the number of shots I could take without replacing the batteries. I managed 4 dives with around 620 shots with no signs of low battery. The most I used to get out of my YSD strobes were about 400! I also liked the easy to use bayonet diffuser that can be used to protect the dome and to give different warmth. It was easy to take off and on with one hand.

Conclusion

So conclude, am I happy with my new strobes? Very, very much so! 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. We have already seen a rise in the second hand market for Z440 strobes. It looks like past users of the older models are already upgrading. New users are now being attracted by the great new features and the price point. If you are considering these strobes, I can highly recommend you go for them.