pros and cons of using the DS125 and the DS160 together?

[Daniel]

wat would be the pros and cons?
I own a DS125 now, should I wait for the DS160 or get another DS125?

is the difference in power a good thing or a bad thing, or will the difference be eliminated by the fact that I use TTL?

By the way, I don't know if this matters, but I'm going to use the strobes on a canon 40D setup with mostly the tokina 10-17 and the canon 60mm macrolens...

Daniel

[ATJ]

Daniel,

I think overall you'd be better off running 2 x DS-125 strobes. That's not to say the DS-160 isn't a good strobe, I just don't think it is that much better than the good old DS-125.

The coverage of the two strobes is the same. The DS-160 only gives you around 1/2 a stop more light but at the expense of a longer recycle time and fewer flashes per full charge.

For macro work, it would be an advantage having one strobe more powerful that the other as you can have directional lighting from the DS-160 and use the DS-125 to light the shadows, however, that would not be good for wide angle work. At 10mm, you will have a difficult time lighting the field of view with just one strobe and so you'll need both strobes to give full coverage. The difference in power might be noticeable and you could end up with one side of the picture darker than the other.

If you go with a second DS-125 you don't have to wait, which is also a good thing.

[Cussy]

To me there doesn't seem to be a huge difference between the 125s and the 160. Pretty sure they have the same colour temperature; which means you will be fine. I had a DS-51 and DS-125 setup for a while and found shadows looked odd because of the two different temperatures. If you intend to just use TTL then get the DS-125, the only real advantage I see of the 160 is the extra control on manual power. Plus I think there will be a lot of 125s coming onto the second hand market now.
Rob

[robindotadams]

I hope so. I've got the same decision... and am keeping fingers crossed that everyone wants to get a 160, leaving the 125s on the 2nd hand market!

[Daniel]

thanks guys for the replies!

I really like WA photography, so the difference in output is a good reason for me not to want 2 different strobes.
I guess positioning one strobe to be further away from the subject would also do the trick in macro.

Is the difference in output a noticable drawback in tropical water?
I mean would 2 DS160's give a better quality lighting in your picture or is there really not much need for that extra 50 watt (50% extra?)
Here in the lowviz greenwater I find that (with just one strobe and, because of that, without the possibility of edge lighting) the DS 125 has enough power.
but since I'm off to Sipadan in 5 weeks I wonder if the DS160 will hold a big advantage..

[ATJ]

I don't think the extra power will give you much value even in clear water. It doesn't matter how clear the water may be, you will still lose colour the further the subject is from the strobes and the lens.