I have been looking at some of the backscatter strobe reviews in particular the beam width test

 

Method watch the video get to the moment where there is the test shot and take a screengrab then convert to monochrome and sample the data

 

Findings

 

Retra Pro Max  no diffuser - light fall off at 90 degrees one stop (almost perfect) 

Sea and Sea YS-D3 diffuser - light fall off at 90 degrees 1.5 stop (however the strobe is more powerful at centre of half stop)

Backscatter HF-1 no diffuser - light fall off at 90 degrees 2.6 stops (strobe is the most powerful in the centre around one stop more than sea and sea)

Backscatter HF-1 flat diffuser - light fall off at 90 degrees 2.1 stops (strobe 0.6 stops more powerful than Sea and Sea)

 

My conclusion 

 

Retra Pro Max is the best strobe in terms of beam width providing a really nice wide spread beam best choice overall for close up shots

Sea and Sea YS-D3 best value for money performance at the edges same as retra however stronger at the centre probably equalises it with dome diffusers

 

Backscatter strobe HF-1 has really strong fall off not sure how they calculate the beam width their own test does not live up to it

 

Based on their own data I am set for a pair of YS-D3 if I don't find a replacement for my YS-D2J

 

It's good that they do standard comparison tests of strobes, but when I last looked the only way to find them was buried in individual videos be nice if they had a central site where you could find their data to directly compare strobes you are interested in. 

 

I find I am really not a fan of video reviews they are nice enough to watch but I'd much rather have a written review where I can skim to the interesting bits.

11 hours ago, Chris Ross said:

It's good that they do standard comparison tests of strobes, but when I last looked the only way to find them was buried in individual videos be nice if they had a central site where you could find their data to directly compare strobes you are interested in. 

 

I find I am really not a fan of video reviews they are nice enough to watch but I'd much rather have a written review where I can skim to the interesting bits.

You can run a search on vimeo but there is no structure 

the videos I have watched have an index with sections making it easy to skip to the part you want to watch 

i do find however the average video far too long but that may just be me

13 hours ago, Interceptor121 said:

Method watch the video get to the moment where there is the test shot and take a screengrab then convert to monochrome and sample the data

 

Very smart. You still might have some deviation, depending if the lab conditions or camera changed over time.

 

However,.. could you be so gentle and post the links of the video(s) you watched/sampled to do this and maybe 1-2 monochromed screengrabs to illustrate your method ?

16 minutes ago, Adventurer said:

 

Very smart. You still might have some deviation, depending if the lab conditions or camera changed over time.

 

However,.. could you be so gentle and post the links of the video(s) you watched/sampled to do this and maybe 1-2 monochromed screengrabs to illustrate your method ?

It is definitely correct within the same strobe

perhaps the difference between strobes may be off but that’s no the main issue as they measure guide number in the center separately and for the retra and sea and sea it matches

It would be very interesting, if you could post the screen shots and, maybe, also your analysis (I guess histograms?)

There is the problem as these are screenshots from videos and we do not know how they postprocess their videos and whether they do it always the same way...

Maybe one could ask at Backscatter to give you the original photos?

 

Wolfgang

24 minutes ago, Architeuthis said:

It would be very interesting, if you could post the screen shots and, maybe, also your analysis (I guess histograms?)

There is the problem as these are screenshots from videos and we do not know how they postprocess their videos and whether they do it always the same way...

Maybe one could ask at Backscatter to give you the original photos?

 

Wolfgang

I am working on the assumption that their set up is repetitive which i know it is

With regards to fall off it measure intensity in two regions of the same image so I am pretty sure it is accurate

I am back home I will see if I have time to post this, mostly it is because I may be in the market for a new strobe soon