All Activity

@divegypsy Sorry for the delayed response. I've been in Lembeh on a drive trip. Yes, two chargers are included. Sorry, I forgot to include that information or the pics of the chargers, but yes, they are included. The strobes are in great working condition. Originally purchased in 2012, but are well taken care of. I purchased the new battery packs in 2022 right before a trip to Tiger Beach. Right before listing I tested the battery packs on the strobes and they hold similar charge to when I first purchased them. So they are in good working condition.

The Apollo S strobes I used for several weeks did not have a pre-flash kill. The MTL mode is a continuous mode they suggest for that purpose but it fires on the preflash which is annoying to make two flashes when shooting manual. They perhaps have added that feature now, do not know. They are very nice strobes, the ones I used were missing a feature critical to my use and my camera. The manual reads no different for the S III. Back panel of S model and excerpt from S III model. Where do I set preflash kill on this strobe? When shooting in manual MTL mode with my Sony I got two flashes at the chosen power setting with the exposure flash diminished at higher power settings. Was it malfunctioning? I miss too many shots with the UWT trigger board, any strobe I buy must be capable of running from the pop ups. I do use the UWT board for macro. I have used a pair of the older Retras and they ran fine on the Sony in all modes from pop up and the UWT board in TTL and manual and did not fire on the preflash. As neither do the Inon Z and S strobes I have owned or used. To kill preflash on the Maxi the manual instructs the user to use the app to program the custom feature on the U position.

How did it go with the coating? I bought a Japanese cerium oxide paste ( Yanase YGC-C30 ) which is premixed and tried it on an AOI wetlens and the coating removal is really visible. From what I understood Nauticam flat ports are also coated on the outside - did it remove the coating on yours?

I do not use Apollo S myself, but according to marelux the Apollo S 2.0 has two dedicated switch position on their left rotary dial called M-PRE and M. The M-PRE position should do what you are looking for and cancel out the preflash. M-PRE is supposed to fire out just one flash. They have this on their Apollo S and Apollo Y but not on my III 2.0.

Macro port has been sold. Zoom Gear available for $175 Lens available for $600

Using the MTL mode the Apollo S fired two flashes, once for the preflash and one for the exposure flash instead of one single flash. Maybe I did something wrong. Yes, I get an exposure but I also get two rapid flashes instead of just one. They are great strobes, just that feature did not work for my main camera.

Ehhhrmm,… which sony are you talking about? Your sony A6400 ? … should not be an issue with that one. Furthermore I am pretty sure all their Apollo strobes successfully handle pre-flash. If I wanted manual strobing on my Apollo III with preflash in my cam I will simply put it in MTL mode.

1) Agreed, the Maxi is > Pro Max II. Slap on a 4500k filter and call it day. Don't talk to me about "quality of light". Dump your 32 AA batteries in the recycle bin or donate them to your Inon wielding buddies. 5) HF-1 is heaver then the Maxi in the water, by just 2 jumbo-Stix cubes The Maxi based system is heavier on land (barely) and just two float blocks give it parity in the water. So not that big of a difference. But the Maxi wins on brightness by a decent margin.

Wanted both Ikelite 75344 D0me port and 75028 extension Please contacted me if you have these available ?

Another hypothetical, if a person could $afford$ the Pro Max, would that person still choose the Maxi? Is it selfish to buy strobes that cost more than what it would take to feed an entire village of starving children and sponsor a dozen "animals" on the ASPC commercial? Not going to name the person or the company, lol but this was their consideration on strobes: Go Retra, get the Maxi, not the Pro Max II YS/S&S are "GD" junk Inon, blah, blah, blah Kraken, everything they make leaks (just happen to have a Kraken light full of water) HF-1 is too "GD" heavy in the water Unlike the sport of golf which has caddies to carry my clubs if I played golf, to bad scuba/UW photography does not have a caddy to carry my camera. Oh, wait, they do have an under privileged, often abused, under paid equivalent, the Dive Master! Maybe I can coerce one to tote my stuff around for me because with the Maxi strobes I think I will need one. I am kinda scrawny and not very strong :(.

Parasitic copepod of the family Pennellidae, Cardiodectes sp., possibly Cardiodectes bertrandi. I got the ID from a Facebook group called ID please (Marine creature identification) on a photo of mine I posted there, which is pretty good at getting IDs

No, last paragraph of post 1. No universal TTL, otherwise that is exactly what I would do, two Atoms. But they have proprietary OM RC TTL only and I shoot Canon/Sony/Nikon and the Sony trigger they have will not fit in my housing which already has an expensive UWT trigger. I really do not understand Back Scatter's fascination with RC TTL to the exclusion of universal TTL when most people who I know shoot Canon/Nikon/Sony and the only OM shooters I see with exception here and there are shooting the TG. I have quotes out for a pair of Maxi strobes. Still consider Pro Max II. I want the ability to shoot TTL when I need it or just feeling lazy. I liked the Marelux Apollo and they are nice strobes but they do not have pre-flash cancel which is a no go with my Sony.

Amazing! Love the bright pink an the hosing on around the cable. Super fun!

Just made my first set from your designs @Dave_Hicks@Dave_Hicks they worked great. I did make a new design for the toslink end as I just left the 6mm cable onbut they work great. Even triggering TTL. Thanks for uploading the files!

SOLD

Maybe the answer is the Backscatter Atom strobe? Smaller than any Retra, more powerful than an Inon, good battery life and excellent snooting/macro capabilities while retaining enough ommph for Wide Angle.

Sony A7Siii camera body with 80Gb CF Type A card (inc strap, battery and charger) with latest firmware. US$2600/C$3500 Nauticam NA-A7SIII housing with vacuum pump, spare o-ring etc US$2600/C$3500 Nauticam NA-NVS Atomos Ninja housing with vacuum pump, shade, A7SIII HDMI 2 cable and bulkheads. Also included Sony A1 cable and bulkhead. Spare o-ring etc US$1400/C$1800 Atomos Ninja V+ monitor, 500Gb SSD, two NP970 batteries and charger. Allows external recording of 4K60 Prores RAW US$525/C$700 Two float arms, tripod mount and top bracket. US$60/C$80 All items are in excellent condition and have been well looked after. Ask me for a price if you want to take multiple items, will sell whole rig for US$6400/C$8500. Located Campbell River BC but can meet in Vancouver BC Canada also. Shipping and PayPal fees extra.

The guides say me allways the same, they are parasites

By the way, there is a small hole at the middle of that cap to allow air to vent.

I’ve been wanting a simple, reliable cover for my CMC‑2 on the Nauticam flip adapter—something I can keep on during entries/exits to protect the lens, and then remove and stash easily once I’m underwater. Since I don’t have a 3D printer (or the CAD skills to design a custom cap), I decided to improvise. With a little help from Google Gemini, this is what I came up with. The cover is made from a 70 mm vinyl end cap, trimmed down so the depth matches the CMC‑2. Inside, I wove bungee to create four small “tabs” that snap under the top ledge of the lens body. That gives the cap a positive grip instead of relying on friction alone. I also added a parking loop on the hinge—just an extra layer of security in case the cover pops off before I have a chance to clip it to a D‑ring at the start of the dive. Any thoughts or suggestions for improvement are welcome.

The photo shows a dwarf gobi (Pleurosicya micheli) from Mafia Island/Tansania. It has attached two spirals at its side (I have seen such spirals at these dwarf gobies occasionally aready before). What is it (eggs, parasites)? Thanks, Wolfgang Sony A7R5; Sony 90mm f/2.8 macro lens; 1* Backscatter MF-2 flash with snoot; 1/200s; f/20; ISO100.

I just am at a loss. I really do not like the large size of the Maxi but I really, really do not like the price of the Pro Max! And my Inon S220 strobes are just little power houses. Will these Maxi units really give me more wide angle punch and allow shots over white sand stopped down and CFWA sun balls that my S220 strobes struggle with? And big animals for a Maldives upcoming trip?

How difficult would it be to adapt to a Z240?

I tried an early version but had 2 problems: 1. I did not make the adapter suficiently eccentric so the spotting light was very weak - it is a lot stronger with the maximised eccentric offset. 2. As you warned! due to the screws being too long I managed to trash the optical element ☹️ I will keep going with the Inons until I burn out the tubes (which I managed to do on quite a few 240's) then I suspect a jump to 'hybrid' flashes will happen. Just keeping my fingers and toes crossed that I will be able to get out to Indonesia in June.

Recently had it professionally serviced, where all internal o-rings were replaced. Some minor scratches (like any acrylic dome) that have no impact on image quality. The only time they show up is when shooting directly into the sun on the above water half when doing split shots. I will include an acrylic polishing kit if you want to buff them out completely. $270 + Shipping