The Nauticam manual flash trigger included with their Nikon housing is very basic. It does not support HSS or Rear Curtain features. I would like to enable these features, so I need to get a new flash trigger. I'd like it to work with both Retra and BS strobes.

The TRT i-Turtle SMART 3 MANUAL trigger explicitly calls out that it supports these features with Nikon including support for Backscatter and Retra strobes. No support for TTL.

The UW-Technics 11032-HSS-TTL trigger also calls out support for Backscatter and Retra, but includes TTL for over $240 more. Except TTL doesn't work with Backscatter.

I don't need or want TTL, so I am inclined to try out the Turtle trigger at a better price.

Does anyone have some experience with this or similar Turtle trigger? Are there other products I should consider?

Edited May 21May 21 by Dave_Hicks

TRT is a solid piece of kit, i have used the Smart 3 for Sony 6+ months now.

I was going back and forth between TRT and UW-Technics and chose TRT due to the slick looks and easy firmware updates.

Representatives of both triggers are somewhat active here on waterpixels, so you can ask any questions from them.

Maybe the Underwater Light & Magic trigger could be for you? Its full manual and cheap, but i dont know about HSS/Rear curtain. But im sure he will hook you up if its possible, seems like a fellow tinkerer like yourself ;)

16 minutes ago, Sokrates said:

TRT is a solid piece of kit, i have used the Smart 3 for Sony 6+ months now.

I was going back and forth between TRT and UW-Technics and chose TRT due to the slick looks and easy firmware updates.

Representatives of both triggers are somewhat active here on waterpixels, so you can ask any questions from them.

Maybe the Underwater Light & Magic trigger could be for you? Its full manual and cheap, but i dont know about HSS/Rear curtain. But im sure he will hook you up if its possible, seems like a fellow tinkerer like yourself ;)

Thanks for the feedback. +1 for Turtle.

The UL&M trigger doesn't support HSS or Rear Curtain either and it does not seem to have a Nikon/Nauticam option, only Aquatica. Strange.

You could still shoot UL&M email about it. If i understood correctly from UWPShow, he is open to new suggestions ect.

But tbh, i dont know what enabling HSS/rear requires from circuitry. Housing Aquatica->Nauticam should be no problem (unless Aquatica has like heaps of more space inside housing).

I didnt get a great experience using trt but i think it was a bit of miscommunication the product is well built and did well. I use uwt and im quite happy with it

I’m using an i-Turtle Smart 2 with a Z8 and HF-1 flashes, and the combination works very well for me.

Once the software for the camera/flash combination is loaded, there’s basically nothing to set up. Just switch the trigger on. The camera shows the flash symbol and all the usual flash options are available. TTL works well, as do manual mode, rear-curtain sync, and HSS.

The trigger solves two issues with my camera/flash combination:

1. Nikon specifies 1/200 s as the maximum flash sync speed for the Z8, with 1/250 s only available with selected flashes, such as the SB-5000. With the i-Turtle and HF-1, I can use 1/250 s without getting any banding, dark stripes, or other problems. I’ve compared shots at 1/250 and 1/200 s and can’t see any difference.

2. The HF-1 is pretty powerful even at its lowest power setting. This can be an issue for macro work if you want to shoot with a more open aperture rather than stopping down to something like f/22. In TTL, I get properly exposed images even with the aperture wide open.

If there’s a problem, Balazs has always been quick to respond. I started with the original i-Turtle on a D7000, then used it with a D500, and now the Z8. Over the years, I needed one upgrade and one firmware update. Both were straightforward: send it in, get the updated version back, and the price was reasonable.

I'm currently using a UW Technics (UWT) trigger after having tried the Turtle, this for a Sony A7c in a Nauticam housing. My best recollection is that I bought the Turtle for TTL with Inon Z240s but switched to the UWT for HSS in 2023. The UWT has been a solid performer.

I didn't like having to charge the Turtle with the micro USB and fiddling with its tiny connectors. The UW Technics was a pain to install, but I like using CR2032 batteries, which last quite a long time without fuss. The trigger activates when you turn on your camera. No plugging in little bits or having to charge the trigger.

The bad news was that the UWT, in 2023, couldn't perform HSS with the Backscatter Hybrid Flash, and I had sold the Turtle in the meantime, when I likely shouldn't have. Now I'm reluctant to change $500 triggers once again. I still don't have HSS, though I just purchased a Marelux Apollo S and it's supposed to work. I've contacted @Pavel Kolpakov at UW Technics, and I'm keeping fingers crossed for a fix.

2 hours ago, Seewolf said:

I’m using an i-Turtle Smart 2 with a Z8 and HF-1 flashes, and the combination works very well for me.

Once the software for the camera/flash combination is loaded, there’s basically nothing to set up. Just switch the trigger on. The camera shows the flash symbol and all the usual flash options are available. TTL works well, as do manual mode, rear-curtain sync, and HSS.

The trigger solves two issues with my camera/flash combination:

1. Nikon specifies 1/200 s as the maximum flash sync speed for the Z8, with 1/250 s only available with selected flashes, such as the SB-5000. With the i-Turtle and HF-1, I can use 1/250 s without getting any banding, dark stripes, or other problems. I’ve compared shots at 1/250 and 1/200 s and can’t see any difference.

2. The HF-1 is pretty powerful even at its lowest power setting. This can be an issue for macro work if you want to shoot with a more open aperture rather than stopping down to something like f/22. In TTL, I get properly exposed images even with the aperture wide open.

If there’s a problem, Balazs has always been quick to respond. I started with the original i-Turtle on a D7000, then used it with a D500, and now the Z8. Over the years, I needed one upgrade and one firmware update. Both were straightforward: send it in, get the updated version back, and the price was reasonable.

I now have the iTurtle Smart 3 Manual (non-TTL) trigger on my Nikon Z8 camera. I've been using it for months and it's been perfect. Super long battery life. I only charged it once after about 50 dives and I don't think it needed it.

As you mention, the max sync speed on the Z8 is 1/200s. However, I have also been able to successfully shoot 1/250s on the Backscatter HF-1, MF-2, and Retra Maxi. No clipping or black stripes in the photos. I tested both lower power levels and Full power, they all work. I did have to change the Z8 setting- e1: Flash Sync Speed setting to [1/250 s (Auto FP)] to allow you to set the shutter to 1/250.

Investing in an iTurtle3 trigger seems to be a viable way to overcome one of the biggest shortcomings of the Nikon Z8, upgrading sync speed from 1/200 to 1/250.

Edited September 29Sep 29 by Dave_Hicks

Has anyone tried shooting a Z8 with the UWT trigger at 1/250?

Here are a few pictures to show how the Z8, i-Turtle, and HF-1 work together.

The first three pictures were all taken at ISO 100 and 1/250 s, with apertures of f/22, f/11, and f/3.3. For the last one, I used TTL because in manual mode the picture would have been completely overexposed. I don’t see any artifacts in the images, so at least with this combination, 1/250 s seems to be usable with the Z8 without any synchronization problems.

The fourth picture shows what HSS can do: f/11 at 1/5000 s. Pretty crazy — I’m not sure if anyone actually needs 1/5000 s underwater. I also tried 1/8000 s, but then I get strong banding, although the exposure is still correct. 1/6000 s seems to be the limit.

The way HSS is implemented by Backscatter is a little different from Nikon. With the Nikon SB-5000, the transition between normal flash mode (manual or TTL) and HSS is seamless. You don’t really notice that anything has changed, and TTL continues to work in HSS.

With the HF-1, you have to set the flash to HSS. Otherwise, it simply doesn’t trigger when the exposure time is shorter than 1/250 s. I actually think this is quite useful because if you forget to switch to HSS, you immediately know something is wrong when you get a black frame.

In HSS mode, the HF-1 always fires at full power, so the exposure has to be controlled by the camera in manual mode. The downside is that the recycle time is quite long. Flash intensity is roughly inversely proportional to the shutter speed, so as you increase the shutter speed, there isn’t much light left.

One comment about the rechargeable battery in the i-Turtle: I have the older Smart Plus 2 with micro-USB and the smaller battery. The Smart Plus 3 has USB-C and a larger, user-replaceable battery. Even with the smaller battery, I get more than enough capacity for a week of diving, and I’ve never run out of power. There’s a small LED that indicates when the battery is getting low, but if you charge it occasionally, you’ll probably never see it.

On 9/30/2026 at 4:36 AM, humu9679 said:

On 9/30/2026 at 4:36 AM, humu9679 said:

.... the UWT, in 2023, couldn't perform HSS with the Backscatter Hybrid Flash

It supported HSS in 2023 as well. I have just sent the User Manual of your product (made in 2023) to you by email. Switch position 7 (for Retra) supported HSS.

So, you just need to set the position 7 by the switch. This way you can have HSS with Backscatter, Marelux, Sea&Sea and Retra strobes.

If later you need a full update for the modern strobes TTL/HSS profiles, it is also available, no problem. Please contact us by email.

Pavel.

Edited October 3Oct 3 by Pavel Kolpakov

On 10/2/2026 at 7:39 PM, Pavel Kolpakov said:

It supported HSS in 2023 as well. I have just sent the User Manual of your product (made in 2023) to you by email. Switch position 7 (for Retra) supported HSS.

So, you just need to set the position 7 by the switch. This way you can have HSS with Backscatter, Marelux, Sea&Sea and Retra strobes.

If later you need a full update for the modern strobes TTL/HSS profiles, it is also available, no problem. Please contact us by email.

Pavel.

Thanks for being so responsive Pavel! The 11078 trigger circa 2023 does indeed allow for HSS at position 7. It fires my Marelux Apollo S strobes full power and syncs the A7c at 1/4000th second. I lose TTL and manual strobe adjustment, so I will opt for a firmware update.

8 hours ago, humu9679 said:

The 11078 trigger circa 2023 does indeed allow for HSS at position 7. It fires my Marelux Apollo S strobes full power and syncs the A7c at 1/4000th second. I lose TTL and manual strobe adjustment, so I will opt for a firmware update.

At the switch position "7" the HSS and manual M mode work the same as you need for your new strobes. You can use HSS and M modes right now without any difference. TTL also works at position "7", but TTL-profile is little bit different because it was for another strobe model. So, if necessary you can use all modes right now (HSS, M, TTL).

Better update the product of course, to have a proper TTL-profiles for your new strobes. I have just sent you the details about the firmware update by e-mail.

Edited October 5Oct 5 by Pavel Kolpakov

On 10/5/2026 at 3:56 PM, Pavel Kolpakov said:

At the switch position "7" the HSS and manual M mode work the same as you need for your new strobes. You can use HSS and M modes right now without any difference. TTL also works at position "7", but TTL-profile is little bit different because it was for another strobe model. So, if necessary you can use all modes right now (HSS, M, TTL).

Better update the product of course, to have a proper TTL-profiles for your new strobes. I have just sent you the details about the firmware update by e-mail.

Sorry to tag on the end of someone else's question - but could a firmware update enable TTL on the backscatter strobes on an existing trigger (11075 in my case)? Or is that something that would need a new physical trigger board?

Or was that just referring to the marelux strobes anyway?

Thanks!