Y Start with a YS-01 Strobe - PUBLISHED with Scuba Diver Australasia

Discover a game-changing tool for underwater photographers: the Sea&Sea YS-01 strobe. This comprehensive review dives deep into the performance of this compact, affordable strobe that punches well above its weight class. The author, an award-winning underwater photographer, puts the YS-01 to the test in challenging conditions, from the crystal-clear waters of the Philippines to the low-visibility environments that separate the great gear from the good.

Learn how this powerful little strobe handles both macro and wide-angle photography, its surprising coverage, and its revolutionary features like a built-in LED focus light and dual sync connections. If you're looking to elevate your underwater imaging without breaking the bank or your back carrying heavy equipment, this review reveals why the YS-01 might be the perfect, pocket-sized powerhouse for your next dive.

1. sportdivingmagazine december/januar y2011/12
104
W
ideanglephotosrequire
bothpowerandlighting
anglecoveragesoIwas
scepticalwhen this
palm-sizedsurprise
poppedintomyhands.Armedwithapair
ofthesetwinklingtwinsandmywetwide
anglelens,Idecidedtoreallyputthemto
thetest.ThankstoAquaMaster,mylocal
Sea&Sea distributor,overseveraltripsI
triedthemoutintheshallows, atdepth, in
darknes sandingoodtobadvisibility.
Withoutadoubt,thesetinypowerhouses
provedimpressiveonsize,weigh t,
intensity,angleofcoverage, battery
consumption,andrecycletime.
IntheWater
Formywideanglesetup Iinsistona‘wet’
widelenswithmycompacthousing.This
notonlywidensmycamera'sangleof
viewbutmoreimportantly,italsoreduces
thesubject-to-lensandstrobe-to-lens
distancegivingclearer photossincethere
arelessparticlesinfrontofthesubject–
perfectforlessthangreat visibility.My
widelenssetupinparticulargivesa
viewingangleofalmost135degrees
whichmeansIcanframemymodeling
diveronemetreawayfromtoptofin...so
let’slightheruptoo!
Withthiscompactandversatilesetup,I
venturedfirsttotheeasternChumphorn
PinnaclesofThailandwhichgracedmy
diveswith30+metrevisibility!The
topographyincludedsteepbulgingwalls
ofcoral,masses ofschoolingfish,giant
harpcoralsandmacro-wide-angleshots
whichrequirebothclose-upsubjectsand
farawaybackgroundstobelitup.
Photographicallychallenging,butwiththe
110°x110°coverage (withdiffuser) and
GN(guidenumber) 20forintensity–
similartothe110-alpha’s105°x105°+
GN22-alltheseshotsprovedeasyphoto
picksfortheYS-01...andgreatpicsfor
mycollection!
Nextupwastheotherextremewith5-10
metre visibilityinCoron'sfamousWorld
WarIIshipwreckgraveyard.Heresilt
dominatesanddailytidalcurrentswinding
throughdozensofislandsdares
underwatershooterstostrobetheir
photographicmemoirs.Withmyalmost
metre- longstrobearms, Ipositionmytwin
YS-01sasfarbehindmylensandasfar
apartabovemyhoodaspossibletoavoid
thedreadedunderwatersnowstorm
syndromecalledbackscatter!Insuchlow
visIhadlowexpectations,butasthebrief
reviewofshotslitmyLCDscreen ,tomy
amazemen tIsawvibrantimages,one
afteranother.Andwithmystrobes’
consistentreachofseveralmetresinfront
ofme,Iwasshootingupwartimeguns
andsuperstructureslikeanM16rifleon
autopilot!
Soafterthesuccessofstrobingmywide
shotsIhadnodoubtsonthemacroscale
sinceitislessdemandingonlightintensity
–sureenough,mytwinYS-01sprovedme
right.Withevenlightingfromtheincluded
diffusersandarecycletimefastenoughto
keepupwithmycamera's1-second-per-
framecontinuousshooting,thesestrobes
deliveredhalfpowerflashestriggeredbyits
on-boardflashthatoutlastedmycamera's
limitof20continuousshots.
Thenevenatonenotchdownfromfull
power flashdumps,theymanagedtopump
outaccuratelightingeverytwosecondson
continuousshooting.Fullpowerthough
provedtoomuch,buttheniftheycould
keepup,thesebabieswouldprobablybe
doublethesize/priceandre-namedfrom
YS-01to110-juniors!Andwithalmost
comparableperformanceasthe110alpha
strobes,Ireallydidn'tmisstheextra
weightandbulkunderwaterANDwhile
traveling.
Bestofall,withthereputationofSea&Sea
strobes,evenwideanglelightingand
avoidingstrongstrobeshadowson
subjectsarenowmoreaffordablefor
everyone...practicallyarevolutionfor
underwaterhobbyistshooters!
FabulousFeatures
Nowadays,ahard-to-findfeatureformini
sizedstrobesisabuilt-inLEDtargetlight
buttheonesonmyYS-01'sweregood
enoughtosubstitutemynightdivetorch.
Great!Onelesspieceofgeartocharge,
carryandworryover!Andnotonlyisita
high-endLED(asopposedtothecheapo
LEDsthatcostspenniestoproduce)butit
Y-START
WITHA YS-01STROBE?
>THISMINIGEM CERTAINLYPACKSAPUNCH WITH LIGHTING
ANDFEATURES. ATALMOST HALFTHEPRICE*AND SIZEOFMOST
REPUTABLESTROBES, THEYS-01ISAWORTHY PICTUR E-PERFECT
ADDITIONFORANYUNDERWA TERPHOTOGR APHER LOOKING
FORSTROBESFORBOTH MACR OAND (TOMYSURPRISE !)VERY
WIDEANGLEUNDERWA TERPHOTOGRAP HYTOO.
givesoutagoodeven1wattbeamwhich
IfoundIcoulduseevenforcasualnight
divevideorecordingandphotos!Bonus!
Andofcoursetheyworkgreat astarget
lightstoo.Ievenmanaged aonehour
plusdivewhilestrobingmyphotos!
Nowifyou'renotthenighttypescuba
adventurer, theYS-02istechnically
identicaltotheYS-01minustheLEDlight,
DS-TTLand5grams!Thisshavestheprice
downaboutUS$100*,butIfindtheLED
agoodreplacementformydivetorch
whichIusenightanddaytoseethereal
colour ofmysubjectbeforeitspaparazzi
appearance.
AsSea&Sea'sentrancetoministrobe
rangethey'vedoneasuperbjob,butmay
liketoconsiderafewpossibleminor
improvements.Forgloveddivers,the
intensitydialmightprovetricky,especiallyBESTOFALL,WITHTHEREPUTA TIONOF
SEA&SEA STROBES, EVEN WIDE ANGLE
LIGHTING ANDAVOIDI NGSTRONG
STROBESHADOWS ONSUBJECTS ARE
NOW MOREAFFORDA BLE.TWO OF
THESE TINYSTROBE SCANCOSTABOUT
THESAMEASONELARGESTROBE...
:LAWRENCE ALEXWU
www.aguapictures.com
divetheblue.net
>
*Attimeofpublishing
Left:Cathedr alcaveis
hidden onCoron Island,
Philippines. Anentrance
through ashallow
underwater tunnel leads to
stalactites above ground
andstalagmites underwater
withanopening tothe
outside above. Shotwith:
Canon G10inPatima
Housing. INONUWL-
100+dome. DualSEA&SEA
YS-01 strobes.
Right:Oneofthefew
warship gunsfound onone
ofoveradozen Coron's
World WarIIwrecks. They
don't firerounds anymore
butarestillgreat toshotfor
underwater photographers.
Shotwith:Canon G10in
Patima Housing. INON
UWL-100+dome. Dual
SEA&SEAYS-01 strobes.

2. sportdivingmagazine december/januar y2011/12 divetheblue.net
106 107
forfeelingtheincremen tclicks/changes.Nexttoit,Isometimes
movedthepowerswitchpositionaccidentallyde-synchronizing it
frommycamera'sflashandlikewisewithstrobeignition/firing, I
alsogotsome missedfiringsonoccasions.However,theSLEEP
functiononthetargetlightwhichautomaticallyswitchesitoffafter
30minutesisarealbatterysaverforthelightinsensitivetypes.
Anothergreatideaisthedualsynccordopticalports;onefor
triggeringandonetotriggeraslavestrobe.Itcertainly made
shootinganycombinationofstrobes-beitthesame brand or
otherwise-abreezetosetup.KudostoSea&Seaforsavingme
hoursoffiddlingwithtape,zap-strapsandbungycordstoget
strobestofiretogether...espec iallyifIdecide ashotneeds3or4
strobes-attentioncavephotographers!Nowifonlytheycamewith
anexternalopticalportmagnifier(asopposedtoanindentedport)
sowecoulddoawaywiththeslavesyncwirealtogether!
OverallStars
Forastrobetobealmosthalfthesize,weightandpriceasmost
currentlymarketedstrobesandstillpumpoutcompara blelighting
withverydecentrecycletimesandbuild,thesestrobesI'msureare
slatedforstardom.Andinthesego-gogadgettimeswherewe’re
becomingconditionedto'payingmoreforless',itseems thatwith
theYS-01syou'llbe'payinglessformore'!
Links
OfficialSea&Seawebsite:www.sea andsea.jp
Tofindyourlocaldistributorvisit:www.seaan dsea.jp/d istributor
LawrenceAlexWuisanunder water
photographerandscubainstructor basedinSE
Asia.Teachingsince1996,hedivedinto
'underwater'photograp hywiththedigital
camerarevolutionin2003 andhasn’tcome up
forairsince.Withoveradozen international
underwaterphotograph icawards since2005,
allhisunderwaterworkhasbeenwithonlydigital compacts and
henowteachesotherdiversthetechniques ofscuba photograph y
withcompactcameras.www. aguapictures.c om
Asawbladeshrimphidesbehind thestemofcoralwhipstoavoid
predators .Chumphon, Thailand. Shotwith:SEA&SEADX-2G.
INONUWL-100+dome. DualSEA&SEAYS-01strobes.
Plusp&hwithinAustralia
Anewworldof
marinefaunaat
yourfingertips
Ordernowfrom:
Mountain Ocean&TravelPublications
Email:[email protected]
Ph:[phone]
Priceincludes 10%GSTforAustralian Residents.
AnexcitingnewbookbyRudieH.Kuiterand
HelmutDebeliuswithover4,200images.
Weighinginatover3kg,hardcover, withover720
pages,thisisaninvaluablereference bookfor
tropicalshallowwatermarineinvertebrate species
whicharemostlikelytobeencountered bydivers.
A$
148
00
Plusp&hwithinAustralia
Anewworldof
marinefishesat
yourfingertips
Ordernowfrom:
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Email:[email protected]
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Priceincludes 10%GSTforAustralian Residents.
Withmorethan6,000photographscovering
4,200speciesofmarinefishes,thisbooksetsa
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Addyourvoice.Membersh iptoOceanFuturesisfree.www.oceanfutures.org
TheNorthwes ternHawaiianIslandsisoneofthemost
remoteplacesonEarthandlargely uninhabited. Here,
thousandsofmilesfromanycontinent,anincrediblearrayof
allthedeadlytokens ofhuman manufac turingcapabilities
wasdiscovered andrecordedin2003.
DuetoanoceangyrethatsweepsacrossthePacificalong
apaththatleadstotheseislands,millionsoftoothbrushes ,
children ’stoys,cigarettelighters,glassbottles,golfballs,
rubber items,andevenwhole computermonitors wash
ashore. Manyoftheseitems,suchasplasticthatbecomes
encrustedwithfisheggs,areswallowe dbyalbatros sadults
seekingfoodfortheirfledglings.Thisdeadlycombinationis
thenregurgit atedintothehungrymouthsoftheiryoung. The
young birdssimplycannotdigestplasticmaterials andthe
accumulationoverthefirstsixmonthsoftheirlivesisdeadly.
Jean-Mi chelCousteau’s report andsome astounding
imagesareonwww.oceanfutu res.org
SilentKillersSilentKillers
HOLLYLOHUIS
THEYS-01STROBE