Hi all

I have recently upgraded my Inon Z330s (the only strobes I've shot with) to a pair of Retra Pro Max IIs and am about to take it on my first trip. Banda Sea + Alor!

Hoping some Retra users can help me answer these basic questions:

For wide angle,

1) should I always just use the booster? In case I need faster burst? Does the battery last the whole day (4 dives) if I use the booster?

2) is HSS ever useful in wide angle? I mostly know of its application to create black backgrounds for macro. I heard it limits burst?

3) to use HSS, you enable wireless flash in the camera. Can I just leave this setting always on, even if not using HSS? Or should I adjust this every time I switch between Manual and HSS?

For macro,

1) is there ever any use cases for the booster?

2) same question for HSS and wireless flash settings - should I always shoot in HSS mode since you can still shoot slower than 1/250 i.e. with the same shutter speeds as in Manual?

Other:

1) it says there is a leak test, but when I turn the strobe on it only shows battery test. Where is the leak signal?

2) what accessories do I really need? In terms of diffusers, bumpers, etc? I'm a bit overwhelmed by the sheer amount of accessories available. I used to shoot my Inons with diffusers but none came with the Retras.

I also had to upgrade from my Nauticam flash trigger to the UWTechnic one for HSS.

1) How do I tell how much battery is left in the trigger, will it show a low battery warning?

Thank you!

59 minutes ago, jjmochi said:

Hi all

I have recently upgraded my Inon Z330s (the only strobes I've shot with) to a pair of Retra Pro Max IIs and am about to take it on my first trip. Banda Sea + Alor!

Hoping some Retra users can help me answer these basic questions:

For wide angle,

1) should I always just use the booster? In case I need faster burst? Does the battery last the whole day (4 dives) if I use the booster?

2) is HSS ever useful in wide angle? I mostly know of its application to create black backgrounds for macro. I heard it limits burst?

3) to use HSS, you enable wireless flash in the camera. Can I just leave this setting always on, even if not using HSS? Or should I adjust this every time I switch between Manual and HSS?

For macro,

1) is there ever any use cases for the booster?

2) same question for HSS and wireless flash settings - should I always shoot in HSS mode since you can still shoot slower than 1/250 i.e. with the same shutter speeds as in Manual?

Other:

1) it says there is a leak test, but when I turn the strobe on it only shows battery test. Where is the leak signal?

2) what accessories do I really need? In terms of diffusers, bumpers, etc? I'm a bit overwhelmed by the sheer amount of accessories available. I used to shoot my Inons with diffusers but none came with the Retras.

I also had to upgrade from my Nauticam flash trigger to the UWTechnic one for HSS.

1) How do I tell how much battery is left in the trigger, will it show a low battery warning?

Thank you!

Hi there, I upgraded to Retra a few months back. I got the reduction rings and the white diffusers. Previously using the Z240 strobes. I'm on m43 so I shoot at f10 mostly on macro. I recently did a trip to Lembeh with them. I can offer a few observations.

The reduction rings I would suggest are essential. Shooting in Sydney and then in Lembeh I immediately noticed a lot less backscatter using the retra with reduction rings used at a fairly standard 10 and 2 strobe position close to the port. You do need to adjust positioning some more when getting in really close to somewhat non standard positions at least compared to what I used prior. Simplest seemed to turn the strobes in a little. I work fairly close with the olympus 60mm macro , so longer lenses would be less prone until you venture into wet diopters as the working distance is greater. It wasn't backscatter proof as such, just a lot less compared to what I saw with the INON strobes. I also tried some inward lighting and that worked well.

The booster is quite useful. Shooting at f10 and one click past 25% power (this is a Retra pure) I got about 600 shots and the the battery test LED was hovering on turning yellow at the end. This was 3 dives a day over two days each dive about 1 hour 5 minutes. So I only pulled batteries and re-charged every other day. More powerful models may go through batteries faster if you use the power. Likewise is you are shooting at f11-16 on full frame you will need more power. This was all macro work.

Classic HSS usage for wide angle is a sunball, where you might want to use 1/320 - 1/500 range for shutter speeds. I have not done much wide angle work with mine as yet, only used with 60mm macro and now with the MFO-3 so far.

I traveled with the standard battery caps with the boosters separate, basically to improve my packing , with the booster the strobes were too tall for my backpack.

Hope that helps, let me know if you have questions.

Hi jjmochi

To add to Chris' comments:

I've been using Retras for about 5 years and now have the ProMax combined with a Nikon D500 - so an APS-C sensor. I switched from Inon Z240s.

I use the Boosters all the time perhaps because I'm often using a snoot for macro and I do find I need to boost the power with a snoot. That said, I usually find a 4-dive day shooting maybe 100-150 images a dive, the 8x batteries in the Retra with Booster will last the whole day. I can't think of any reason why you would NOT use the Booster on all dives. They take up little room and actually provide a useful handle for adjusting the strobe positioning. Their battery endurance is reassuring.

Accessories: I have White Diffusers but find I seldom use them. As Chris says, the Macro Reducer Rings are very useful for wider macro; I also like the Reflector for turbid/backscattery water. My all time favourite is the LSD which I find brilliant for macro. I very rarely photo macro without it.

HSS: As Chris explains, HSS is very good for sunballs: high shutter speed (say 1/2000), f11-ish, ISO100 and HSS to light the foreground. I don't use HSS when shooting below 1/250.

Leak Test: there is no "Test". Retra recommends you have the strobes switched on when entering the water so that if there is a leak the alarm will go off. I've managed to achieve this stupid feat once - and for sure, flashing lights! You can't miss it. Happily the way the strobes are designed, water only enters the battery compartment and I found it easy to clean out. No damage done. Well not to the strobes anyway: my self-respect took a hit.

Trigger: I use a UWT trigger. There is no way of checking battery life but UWT (Pavel) says it lasts 000s of dives. I change the 2x CR2032s maybe once every couple of years. Never had an issue.

Hope that helps. I think the Retras are terrific. I'm sure you'll like them once you get used to the new functionality.

Tim

Another Retra user experience FWIW... (I am using an older version : the Retra PRO which is notoriously battery consuming, hence everything would be improved with the PROMAX).

Wide angle :

• Superchargers (or boosters) are paramount whenever you need to shoot fast bursts, which will certainly happen in Alor.

• I have never used HSS even though it is enabled on this version, I am happy with my current 100 ISO-1/320s synch speed even in the shallows of Alor.

• I have the wide angle diffusers but won't use them anymore since it decreases the light and I am satisfied with the overall softness of the RETRA circular bulb. It also brings warmer temperature for a strobe that is already warm, since the diffusion was also improved with the PROMAX2, I feel it would be slightly overkill in such blue waters as Alor.

Macro :

• I am not using the superchargers, it saves me weight and charging time for 8 eneloops. I don't care for fast bursts at max level given in this case I'm always below 1/2 power and 200 ISO.

• HSS? really can't see when you should be faster than 1/250s, never happened to me in 25 years shooting macro... but YMMV

• LSD snoot is essential, perfectly fit and aligned with the Retra strobes (unlike the Inons with their offset light). Doing probably 1/2 my shots with it, just be careful not to fall into what I call the "black background snoot ditch" at the expense of your creativity. Background colors are nice too!

• Which brings us to the macro light reducer ring, critical piece of equipment when you're not using the snoot. So you shoudl already think how you're going to attach it to your BCD or housing when you screw your LSD on your strobe. On the other hand I am not in love with the supermacro reducer ring which I find either too narrow or not narrow enough to replace a snoot. Hence I'm usually equipped with 2 macro reducers (without the supermacro reducer ring) and a LSD attached to my BCD

Other :

• I don't think there is a leak "test" but a month ago I definitely had a leak alarm underwater flashing alternatively blue/red with the pilot light lit up. I stopped using it despite no apparent water in the battery compartment nor on the flash dome. Sent the strobe to Retra for an inspection, no water inside but they changed a few parts which were aging. For 130€ I have a serviced strobe now.

Edited 31 minutes ago31 min by Luko