ChipBPhoto

Very interesting! I haven’t seen these before. Please do let us know what you think. Like @Andrej Oblak I’d rather keep my Z-330s a little longer before dropping $3K on a pair of Retra Pro Max w/ superchargers.

Agreed - good call!

Great - thanks! Really appreciate the feedback. After letting it sit for a bit, I agree the darker is a better story. Ideally it would be awesome to have the lashes and eye stalks backlit to have them pop more. I’m not sure that kind of patience is in my bag of tricks. 😁 Until then, perhaps positioning the strobes to each side of the lens and then back so only about 10-20% of the strobe is in front of the lens could give a naturally darker background. Setting one as a key light and dropping the power of the other could also give it more dimensionality. Everyone's comments and suggestions have given me some new things to try!

Thanks a lot @Klaus ! I had initially toned it down in LR, but here is a darker version. What does everyone think about this version? Too dark, or too fake looking? Or more on track? Or should it be darker still?

@Dave_Hicks and @CaolIla - thanks so much for the great comments! Super helpful! Good call on using dark shadows more to isolate the subject, eyes in this case. I tend to be afraid that a deep shadow or background will make the image too dark overall. I’ll definitely work on that more through light control. I see an MF-2 w/ snoot in my future. 🤔

Agreed. For what it’s worth, my 45 port is about 3 years old and has a different plug - round vs. square plate. It came with the plug in the box and the dealer removed the knob/gear as it was not needed and just gets in the way. Love the WWL!

Hi all - wide blue water, reefs, or wrecks are my normal forte. Lately I have been trying more macro and super macro with an SMC-1. I also want to step up my editing game for a more solid end product. I use predominantly LR, with an occasional plugin such as AI DeNoise or AI Sharpen. (This one is solely LR.) This image is of a very willing hermit crab with focus on its eyes. I would appreciate any feedback and/or suggestions you would care to offer. Thanks in advance!

Have to completely agree with Tim. I’m a huge believer in buying what I really want/need up front so I only have to buy it once. This will be for long term use and can be considered an investment, especially when cost per year is figured over time. While it could be an initial challenge to balance, and if funds were tight, for me I would go for the max and then add a 2nd later.

Hey Alex - thanks for the great info and tips! Egypt has been the top of my bucket list all my life. Diving in the Red Sea will be it even more amazing! Hoping it is more Cayman like this year for sure. There’s a reason I live in warm South Florida. Looking forward to it!

Hi all - Just as an update, I took the rig for another dive today. All functioned as it should. I’ll reach out if I see any other developments or irregularities worth reporting. I definitely have some ideas to trouble shoot real time should it happen again. Thanks again for all your comments and suggestions!

Terrific news! I’ll def look it up. Thanks Tim

Thanks Mike for the awesome info! It’ll be an adventure for sure. Good call about Cairo. I’m hoping the new museum will be open by then, but it’s a moving target for sure. I was told about the Valley of Whales (or something like that) where there are giant whale skeletons in the sand. Sounds cool.

I agree it’s a terrific product; that’s why I bought it. It does not, however, negate the very real, head-scratching challenges I have experienced. This seems to be unique to me for some reason. If I didn’t connect it correctly, the batteries were dead, etc., etc., etc. would be completely understandable and something we all could do at some point. The fact I tested it pre-dive, for no apparent reason it did not function during the dive but the camera was still able to otherwise fully function, and then once returning home and without opening the housing it once again functioned is nothing short of baffling. Especially since this has happened several times with large numbers of dives in between with no issues. Head scratching for sure….

Yes - thats why it’s such a huge mystery. There has been no change in the camera rig parts. This happened with both the original trigger and the replacement trigger. I exclusively use authentic Energizer brand batteries; never generics. I have an idea to test, hopefully tomorrow. I’ll let all know.

I’m definitely good about both firmly inserting the shoe plug and testing/verifying once sealed before I leave my house. I do not open again until I am back in my home or hotel room. The frustrating part is it is extremely intermittent. I have gone months and roughly 100+ dives with no issue since the last occurrence. I’ll try with no vacuum pressure, continue to monitor, and let you know. Thanks again to all!

Outstanding! I was there Sun as well, but didn’t find the cool critters your group found. There’s always tomorrow….

Everything functions correctly with the exception of the trigger firing. Even yesterday when the trigger did not function, I still captured images, adjusted settings, reviewed images, etc. just as normal.

Thanks all for the good comments and attempt to assist. The upside is it is a head scratcher for others as well. At least I haven’t missed the obvious. Attached are images of the hot shoe. No corrosion apparent. I have also inspected the board and it also is corrosion free. This trigger is less than a year old as it was exchanged in an attempt to test if there was an issue with the first trigger. The shutter does function correctly, both in manual and electronic, when the trigger does not fire. This is verified by reviewing the images immediatly following each shutter actuation. The shutter speed is 1/160 or less which is within all parameters. It would seem that if the shutter is functioning every time, external pressure could not be partially depressing a button that would interfere with the flash trigger firing. I checked the 2 bolts holding the board and found they were simply finger tight to hold in place. I keep circling back to perhaps the extra 1/4 - 1/2 pump of the vacuum after the leak indicator light turns solid green may be contributing? @Pavel Kolpakov Any thoughts on this?

Thanks Dave - I’ll give these a try. Really appreciate it!

Good suggestion. Actually I remove the cable underwater and see the trigger itself inside the housing is not firing.

Hmmm…Interesting hypothesis. With that in mind, theoretically creating a greater pressure inside by pumping the vacuum an extra pump could create a similar result as external pressure on the buttons.

All good questions. Yes, when it fails at the beginning of the dive, it’s out for the entire dive. Turning the camera off/on has no impact. I too questioned the pressure aspect, but it’s an aluminum housing at only 10’. I articulate the shutter, press various buttons, but nothing changes. I’ve even left it off for 15 mins + and then turned the camera on again. No change. I did not test it again in the parking lot before I left. (I was just a bit frustrated). When I got home I simply turned on the camera did it worked fine. The housing was still sealed/pressurized. I also checked the battery spring arm and it is very tight against the batteries. When I use the vacuum pump, I vacuum until the light turns solid green and then about 1/4 of a pump more. I do use this body almost exclusively for uw work. It’s really a very bizarre mystery.

Hi @DreiFish - thanks for sharing. Interesting comparison.

Hi Mike - thanks for the great info. I’m on a liveaboard. I do like wrecks which is why I chose it. I’ll also do some touristy things around Cairo, etc. which will be more comfortable at that time. Bummer about no big schools, but just means I’ll have to go back again. What did you see for both water and air temps?

I have been scratching my head on this one so I am reaching out to the global brain trust. Equipment: Sony a1, UW Technics flash trigger for a7RIV/a1, Nauticam Housing, Inon Z-330 strobes, Fiber connection Issue: Flash trigger and strobes fires fine in test at home. Submerge in water (only 10’) and trigger periodically no longer fires. Housing is holding seal with no leaks. Return home and trigger fires correctly. -This has happened 3 times with no pre warning.- No difference in camera, strobe, or trigger settings, pre-dive prep, etc. Trigger is set to “0” for manual. Strobes are not the issue - the trigger is not firing as verified by removing filter cable and viewing housing flash windows. Batteries were recently changed and are authentic Energizer batteries. (No generics). Again, fires correctly in pre-dive tests and then fires correctly in post-dive evaluation, just not underwater on rare occasion. I have used this exact setup for 200+ dives, but have had the failure 3 times total. This most recent failure is today, 7 months and roughly 100+ dives since the last failure. I have also replaced the UW Technics trigger with a new one to make sure it was not a defective unit. I have reviewed with other local photo pros and we are all drawing a blank. They all love theirs and have no issues. UW Technics claims have never heard of this. In frustration I’m even considering replacing my a1 in case it is an obscure short with the hot shoe, but am trying not to go to that extreme. Any ideas or has anyone heard of this weirdness elsewhere? #uwtechnics @uwtechnics