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Aloha and welcome @Lithium - keep that G7x - at least until there’s finally an upgrade. Those small “bricks" are great!

Consider the Retra Maxi strobe, not the Pro Max. It's brighter, faster, longer battery life, and include excellent video lights. I am not sure who the Pro Max is for, but it is not the best Retra anymore for most people.

New Hands-on for DC Rainmaker

Dive house for M1PRO series Now with 2 mount options, vertical or horizontal

Hi Nemrod I’ve been using Retra since 2020. Yes, pricey but I’ve never regretted the purchase for a second. I’ve gone through various iterations and now have the ProMax with the Booster. They are a very neat package and not much larger than the venerable Inon Z220/240. The Booster is especially ergonomically neat and a much better battery change arrangement than the SuperCharger. On use, I find using an LSD snoot - which I do almost constantly for macro - the Boosters are essential. I often have the power cranked up. I reckon on getting 3 dives - say 400 images - during the day with some power left over with that setup. I find the Boosters useful if I'm shooting into the sun a lot with wide-angle and using HSS. In those circumstances I often have the power setting pretty high. However, on bog-standard wide-angle shots, although I have the Booster in situ (why wouldn’t you?), battery life is significantly longer. No, with APS-C the Retras are not overkill. I’m shooting a Nikon D500. I’ll happily admit to being a Retra fanboy. An excellent product that delivers power and quality in a manageable package with excellent accessories and terrific customer support.

You need to figure out what your priorities are. All modern cameras are good but one has an edge on this and another one on that. 33 is more than 25. You can take stunning images with 12 mp cameras like the D700 too… But you’d need to create the image in the view finder and not in post processing to a larger extent. If you can, get a quality alu-housing. I used Hugyfot for many years and switched to Nauticam in 2025 when I went mirrorless (remained clueless). Wet optics one big reason and then the z24-50 that can use the slightly more compact WWLC nudged me towards Nikon. If you are cool with second hand, I bet there are great deals to be had on complete sets of very competent equipment.

The WWL-C is so good, that paying extra for a Nauticam system is well worth it. Some other brands might be adaptable, but the Nikon 24-50 / WWL-C combo is a killer.

The price of nauticams always scared me away but maybe used. Glad to hear someone is using the z6 with success. My main goals are to get in to better glass and an autofocus system. I have an d7100, so im familiar with nikon. I recently borrowed a z8 for a work event. (My scuba pics volunteered me to be a work event photographer) and I found it to be very easy to use. But at the same token I dont really have anything invested into nikon so sony is also open to me. Not sure how much the 24.5 to 33mp difference is really going to make. Sure its nice to be able to crop but im using less now. I think Im splitting hairs cause any of those options are far better than the g7xiii is now which I think that's nice pictures.

I'd look at a used Nauticam or Aquatica housing for the Z6/7 I-II over a Ikelite personally. The consensus seems to be that you'll be using the EVF with an add-on viewfinder pretty soon if you are serious about using a mirrorless.

thanks! My problem with the Olympus 60mm is that when I try to shoot jellyfish (which are amazing!) during deco - it's just too shaky for me to work with. the 30mm works amazing - need more dives and take much longer clips to get more stable "material". Matan.

I shoot a z6iii UW in a Nauticam housing and it is a great little set-up inmo. It is my first mirrorless camera and I come from Nikon DSLR:s since 2005, so I am used to Nikon. I value the compact size of the z6iii (travel and fly) compared to the z8 and especially the z9, but what you win in travel friendliness and overall compactness, obviously you loose a tad performance (speed, cropability). The z5ii was not released when I bought the z6iii and it might have been my pick over the 6iii. I say might, because I haven't held it or tried one. z6iii should overall be a little more responsive (quicker AF etc) and video is a few notches up compared to the z5ii, if that matters to you. But a z5ii in a Nauticam housing with the z24-50 and WWL-C is for sure a tactical nuke. A lot of bang for its size. Check out this review.

Not looking to bash on Retra. Basically I am down to purchasing a set of these. I see the booster pack. I realize that is something I should get in due course but due to the rather expensive nature of this purchase, can I use these strobes without the booster. I am shooting a Sony NA-6400 and a Canon NA-R50. Mostly wide angle and mostly with a WWL. Can anyone tell me how many shots (they get) in (their) normal shooting without the boosters? I realize there can be a range here but most folks do not shoot at full power or need the fastest recycle for every dive and every shot. What can I typically expect? How do you think these strobes will handle with a Nauticam APS size housings? Are they huge? Being as I am known to be fastidious and OCD with my belongings, do these have good resell should I decide I have bought a Rolls Royce strobe set to shoot with my Toyota level systems? Why do I want these instead of the new Atom or HF-1? Simple, the Backscatter strobes do not have a universal TTL mode and the Retra does. I shoot manual but do want TTL capability and the Backscatter strobes do not support TTL with my systems.

A good friend and dive buddy purchased one of these new along with an OM camera, lenses, UWL-09Pro and a macro lens. He used it in the fall in Roatan and the vac system never reliably gave a green light and would flash red. He dived the rig anyways and enjoyed it but for the lack of vacuum system function. He returned and sent it back to----- who then charged him several hundred dollars to repair the faulty system on a brand new out of the box unit. Now, the past two weeks, back in Roatan, same thing. Out of 40 dives he got a steady green light maybe three times. And the flash trigger went dead several dives! Is this a known issue? Is there a fix or special technique or is this brand new, now repaired once already ($$) and still not working housing just in need of some more repairs?

Not bad for a first attempt. I notice that in many clips there are parts where the focus is not perfect or the camera reacquires focus. Therefore, I would suggest you take more care with the editing, using only the stable and in-focus parts. The 30mm is a very versatile lens. The most common criticism is that it reaches maximum magnification only when in contact with the port. But that is a non-issue: we do not necessarily always need the maximum magnification! It depends on the subjects, and also consider that the M43 system has the best macro selection overall with 60-90-120mm (FF equivalents).

If you like nikon lens options, consider a used Z8 or even the Z5-II. A used D850 system would be a great option. Still excellent but old enough for great discounts. I've not held a Z6, but perhaps it will grow on you. Generally the screens stay closed and one rarely touches them, for what it is worth.

Hello! I am currently using a g7xiii, fantasea housing and 2 ysd2 strobes with a wet wide and macro lens. Its a pretty sweet setup and offers a lot of versatility! But lately ive been feeling like im not getting enough out of it. Im feeling very lost on where to go to for an upgrade. I am looking in the z6iii, a7iv, a7v r6iiii range of cameras. Id like to get a mirrorless camera. My front runner was the z6iii until I went to the store and held it and it feels very uncomfortable. Doesn't matter in housings but I did notice that right away and im not a fan of the screen articulation. I kept trying to tilt it before folding it out to the side. That got me thinking more towards the a7v. I do like the nikon lens options more 14-30 and 105 seem very nice to me. I then came on here to find most people use the a7rv! Left me even more lost! It doesn't seem like the z6iii is used very much. I also have the feeling maybe the z6iii is just this weird middle ground where its released after other cameras so it currently looks great until the next release comes out but im not sure. I would like to use this camera topside too and I definitely was planning on an ikelite housing, which does not seem like the popular method on this forum. G7x is 20mp and it seems to do pretty well in resolution for me im not chasing pixels. Printed some photos but its mostly computer and phone screens where my pics go. Anybody have any advice or know where the currently mirrorless market is or where its headed!?! Not sure what platform to invest in or what is even a good starting point! Thanks, Lost

Macro Test I pulled the trigger and got the Panasonic 30mm macro for my GH5 - first attempt for a macro video shoot would love to hear your comments :) Matan.

Hi, I'm selling a stunning Nauticam WWL 1 underwater wide-angle lens, the first high -performance "wet" lens ever created. Excellent for photos and videos with its 130-degree field of view with superb corner sharpness . The lens is In excellent condition with no smudges or scratches. The photos speak for themselves! In the package you will find: Nauticam WWL1 lens bayonet mount Nauticam removable floating collar Front and rear hard covers Nauticam neoprene cover Asking price: €800, negotiable. Possible Local delivery in Italy Milan area or insured shipping around Europe at your expense. Thanks

Great to have you with us, Lithium. Well done finally joining up! A warm welcome to Waterpixels.

Like many members, long time lurker first time poster! Haha, thanks for all your guys help through my google searches over the years. Glad to officially be a member as im looking to upgrade from my g7x to something more serious.

You can use the Nikon port60 for the 60mm lens and add a 20mm extension to shoot the z105mm lens. Two lenses, one port. Both lenses are excellent and the performance on a Z8, Z5II, Z6III, etc are fantastic. Even the larger combo of the Nikon z105mm is MUCH smaller (shorter) than the Sony with a 100mm lens/port. Add an MFO3 to the Sony 100 and its seriously big unit.

Some input on many of the optics discussed in this thread.

Not big on macro tbh. I think it was a ”wish” from SONY-shooters, yes, and perhaps especially from Dr Mustard 🙂 Was toying with the idea about getting a z105 so a MFO3 kind of would make sense as a compliment. Perhaps the 60 and adapter plus z105 and its port would be swifter than a z105+MFO3?

Heres a great Interview by CineD regarding the M1,M1PRO & M1PRO ILS All the Geeky and technical stuff and which market are this camera for, really worth to watch.

I only happened on this topic out of boredom! I had a Nikon F90X and Subal housing, in prehistoric times. Both long gone, BUT.... I kept the viewfinder as pictured above! It screws into the camera eyepiece. I think I kept it because I got such a lousy price for the housing. Perhaps it's even my housing you have. Can't be many of them about in Oz. So, given that you seem to be in Australia I could probably be persuaded to sell it, so message me with an offer by all means. Btw, the housing performed quite well. The main problem was forgetting to nip up the locking screws with the supplied wrench, as I used to store it with the screws slackened off. I suffered one flood as a result, plus a couple of near misses.