Assessment of the Ikelite DS230 Strobe

DPG want to thank Ikelite for supplying a pair of Ikelite DS230 strobes, in addition to the Ikelite 200DLM housing for the Canon EOS R7, and numerous equipment used on this assessment. DPG would additionally prefer to thank Pura Vida Divers to be used of their dive operation.

 

As an underwater photographer, your lighting tools is arguably an important a part of your rig. You possibly can have a top-notch digital camera, but when your lighting instruments aren’t as much as the duty, all these high-end megapixels might be wasted. Savvy shooters perceive that getting the very best strobes they will afford will final translate to higher footage.

One firm that is aware of a factor or two about what constitutes a very good strobe is Ikelite: It’s been greater than six a long time since “Ike’s lights” started growing their fame for high quality and reliability. Since 1962, when the identify “Ikelite” was trademarked, the U.S. firm—which nonetheless makes all its merchandise in America—has manufactured a number of the hottest and most competitively priced strobes.

For a few years, Ikelite has usually provided two strobe fashions distinguished primarily by output energy but in addition by the kind of flashtube: a less-powerful mannequin with an oblong flashtube (the latest being the 50-watt-second DS51 II) and a more-powerful mannequin boasting a round flashtube (resembling the present 160Ws DS160 II)—the latter round kind usually thought of to be superior when it comes to the evenness of the beam produced. However Ikelite raised the stakes significantly when the corporate introduced a brand new top-end strobe in April 2022, the DS230, once more packing a round flashtube however with a formidable 213Ws of energy—33% greater than that of their earlier flagship strobe.

It’s this impressive-sounding strobe that I’ve been lucky sufficient to check totally over the past couple of months. Having solely ever used DS51s previously, I used to be unsure what to anticipate from the DS230s, however I used to be eager to see whether or not these pro-level flashes may very well be a viable different to my getting older (and discontinued) Sea&Sea YS-250s as my essential workhorse strobes. From sharks in blue water, to reefs, to freshwater springs, to muck diving, I’ve put the DS230s by means of their paces with numerous totally different subject material. The common-or-garden flashgun might appear to be performing a simple operate, however I’ve found that not all strobes are created equal…

 

A inexperienced turtle returning to the reef after catching a fast breath: Even capturing up into noon gentle, the DS230s have been simply capable of put sufficient gentle on the topic without having to crank the facility to 100% (Canon EOS R7, Ikelite housing, Tokina 10–17mm Fisheye, 2x Ikelite DS230, f/14, 1/250s, ISO 100)

 

The DS230’s mushy, huge beam permits for nice close-focus wide-angle pictures with out hotspots or distracting shadows on the entrance of topics like this bandtail searobin (Canon EOS R7, Ikelite housing, Tokina 10–17mm Fisheye, 2x Ikelite DS230, f/11, 1/10s, ISO 100)

1. Versatile, Dependable Setup and Operation

The very first thing you’ll notice concerning the DS230 is that, regardless of its energy, it isn’t large. In actual fact, it’s barely smaller than earlier flagship strobes from Ikelite, and it’s considerably smaller than my Sea&Sea YS-250. It contains a barely domed face, which presumably permits for higher beam unfold from the round xenon flashtube.

The second factor chances are you’ll discover concerning the DS230—certainly, any Ikelite strobe—is the bulkhead. It’s electrical, which suggests you get a sturdy, 100%-reliable connection between housing and strobe, however with a couple of extra O-rings to handle. The sync wire, which is a separate buy, will rely on whether or not you’re utilizing one strobe or two. I bought the Y-shaped Dual Sync Cord, which plugs into the housing after which splits into two for plugging into every strobe. Whereas no photographer within the pro-level DS230 will ever solely buy a single strobe, if you happen to did solely have one, you’d hook it up by way of the Single Sync Cord.

When you’ve got an Ikelite housing, and also you shoot your strobes in handbook mode, as many photographers do, you’re now prepared to begin capturing. In case you prefer to have the choice of computerized strobe publicity, all you have to do is add a TTL converter, which is out there in several variations for various digital camera manufacturers. Ikelite’s converter is added between the housing and the sync wire, i.e., outdoors, not inside, the housing, which has the necessary advantage of permitting on-the-fly switching between TTL and handbook modes. Ingeniously, an Ikelite TTL converter will get its energy from the strobe, so your days of adjusting fiddly coin batteries are over.

 

The total Ikelite take a look at rig: Canon EOS R7, Ikelite 200DLM housing for the Canon EOS R7, Ikelite tray and twin handles, twin Ikelite huge angle ball arms, Ikelite twin sync wire, and twin Ikelite DS230 strobes

 

When you’ve got a non-Ikelite housing, you possibly can nonetheless profit from the facility of the DS230s. For a housing with a Nikonos-style electrical bulkhead, there are single and twin sync cords out there to hook up one or two strobes, and Ikelite gives some TTL converters with Nikonos plugs—for Nikon, Panasonic/Olympus/OM System, and Fujifilm, although not Canon and Sony. Within the case of Canon, you simply should get a different version of the TTL converter that comes with an Ikelite bulkhead to put in into your housing; the identical applies to the Sony case.

For a housing with fiber optic connections, you’ll simply want so as to add an Ikelite Fiber Optic Converter to every strobe, although remember you’ll solely be capable of use the strobes in handbook mode. I used the DS230s with the Ikelite housing for the Canon EOS R7 (i.e., by way of digital sync) in addition to with the AOI housing for the OM System OM-1 by way of fiber optic cables, and the strobes functioned flawlessly. I had completely no reliability points with the DS230s no matter how they have been triggered. For testing TTL, I used the Ikelite DL5 DS Link Canon TTL converter.

DS230 Specs

• Most energy: 213 Ws
• Beam angle: 120º with out diffuser
• Coloration temperature: 5000K
• Recycle time: 0.1 to 1.2 seconds (full energy)
• LED modeling gentle: 205 lumens
• Flashes per cost (full energy): 300
• Battery: 7.2V 3300mAh NiMH rechargeable
• Depth ranking: 330 toes (100 meters)
• Dimensions (D x L): 3.6″ x 7″ (91mm x 179mm)
• Weight (with battery): 2.7lbs (1243g)
• Included: Battery pack, charger, 1″ ball mount

Clockwise from prime left: DS230 strobe with fiber optic converter connected; management panel; head (R) and battery pack (L); close-up of fiber optic converter

 

The DS230 has two large management dials on the aspect of the strobe physique, and because of a brand new chunkier design, these knobs are straightforward to grip and twist, even with gloves on. Every dial has a tough cease, and you may’t by accident bump the strobe to totally different settings except you actually went out of your manner. The rear dial is for turning the strobe on and off, and there’s a slide lock to forestall you from by accident switching the unit on when it’s not getting used. The entrance dial lets you change the output in 10 half-stop increments, with laborious clicks at every cease, or alternatively, change to TTL mode.

The strobe has a twist-and-lock mechanism to connect the battery pack to the strobe head. The devoted battery packs are one thing I vastly admire. Not solely did I not should cope with pesky AA batteries, however the giant capability battery pack lasts primarily perpetually. Whereas the strobe is rated at 300 pictures at full energy, on the energy settings I used—half energy or much less more often than not—I bought 1000’s of pictures per cost and actually by no means anxious in any respect about battery life. For these involved, nevertheless, the strobe does characteristic battery stage indicator lights on the aspect of the physique.

It’s price noting that Ikelite really makes two flavors of DS230: the version with modeling light reviewed right here and a hybrid version with a built-in 2,500-lumen video light. The latter, which might be out there quickly, is among the few strobes in the marketplace that contains a steady gentle robust sufficient to operate acceptably for a lot of video eventualities. Alternatively, for these of us who overlook our focus lights on night time dives, the built-in LED gentle may present some helpful help!

 

Portrait of a convict cichlid: Ikelite’s Fiber Optic Converters enable the DS230s to work completely with non-Ikelite housings which have fiber optic ports (OM System OM-1, Olympus 60mm f/2.8 Macro, AOI UH-OM1 housing, AOI 4-inch dome, 2x Ikelite DS230, 2x Ikelite Fiber Optic Converters, f/3.2, 1/30s, ISO 80)

 

Florida gar movement blur: Numerous very reflective topics have been photographed for this assessment and the DS230s produced not a single hotspot (OM System OM-1, Olympus 8mm f/1.8 Professional Fisheye, AOI UH-OM1 housing, AOI 4-inch dome, 2x Ikelite DS230, 2x Ikelite Fiber Optic Converters, f/13, 1/3s, ISO 80)

2. Extra Energy Than Wanted (That’s a Good Factor)

It’s necessary to understand that as a strobe’s energy will increase relative to its most energy, usually the sunshine will get harsher and fewer pleasing. The upper the output of the strobe total, the decrease the proportion of full energy you have to use—that means extra pleasing gentle whereas getting extra gentle. As a result of the DS230s are so {powerful}, you don’t should crank them up, for a given scenario, almost as a lot as you do different strobes.

The DS230 has a most rated output energy of 213Ws. That’s one-third greater than the 160Ws from the already-powerful DS161 II. If these numbers appear unfamilar, that’s as a result of individuals typically obsess about information quantity (GN) as an indicator of flash energy. The issue is that the information quantity is notoriously unreliable, as it’s measured in another way by totally different producers. Watt-seconds is a much more dependable measurement of strobe energy. Whereas Ikelite doesn’t specify a GN for the DS230, the strobe is extra {powerful} than my now-discontinued Sea&Sea YS-250, which has a quoted information variety of 32. The DS230 can be way more {powerful} than the Retra Flash PRO (150Ws) or the Seacam Seaflash 160 Digital (160Ws).

 

Huge reef scenes? No drawback! The sunshine high quality, energy, and beam unfold of the DS230 make it the proper software to point out off giant swaths of the underwater realm (Canon EOS R7, Ikelite housing, Tokina 10–17mm Fisheye, 2x Ikelite DS230, f/10, 1/30s, ISO 100)

 

Though this lemon shark was proper on the dome, the DS230s nonetheless lit the topic superbly, with no distracting shadows in the course of the body or hotspots on the perimeters (OM System OM-1, Olympus 8mm f/1.8 Professional Fisheye, AOI UH-OM1 housing, AOI 4-inch dome, 2x Ikelite DS230, 2x Ikelite Fiber Optic Converters, f/14, 1/8s, ISO 80)

 

The opposite advantage of a strong strobe is the sooner recycle occasions you get since you’re capable of shoot at decrease energy settings. At full energy, the DS230’s recycle time is 1.2 seconds, which is already impressively fast. However on the energy settings you sometimes want—I almost at all times set the DS230 to half energy or much less—the strobe recycles nearly instantaneously. Thus, when capturing bursts, because the recycle time is so quick, the DS230s had no drawback in any respect maintaining with excessive body charges. With the strobes set to half energy, I may comfortably shoot fast-moving sharks at 5fps or 6fps.

The DS230s carried out even in excessive checks. Taking pictures 10fps bursts at half energy, the strobes managed to show almost each body completely—solely a single body out of 10 was underexposed. This efficiency is bound to impress photographers who love capturing quick motion and are used to being restricted to capturing in ambient gentle solely.

 

5 sharks per second: Taking pictures at half energy, the DS230s may comfortably sustain with a burst velocity of 5fps, with each body completely uncovered (Canon EOS R7, Ikelite housing, Tokina 10–17mm Fisheye, 2x Ikelite DS230, f/10, 1/250s, ISO 100)

3. Lovely Mild at Simply the Proper Temperature

The “high quality” of the sunshine is probably an important facet of a strobe’s efficiency, particularly a strong strobe constructed for wide-angle capturing. The DS230’s round flash tube delivers a really huge, exceptionally mushy, even beam with a delightful gentle fall-off on the edges. The strobe has a shade temperature of 5000K, which I discovered gave natural-looking colours to topics whereas preserving the gorgeous wealthy blues of the out there gentle.

With out a diffuser, the beam is 120 levels, and since the sunshine high quality is so interesting, you don’t want to connect diffusers (or be involved concerning the lack of gentle that comes with utilizing them). A bane of underwater photographers capturing with strobes is reflective fish, however I discovered the DS230’s mushy, even beam—with out the usage of diffusers—decreased the probabilities of hotspots or glare, even on reflective topics like largemouth bass.

As already talked about, one of many advantages of a high-powered strobe is you can shoot at decrease energy settings for extra pleasing gentle high quality however nonetheless have loads of gentle output. For instance, if you happen to shoot the DS230 at 100Ws—round half its most output—the sunshine you get might be significantly nicer trying than what you get from capturing a strobe that has a most output of 100Ws and capturing it at full energy.

 

With the DS230s, even shiny, reflective fish like this largemouth bass haven’t any hotspots or blown-out highlights (OM System OM-1, Olympus 8mm f/1.8 Professional Fisheye, AOI UH-OM1 housing, AOI 4-inch dome, 2x Ikelite DS230, 2x Ikelite Fiber Optic Converters, f/10, 1/15s, ISO 100)

 

The DS230s produce a really pure trying gentle, giving this massive barrel sponge a really pleasing heat (Canon EOS R7, Ikelite housing, Tokina 10–17mm Fisheye, 2x Ikelite DS230, f/10, 1/250s, ISO 200)

4. Correct Automated Strobe Publicity in Most Conditions

For a lot of severe hobbyists and execs involved in a high-quality strobe just like the DS230, the worth of computerized strobe publicity received’t be a lot of a debate: They’ve been adjusting their strobe energy manually for years and can proceed to take action. There’s nothing fallacious with this strategy, in fact—it’s my private choice, too—however many “old-school” underwater photographers are merely unaware of simply how good trendy TTL programs may be.

Ikelite’s implementation is a working example. Within the majority of conditions, Ikelite’s TTL strobe system nails publicity completely, whether or not you’re capturing macro or huge angle—and the liberty it offers you possibly can turn into fairly addictive! For a seasoned handbook shooter, it takes some getting used to, however not having to fret about adjusting strobe energy does assist you to think about composition, and you may work surprisingly rapidly.

Naturally, the system isn’t infallible, and it may be fooled when capturing huge angle if the sunshine modifications rapidly or in case your topic goes from backlight to entrance gentle or gentle to shade. However with Ikelite’s TTL converter located outdoors the housing and the flexibility to toggle between TTL and handbook on the contact of a button, you possibly can simply change to handbook for any scenario that requires extra management.

 

Orangespotted shrimpgobies like this one peeking out of its burrow are usually extremely shy and do not enable for a number of frames as soon as your flash has gone off. To not fear! The TTL capabilities of the DS230s made this picture a breeze, as publicity was nailed first time (Canon EOS R7, Canon RF 100mm Macro, Ikelite housing, 2x Ikelite DS230, f/4, 1/250s, ISO 100)

 

A butter hamlet sheltering beneath some sponge progress: Broad angle can typically be a problem for TTL programs, however the DS230s dealt with this case nicely in very murky circumstances (Canon EOS R7, Tokina 10–17mm Fisheye, Ikelite housing, 2x Ikelite DS230, f/10, 1/10s, ISO 100)

5. Remaining Ideas

Ikelite’s flagship flash has rapidly turn into my favourite strobe, particularly for huge angle. The DS230s are constructed to face up to heavy use, impressively {powerful} regardless of their compact measurement, recycle extremely rapidly, and most significantly, produce a implausible high quality of the sunshine. The very long-lasting battery is a welcome bonus.

The strobe produces a superbly mushy and even beam that gave glorious outcomes for the topics I shoot each day, together with sharks, shut focus huge angle, and reflective freshwater fish. I vastly most well-liked the DS230s to my Sea&Sea YS-250s (which is saying so much), and it’s straightforward for me to think about them turning into my essential workhorse strobes.

There’s little question that investing in a pair of DS230s requires parting with some severe money, nevertheless it you view your strobes as an necessary part of your rig—which you actually ought to—the worth of those strobes is justified. Ikelite’s Fiber Optic Converters open up the DS230s (and all the corporate’s DS-series strobes) to people who favor fiber optic triggering, however remember the fact that these are a separate buy that add to the general value. In case you’re on the fence about electrical versus fiber optic flash sync, the rock stable connection between Ikelite’s housing and strobes might assist to sway your choice.

 

For a suitably atmospheric shot, the DS230s have been set to a really low energy to place only a contact of sunshine on this lemon shark, photographed early within the morning (OM System OM-1, Olympus 8mm f/1.8 Professional Fisheye, AOI UH-OM1 housing, AOI 4-inch dome, 2x Ikelite DS230, 2x Ikelite Fiber Optic Converters, f/11, 1/250s, ISO 80)

 

Concerning the Reviewer: Matthew Sullivan is a Florida-based wildlife photographer who has been diving since he was 10 years outdated. He has traveled extensively, visiting well-known dive locations resembling Guadalupe Island, Indonesia and the Philippines, however he additionally likes to dive nearer to house within the Pacific Northwest. When not taking footage underwater, he may be discovered trekking mountains, or exploring nationwide parks and rainforests searching for new adventures and wildlife encounters.

 

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