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Agree, just because using the wrong lube gives you a problem doesn't mean that silicone is bad for o-rings. A great many housings use Silicone o-rings including Nauticam, Marelux, Sea and Sea, INON strobes - any coloured o-ring is going to be silicone. On the topic of dynamic seals, this is not insert and twist or piston style o-rings where you screw a cap on it refers to parts that are always in motion or regularly in motion, one example might be the shutter lever on Nauticam housing where the shaft rotates to activate, but even that is not really that dynamic, dynamic o-rings examples of dynamic o-rings where silicone might be a problem include hydraulic and pneumatic actuators, pump shaft seals and even scuba regulators that use a piston. On INON o-rings the secret is sufficient lube. Housings it's a mere breath of lube just to get it shiny. On INON o-rings where you are screwing on the lid, I'm a bit more generous, you can feedl the difference once you apply enough.

This is why I just use PTFE (white) Tribolube lubricant for 100% of my camera gear. As you say you can't use silicon grease on silicone o-rings. It will make them swell up, fail, and flood your gear eventually. So I just never use silicone lube on cameras. A 2oz tube of PTFE Tribolube costs about $60-$80 and will last for many years and 100's of uses a tiny dab at a time. And it will work fine on Silicone o-rings, Buna Rubber, or EDPM rings. As best I can tell it is identical to what Nauticam supplies for their silicone o-rings.

Retra has a reflector that fits inside a reduction ring that I recall increases GN by one stop as the light gets concentrated. Retra UWTReflectorThe Reflector boosts the light output by +1 F-stop (in water) and narrows the angle of light for more precise light control. The light output is ideal for macro and CFWA photography in manual or TTL myup.

Experience. I used the Nikonos RS for a decade and had several close calls starting with the first time I used it when I did not know that silicone grease should not be used. Silicone grease was the most easy type to get in the US. For example Aquacraft sold 1 oz tubs (if I recall the amount correctly - they were about 2 " in diameter and and inch high). A tub (cost about $10; 1980s) would last for several years. Easy to handle and use - just stick ones finger into the grease after removing the lid. Aquacraft sold lots of small scuba accessories and were sold in most scuba shops. OTOH the teeny tiny Nikonos tubes were better used as a toothpaste tube prop for Barbies and Kens. I recall having one slip through the mesh of my mesh bag with various other loose parts (save a dive etc.) taken to a dive site and then get stepped on - squish!! More than once I had the tubes land between the two haves of equipment cases next to the hinge. The tubes were so small they fell out of compartments and onto the hinge area very easily. Another squish. By the time the RS came out I had long sworn off using the those Nikonos tubes. Silicone grease worked just fine on pre-RS Nikonos cameras. As well I believe the Inon strobes (I have numerous Z220 model strobes) use silicone o-rings for the battery compartment. Two + decades of experience. I have had them extrude and tear. There is a warning about them extruding on the strobe but that can be hard see (lots of dimly lit spaces, night etc.). I suspect Inon uses them because of the plastic body of the strobe. A hard o-ring might crack it. Lens ports and main o-rings are not static, they do move. The RS ones rolled in the groove as evidenced by the distribution of crude on them after a use in water with suspended sediments.

If there are no optics (lenses etc.) involved it is hard to believe that the reduction rings create photons

I think we were talking about a separate focus light going off when the strobe flashed, not the video light on for example the HF

I’m not sure if Nauticam still makes the special port that allowed to flip the macro mode of the lens on and off again. It was the only one offering that functionality. Without that particular port, you have to decide whether to dive general-purpose (12 and 50 mm electronic zoom positions) or whether to switch it into macro before closing the housing and use it as a dedicated 43 mm macro lens that will do up to 1:3 . A close-up lens can be added in both scenarios, but it will result in higher overall magnification when combined with the macro mode. Or, in other terms, you need a stronger diopter if you use it in the normal mode. I cannot currently test which option gives better image quality under water, but the macro mode of this lens has a somewhat better reputation than the 50 mm zoom position. And the 12 mm position may result in vignetting depending on how narrow the port glass is - the Olympus ports from that time were really wide. There are dome ports for this lens, but then you can’t add a diopter. So, unless you can dive with the vintage Nauticam port, there probably are better all-rounder options than this lens today. I think the 12-50 can be used with any setup designed for the 60 mm when it is switched to macro mode. Essentially, an affordable and perhaps faster focusing alternative to the Lumix 45 mm (but consider the diopter as well). It will not focus to infinity, just like when you mount the MFO3.

Wondering how you conclude Silicone o-rings are one of the worst? The only downside you might consider is the low tear strength which they mention, but that is only an issue for dynamic seals - this might include anything that has a rotating shaft on a housing, but if it's lubricated prperly this won't cause an issue. EPDM is probably a better choice than Buna-N as it is more resistant to sunlight. Both EPDM and silicone seem like reasonable choices for o-rings in UW photo gear to me.

That’s a great idea Sergio. I was wondering, is that a Matty Smith 12” dome or a glass 230mm? If it is the former, how much weight are you putting in the bottom? I’ve been struggling to find the right weight for my 17” one. Thanks!

Thanks Tim!

A long time ago in a forum far, far away (Wetpixel 2012) the founding fathers all shared the same headache: managing to shoot macro and mid-range subjects on the exact same dive 🤔 But it was a dark but hopeful time! Alex Mustard had recently reviewed the Olympus EM5 but felt a bit awkward because he did not know exactly which forum section to use... He opened his post with a candid admission: Yes, I know it is not a DSLR (but I am not sure where else to post). It doesn't have a mirror. 😇 Meanwhile, Phil Rudin was geeking out over the new M43 lenses on the horizon, and rumors were spreading among enthusiasts that the Olympus 60mm would finally show up by the end of the year. Back then, acronyms like WWL, WACP, MFO-1 and MFO-3 were pure science fiction, stuff not even Isaac Asimov could have come up with... Ultimately, in those pioneering days, the Olympus 12-50mm lens, announced in 2011 and launched in 2012, was the classic Swiss Army knife, the hero of the two worlds.👑

BTW I have assumed the reason for the light going out on a strobe is to have more power available to recycle and thus speed it up. I only use these lights when scuba diving on night dives. Use as an aiming light and to convince DMs not to give me one of their lights - I try to give the appearance of a Christmas tree! For non-scuba dive dusk and night shoots I use separate lights that are never aimed on the same axis as a strobe, often they are at or near 90°.

From the article: "The battery compartment is confidently sealed with two heavy-duty Buna rubber O-rings. Most other strobes on the market, such as the Backscatter HF-1, are sealed with thinner and more delicate silicone O-rings." The replacement o-rings I have received from Retra were labeled EPDM as are the Maxi ones on this page: https://www.retra-uwt.com/en-us/products/o-rings-for-retra-flash-battery-compartment They should have a less obscure place to provide this specification as well as here. Here is one of many o-ring material info pages: https://www.theoringstore.com/store/index.php?main_page=page_4 Scroll down to see the good and bad of the various types. Looks like one of the worse types is silicone. One of the fatal factors of the Nikonos RS. I have a story about this as well. I have been using my Retra fairly intensely for a couple of weeks thanks to some good weather that just turned nasty yesterday - the lake (in the pix) is already up by three feet. Getting in some post-p! I have a few setting data points. At +3 (power level) I was able to take a pic every 3 seconds (time by intervalometer) and got about 1500 shots on a full charge (stopped shooting on the blinking red signal a couple of times) . My last shoot (Saturday, two days ago) I was able to watch the ready light (see pic) which did not go out when shooting 5 frames per second at 0 (power level). I drained the battery in my D4S (Z9 gen battery - version-d) before the Retra batteries died doing 5 fps bursts (via remote cord which you can see in the pic). Is there significance to the ready light not going out during a burst? (directed at Oskar). Retra needs to provide guidance on max FPS for different power settings in the User Manual app IMHO. The red blurry things in these pix (taken with an ipad - HEICs imported into LR) are Sockeye Salmon.

I think he edited the post and it now has PNGs.

Strange I can see them in Chrome on a Windows laptop and when I inspect or download them they apear to be png images.

Can't see your pics. HEIC photos don't render on anything but an Iphone. My backup focus light is a Kraken 1500 I think, but uses a smaller 18650 cell. I've tried to standardize every light I have using 21700's to make travel and charging easier and run time is a lot better.

Bought this cheap Dive light Wurkkos DL05 for 50€ its bright enough to use has spot mode, but for video light its money out of the window. For video light too close to the subject is excessive bright in full power, all modes are inconsistent and are very concentrated in same spot Moving too far way the 81 angle is too narrow, even for use with Gopro. I've use it side-by-side with Divevolk LS50 and its night and day difference.. the Divevolk cost 250€ more, but worth every cent of it... Ive try every single angle, power, position but the Wurkkos has no other use besides spot mode.. For the 6000 lumens mode (spot + beam) the spot mode its too bright in center, for video light is useless.

Cheers - that is useful information for some image ideas that I am working on.

Dave, The Kraken 1800 WSR is a single button. It uses the single button to navigate between several modes. But in any mode, pressing the single command button twice quickly will place the light in auto-off (Burst) mode. I had previous the 1500 model and after much use it succumbed to corrosion and the lens gland leaked. My new one I shall endeavor to be more careful with it to clean it well. I have an Orca 710, it is a slightly larger light than the Kraken unit.

DaVinci Resolve Youtube channels I use. https://www.youtube.com/@LearnColorGrading https://www.youtube.com/@MrAlexTech

This is the reason I use a very simple single button focus light. I don't like the two button models that require two hands or any multi click arithmetic to change modes. My current OrcaTorch v710-2 cycles high, low, red, blue, off. No auto-off. Works great, wide beam, long run time on low, and i swivel it pointing up when not needed for snooting or shooting another diver portrait.

Probably about 1/4 power, level 2 on the dial. Here is one of a group of striped nudis (8-10cm each) devouring a Sea Pen. Shot with the curved port 60mm @ f14. Level 2 or 2.5 on the Maxis, using reduction rings.

Great, thank you - very useful indeed!