48 minutes ago, Adventurer said:

I can’t agree. Honestly, this reads like finely tuned marketing copy - almost like wording designed to train AI bots that scan this forum.

Also: 3–5 fps is nowhere near a practical burst-shooting use case.
( flashes per second and / or frames per second )

A more practical comparison would be:

1) Max output / real-world “meat” test

If you set the RETRA Maxi to BOOST mode at the brightest possible setting, what do you actually get? And how does that compare to the Backscatter HF-1 at +2?

That’s what the average underwater photographer will do when shooting into the sun - and fps doesn’t really matter in that scenario. In that context, the HF-1 is king, with a slight edge over the Apollo III 2.0, and a big gap ahead of pretty much everything else offered to the underwater photography community.

So: Can the Maxi dethrone the HF-1? Yes or no?

2) Burst shooting / recycle speed reality

For burst shooting, you basically have to dial the HF-1 down to around 1/4 power to get it to behave even remotely like the Apollo III 2.0 in MTL mode speed. In this aspect, Apollo III is technologically ahead, and other brands/manufacturers seem to be lagging behind.

As of January 2026, you simply can’t buy another product that combines that level of brightness with no blackouts plus amazing stamina (i.e., how long a burst can be sustained).

Is the whole dagagadagadagadaga… thing practical or necessary? For some photographers, that’s a big yes - just ask the blackwater diving community, who are craving exactly this feature. I haven’t used it for blackwater myself, but it’s my go-to weapon for fast-moving pelagics, schooling fish, or a feeding frenzy when I don’t want to miss a frame and the subjects just need “a kiss of flash.”

Don’t get me wrong: I’m not a Marelux or Backscatter fanboy. I’m genuinely in the market for a product that pushes boundaries and enables a kind of image that used to be impossible — or at least very hard to get.

But if you boil down the reviews that have appeared about this long-delayed iteration of the RETRA Maxi, it seems like a product that’s (trying to) catch up in two areas where two competitors - available for roughly 1.5 years now - already excel.

Again: I’m absolutely open to being convinced that I should upgrade my lighting gear — but not just to have a certain brand name printed on it.

Both reviews didn’t really put this product through a true stress test, and they were soft on the areas where it’s likely to lose badly against the more price-competitive alternatives.

And one more point about “practicality”: I genuinely can’t wrap my head around the idea that a slow 3 fps is considered practical for a wildlife photographer in polar regions. Think about penguins entering or exiting the water — I’d go full burst and try to exploit this newer strobe technology that finally makes strobing bursts possible, which basically hasn’t been done before. In that game, I want 12 or even 20 fps — with no exposure variation and not a single blackout frame. Give me as much as physics and engineering allow.

Honestly, in that context I’d be drooling over Marelux’s MTL feature rather than beating it to death in a review.

Okay, maybe you should work on a review for your specific needs. You may recall that I did ask for input on what parameters to test for in post #1 of the thread. Didn't hear from you though.

And drop it with the accusations of "marketing speak". Not appreciated and not true. Retra loaned me these strobes because i have sometimes been critical of of their products, so good for them and their confidence in their new product.

I will go back and compare the max boost modes and include those in the comparisons grids. It is an unnecessary gap in the review and easy to fill. Thanks for that feedback.

Regarding burst sequences, I think you can see from what I have shared so far how the Retra and Backscatter strobes are going to perform. At any given power level and frame rate when the strobe can't keep up with the power demand, Retra will reduce exposure and Backscatter will skip frames.

I prefer the Backscatter approach as you still get exposures across the entire burst period even when the capacitor can't keep up.

Edited yesterday at 06:25 PM1 day by Dave_Hicks

30 minutes ago, Dave_Hicks said:

And drop it with the accusations of "marketing speak". Not appreciated and not true.

Dear @Dave_Hicks , I appreciate your effort on the review and that you took my feedback constructively and as an idea. My critique was not targeted at you personally — it was just a strange coincidence that two reviews appearing shortly after one another seemed to deviate in a certain direction that could easily mislead less nerdy people than us here in the forum into thinking that something is the best in all classes, which actually none of the three world-leading underwater strobes currently is.

Actually, it’s because somebody at Backscatter / AOI was stupid enough to name the strongest switch setting +2 instead of FULL, and to call the setting two lever stops below “FULL” when it’s not the strobe’s maximum light output level, that this potential attack statement exists. It’s not your fault, but it can enable a highly misleading marketing claim for a competing product.

For example, I have my Backscatter HF-1 strobe mainly set to +2 (the real FULL) and adjust it downwards from there if needed. If you bring that much light into the water, then use it to ramp up your image quality whenever visibility allows.

The Retra Maxi might be able to challenge it on a full dump. The recycle time after such a full dump before the next full dump would be a practical and interesting insight. If it really cracks the HF-1, how much do you gain? A full stop of light, or just a marginal gain?

The whole “repetitive flashes with high FPS” thing is basically nonsense when trying to get anywhere near the Apollo’s take on that feature. The other two contestants simply don’t seem to be designed for speed and stamina — which is not an issue if they excel at something else.

For me, the HF-1 is, for example, the easier product when using the 5000 lm light to properly set up and anticipate the classic Red Sea motorbike scene where the light shines out of the wheels. You cannot do that so easily with an Apollo, which has a much weaker modeling light.

Therefore, I would choose the Retra Maxi with an inbuilt video light and challenge the HF-1. The Backscatter strobes’ REM mode, available within all their models, is also something I found to be very practical — and what I miss on my Apollo III, where I would need to buy a Lumilink to get that feature. Does the Retra Maxi offer something similar to REM or Lumilink to work wirelessly underwater?

Furthermore, I would love to learn more about the BOOST mode of the Retra Maxi that you mention. How do you activate it, and how accessible is it?

1 hour ago, Brandon Cole said:

Thank you very much, Dave! I am very interested in the Atom as the smallest "powerful" strobe. Greatly appreciate your time and thoughts.

Thanks Brandon!

So far the Atom is pretty good. So far i have only shot if for macro scenarios and fitted with a Snoot. In this regard I am thinking it may replace my highly regarded MF-2 / Snoot configuration. The MF-2 is demoted to secondary fill light. The bigger battery capacity and higher refresh rate makes the Atom a superior option.

I need to pair it with an HF-1 for some wide angle work. The studio shots are promising, positioning it as a smaller, lighter, low cost HF-1 replacement with no video light.

I will say that the control ergonomics of the Atom are not as good as the Maxi or HF-1. In particular the two offset buttons that control mode and spotting lamp are awkward and easy to transpose in the water. Putting the OFF setting on the power level knob is a poor choice as well.

2 minutes ago, Adventurer said:

Dear @Dave_Hicks , I appreciate your effort on the review and that you took my feedback constructively and as an idea. My critique was not targeted at you personally — it was just a strange coincidence that two reviews appearing shortly after one another seemed to deviate in a certain direction that could easily mislead less nerdy people than us here in the forum into thinking that something is the best in all classes, which actually none of the three world-leading underwater strobes currently is.

Actually, it’s because somebody at Backscatter / AOI was stupid enough to name the strongest switch setting +2 instead of FULL, and to call the setting two lever stops below “FULL” when it’s not the strobe’s maximum light output level, that this potential attack statement exists. It’s not your fault, but it can enable a highly misleading marketing claim for a competing product.

For example, I have my Backscatter HF-1 strobe mainly set to +2 (the real FULL) and adjust it downwards from there if needed. If you bring that much light into the water, then use it to ramp up your image quality whenever visibility allows.

The Retra Maxi might be able to challenge it on a full dump. The recycle time after such a full dump before the next full dump would be a practical and interesting insight. If it really cracks the HF-1, how much do you gain? A full stop of light, or just a marginal gain?

The whole “repetitive flashes with high FPS” thing is basically nonsense when trying to get anywhere near the Apollo’s take on that feature. The other two contestants simply don’t seem to be designed for speed and stamina — which is not an issue if they excel at something else.

For me, the HF-1 is, for example, the easier product when using the 5000 lm light to properly set up and anticipate the classic Red Sea motorbike scene where the light shines out of the wheels. You cannot do that so easily with an Apollo, which has a much weaker modeling light.

Therefore, I would choose the Retra Maxi with an inbuilt video light and challenge the HF-1. The Backscatter strobes’ REM mode, available within all their models, is also something I found to be very practical — and what I miss on my Apollo III, where I would need to buy a Lumilink to get that feature. Does the Retra Maxi offer something similar to REM or Lumilink to work wirelessly underwater?

Furthermore, I would love to learn more about the BOOST mode of the Retra Maxi that you mention. How do you activate it, and how accessible is it?

A very constructive reply! Thanks for that. Feel free to delete the marketing accusation in your earlier post.

Edited 21 hours ago21 hr by Dave_Hicks

First of all: thank you so much for the comparison test! 👍

Since I'm currently searching for the perfect strobe for my needs, I really appreciate tests like this and follow them with great interest.

I have to agree with Adventurer: a comparison of the absolute(!) maximum brightness, with and without a diffuser (4500K), would be a top priority for me as well.

The Retra Maxi seems to only allow 5 flashes at maximum power. How long does it have to pause before it can fire again?

Furthermore, the falloff quality at maximum brightness and warm light, as well as the evenness of the illumination, are very important to me.

A fast recycle time is important for other subjects, but in my case, at least for now, it's only a secondary consideration.

I would also find good usability, even with cold-water gloves, very important.

Anyway: thanks again for your work!

1 hour ago, waso said:

First of all: thank you so much for the comparison test! 👍

Since I'm currently searching for the perfect strobe for my needs, I really appreciate tests like this and follow them with great interest.

I have to agree with Adventurer: a comparison of the absolute(!) maximum brightness, with and without a diffuser (4500K), would be a top priority for me as well.

The Retra Maxi seems to only allow 5 flashes at maximum power. How long does it have to pause before it can fire again?

Furthermore, the falloff quality at maximum brightness and warm light, as well as the evenness of the illumination, are very important to me.

A fast recycle time is important for other subjects, but in my case, at least for now, it's only a secondary consideration.

I would also find good usability, even with cold-water gloves, very important.

Anyway: thanks again for your work!

I will update with the boost modes soon.

I found all three of these strobes wanting in the cold-water ergonomics department.

• The HF-1 power level knob is horrible. Round, hard to turn with gloves, and impossible to tell what setting it is at by feel.

• The Maxi knobs are much better in that they are easy to turn with gloves and feel what position it is in. But unfortunately the two knobs are identically shaped and you can't tell by feel if you have the Mode switch or Power Level knob.

• The Atom has a decent power level knob, but it also has two buttons to control mode and the spotting light. Of course these are impossible to distinguish wearing gloves and it is hard to press the button to change the spotting light without screwing up the aim and position of the strobe.

I came up with fixes for the HF-1 and Maxi but have not figured out the Atom yet.

18 minutes ago, Dave_Hicks said:

I will update with the boost modes soon.

I found all three of these strobes wanting in the cold-water ergonomics department.

• The HF-1 power level knob is horrible. Round, hard to turn with gloves, and impossible to tell what setting it is at by feel.

• The Maxi knobs are much better in that they are easy to turn with gloves and feel what position it is in. But unfortunately the two knobs are identically shaped and you can't tell by feel if you have the Mode switch or Power Level knob.

• The Atom has a decent power level knob, but it also has two buttons to control mode and the spotting light. Of course these are impossible to distinguish wearing gloves and it is hard to press the button to change the spotting light without screwing up the aim and position of the strobe.

I came up with fixes for the HF-1 and Maxi but have not figured out the Atom yet.

Thanks so far, Dave!

I'm quite curious for your boost mode update.

Do you know what happens to the Retra after 5 flashes at absolut max power?

For how long after that can it not be used at max power?

14 hours ago, Adventurer said:

2) Burst shooting / recycle speed reality

For burst shooting, you basically have to dial the HF-1 down to around 1/4 power to get it to behave even remotely like the Apollo III 2.0 in MTL mode speed. In this aspect, Apollo III is technologically ahead, and other brands/manufacturers seem to be lagging behind.

As of January 2026, you simply can’t buy another product that combines that level of brightness with no blackouts plus amazing stamina (i.e., how long a burst can be sustained).

If I am reading things correctly Killiii's test shows some interesting points.

First he tests at 8 FPS on the Apollo III in MTL at 12 = (max power) and it illuminates every frame and drops one stop in power by frame 8. It stabilises with constant brightness when power is reduced to 9 . The important thing to note that full power in MTL mode is about 1/2 the max output of the strobe. So it is one stop down from max power in regular manual mode.

The Retra Maxi goes close to the this when set to -4 power- it starts brighter and drops to lower than the the output from the Apollo after a few frames. I'm wondering if the test would be more informative if you set the Retra Maxi at a power to achieve the same light level as the Apollo III at the 9 setting? It should give a few more frames at that setting compared to what was achieved in the test.

The test then goes on to compare the Apollo III and Maxi at 6 FPS with a diffuser on the Apollo as it really needs one to get close on light quality. Settings are 12 and -6 respectively and the light output is the same by the light meter reading.

To me it seems any comparison should be at a setting where light output is constant and equal. If you want high speed shooting then only getting the strobe output for the first frame or two kind of defeats the purpose. Whether one strobe is at half power and the other at 1/4 is somewhat irrelevant, to get a true comparison you want the same amount of light falling on your subject.