ChipBPhoto

Completely agree! The biggest reason I went to Sony over my Canon R5 was for the water contact option and there were none affordable for Canon at the time. Went WWL-1B with the Sony 28-60 and loved it! Total game changer over large domes. My Sony body has changed over the years and I’m now on a WACP-C to keep the rig smaller. It’s a premium, but worth it in my opinion.

Yep - seen the same. A clean one was on eBay for $2K last week. It sold and the only one I can find now is $3K. Too bad…

Bummer about missing them. Inon not announcing if/when they will make the next series is a let down. There seems to be a lot of chatter about people upgrading to the new Retras. As a result I would not be surprised if more 330s don’t pop up, but they will go fast. Perhaps post a WTB notice on all the sites for the 330s to see if anyone responds. That would at least get you to the top of the buyer list. Until then you can def do some nice natural light work in the conditions you described.

Perhaps also take a look at the Anglerfish 5”. I’ve heard some really good things for brightness and overall usage. It’s a thin panel as well. Around the same price as the Kraken 5”.

Hey @brightnight - congrats on building your first rig! You will be able to do a lot with the 5D4 for sure. I agree with the terrific info shared by others. The various scenarios and distances are spot on. IMO you made the right decision to try and get the Z-330s (type 2, the most current). For the money, I have found Inon to be the most dependable choice with best coverage overall. If you don’t get the Z-330s, the Z-240 (type 4) would be a next choice. I would not suggest the S220s as they are a smaller light head. Personally I’m not a fan of Sea and Sea due to dependability issues over time. A tip for the Inon strobes: Don’t over tighten the battery cap. Excess tightening can cause the cap to crack. Best of luck and enjoy!

Very cool critter find!

What a truly amazing experience and video! Definitely an experience just a few will ever do. Well done!

Terrific image Simón; nicely lit!

Very cool - Congrats on your new system!

Yep, sounds like you already have the path laid out. Biting the $5K bullet now certainly hurts, but you won’t need to hassle with trying to sell the ports/extensions to build a new rig. Besides, your new NA-Z8 will “feel” very familiar to what you have now. When you’re back from Raja you’ll be happy with your results and the price will be a past memory, as long as you don’t pull up the past credit card bill. 😁 Click the “buy” button and have an amazing trip!

Cayman last year was 28 c (78-79 f) and I wore a fleece with a hooded vest fleece underneath; just could not get warm. (Was also repetitive diving which makes a big difference) Ironically when I moved to Florida I would dive the natural springs, which are 72 (22 c), in just a swimsuit. Now that’s 5mm water! 🥶 😂

Thanks so much for the details on your setup - really helps! Totally makes sense. I’ll give it a try. And I agree about the darker version; it has grown on me.

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….