News

A week ago, when Ikelite announced its new “165-series” strobes—the DS165 and RC165 with electrical bulkhead and fiber-optic port, respectively—we wondered if these were the first of many to be offered in both fiber-optic and electrical versions. Well, Ikelite didn’t waste any time! They’ve now released another strobe duo: the Ecko Fiber and Ecko DS.

While the 165-series strobes are updated versions of the pro-level DS160 II, and boast high output, feature circular flash tubes, and run on Ikelite’s well-known proprietary battery packs; the Ecko-series strobes are aimed at photographers who want to travel light, offer 50Ws of power, sport straight flash tubes, and use four rechargeable AA batteries.

In Ikelite’s announcement of the Ecko Fiber, the company says the strobes give you “up to 140 degrees beam angle with the included diffuser attached” and the 5700K color temperature is “ideal for macro photography and warm enough for wide angle.” Depth-rated to 100 meters (330 feet), the Ecko is designed to be compact and lightweight for the “traveling underwater photographer.”
 

Left: Ecko Fiber. Right: Ecko DS
 

Left: Ecko Fiber. Right: Ecko DS
 

Like the DS165 and RC165, the Ecko’s TTL capabilities are its biggest selling point. Like the RC165, the Ecko Fiber supports TTL operation with compatible OM System, Olympus, and Panasonic cameras when firing the built-in flash in “RC” mode, and with compatible Canon cameras when using Ikelite’s TT5 Canon TTL Transmitter. If you’re a Nikon or Sony shooter, you’ll have to wait for the imminent arrival of Ikelite’s TTL transmitters for those brands.

If your system is already set up for electrical triggering and/or you’ve already invested in one of Ikelite’s of DS Link TTL converters (for Nikon, Canon, Sony, Olympus/Panasonic, and Fujifilm), the Ecko DS is for you. The DS version, electrical bulkhead aside, has all the same specs as the Fiber version.

Shipping now from retailers such as Backscatter, the Ecko Fiber and Ecko DS are both priced at $495.
 

Ecko Fiber
 

Ecko DS
 

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