waso

Thanks for looking into this issue! Since my Nauticam housing unfortunately doesn't have a button for the display illumination, I have to use a different button – which doesn't make any difference in principle. What I've discovered is that the small optical sensor directly below the viewfinder is responsible for automatic detection. If this sensor is covered (in viewfinder mode!), 'display off' doesn't work. I've found a workaround, albeit a bit cumbersome: If I set the screen/viewfinder display to Auto2 and then switch the lever on the Nauticam housing to LCD, I can activate 'display off' because the optical sensor below the viewfinder seems to be deactivated.

I'll have to try to replicate that tomorrow (it's already quite late here in Germany 😴), but I'm just realizing that my nauticam case doesn't have a button for the display backlight.😐

Hello JayceeB, I use the LCD/VF switch on top of my Nauticam housing to switch between the viewfinder and the display – this is very convenient because I don't have to go into the camera menu or assign a shortcut button. However, I practically never use the display anyway... My 'problem' is that I can't assign the 'display off' function to any button, as the R5 seems to detect that something is near the viewfinder. Perhaps you could try assigning the 'display off' function to a button on your camera. I'm very curious to see if that might work for you.

Exactly! Yes, that seems to be the case, I just tested it. It works with the R5II, by the way.

Hi Davide, thanks for your reply! I already tested that: There are four different viewfinder/display options on the R5, but unfortunately 'display off' doesn't work with any of them.

Because power consumption has always been a concern with mirrorless cameras, I've assigned the 'AF point' button (top right) to the 'Display Off' function for topside shots on my Canon R5 for years. For some reason, however, I can't activate this function in my Nauticam housing. And it's only this function that's affected! If I assign the button to, for example, 'drive mode', I can activate that with the 'AF point' button - and this applies to all other buttons as well: 'Display Off' can't be activated. Does anyone have any idea what could be causing this?

He closed his shop several years ago, but since I know him very well personally, I can still get materials from him. I can ask if he might also sell to third parties.

Which dome are you using with the 24-105? Is the IQ overall better than EF 8-15/4 (center and edges)? I could not detect any difference in autofocus behavior between the Canon EF/RF adapter and the Commlite. Did you also test a 1.4 extender? So far, I've only been able to compare the extenders over water: In the center of the image, there's virtually no difference in image quality between the Canon RF 1.4 and 2.0 (zoomed to 200%), but at the edges, the 2.0 is noticeably worse. And my old Kenko 1,4 Teleplus Pro 300 DGX performed significantly worse than my Canon RF extenders in all situations, especially visible at the edges. What I noticed: with the combination of Commlite + Canon RF Ext., you should switch off the IBIS in the camera, otherwise there are strange, disturbing shake corrections in the viewfinder.

Interesting! How am I supposed to understand this sentence? Does the fisheye lens without any extender (adapted to the camera only with the Commlite) have less IQ than the fisheye lens with the Kenko 2.0x PRO TC? But you also have to adapt that one to a Canon DSLM with some adapter...

Yes, I've had the strobes for a few weeks now, but I've only been able to do one test a few days ago in the pool. In a week, I'll be diving in the North Sea for a few days and will then have more information. However, the dives will certainly take place in very poor visibility and I obviously won't be able to test the actual flash power then (as I would in backlighting and clear water in a coral reef).

For many years, I've used various floatings of different sizes and shapes on different strobes and strobe arms from a German manufacturer who started the production at my request. I find it very inconvenient to compensate the entire downforce using only floating arms, as I want to be able to quickly and easily reposition the strobes with minimal friction on the last clamp, without them tipping downwards due to gravity. Incidentally, the floatings have no negative impact on the heat sinks.

Thanks a lot for your help, Dave!

Hi Dave, I was just about to send you a PM about this, but I assume your inbox is full. So here are my questions: Since I don't have a 3D printer myself, I'd like to have a friend print the reduction rings and the base for the HF-1 backscatter that you designed. He's now asking which material to use. You wrote that it should only be printed in PETG. Is that correct? There's also PETG CF, which is supposedly even more temperature-resistant. By the way: I think it's great that you share your designs! They're very practical and money saving. Best regards, Wahrmut

Do you see a difference after editing the image in Lightroom and then converting it to sRGB? Or do you make a proof in Lightroom (--> sRGB)? Lightroom always develops in Pro Photo RGB, which is a much larger color space than Adobe RGB. Blue water generally looks somewhat "sick" in sRGB because important cyan components are missing - assuming a wide gamut display is used. Of your images, I find the first one a lot of and the third one a bit too magenta-heavy; the others look relatively 'realistic' - without knowing the exact situation. DCI-P3 also lacks a potentially important cyan range compared to Adobe RGB, but your monitors can only display 95% of that range anyway, and probably a maximum of 90% of Adobe RGB. My starting point for image development in Lightroom is always the camera's default profile - okay, it works better sometimes and worse at other times. Personally, I find the HSL sliders in Lightroom in combination with the white balance tool extremely powerful and I don't feel like I'm missing anything when I want to influence the color of the blue water. However, after converting from Adobe RGB to sRGB, I regularly feel like throwing up. No, it's exactly the other way around: a strobe with 4800K is significantly warmer than one with 6500K - I know it's confusing. May I ask if the image was uploaded in Adobe RGB? To me, it doesn't look like sRGB.

Like Thales said: FE = F (ish) E (ye)

And for me, who very frequently uses an extender in combination with the 8-15/4, the new FE is actually not an option.

Sold!!!

I'm selling a Retra LSD snoot with the matching adapter for Seacam 150D strobes. As the original owner, I used the snoot for years and it always worked perfectly (what could possibly go wrong with it?). It has a few minor signs of wear and the front lens has a couple of tiny scratches, but these don't affect the light transmission in any way. The buyer will also receive 6 different mask sets for various diameters and shapes of the light exit opening, as well as a spare parts kit, 3 additional diffuser discs, and the original silicone lubricant. Insured shipping from Germany is possible upon reimbursement of costs. 220,-€ As this is a private sale, the item is sold without any warranty or guarantee. Liability for damages resulting from injury to health, body, or life, and for gross negligence and/or willful misconduct on my part as the seller, remains unaffected.

Thanks, very helpful! I think I'll go with the XTARs, since they're definitely recommended by Backscatter and are significantly cheaper than the NiteCores. And whether the NL2160HP actually has 6000 mAh and thus a significant advantage over the XTAR, I can't even verify.

My question concerns the principle of how many amperes the HF-1 requires at a minimum. Backscatter surely provides specifications for this, which I would like to know. There are plenty of other batteries with the same capacity of at least 5000mAh on the market.

Thanks, good ton know! Very helpful, thanks! Because of the strange answer, I asked again how many amps the batteries for the HF-1 must have at a minimum, but I haven't received an answer yet.

I also find this statement somewhat strange and will decide either for the (very expensive) Nitecore or the (significantly cheaper) XTAR anyway.

I posted 2 links -the first led to the Backscatter page and the second showed the other battery model with only 10A. But: Backscatter claims that the amperage doesn't matter (see my quote in my last post): 'The batteries we sell have been tested and work properly with our lights. The NiteCore and the Xtar work fine the different amps have no real issue with the lights.' However, I also find the word 'lights' somewhat strangely chosen in this context.

Just to mention it... Backscatter replied to me with the following: 'The batteries we sell have been tested and work properly with our lights. The NiteCore and the Xtar work fine the different amps have no real issue with the lights.'

Thanks! May I ask, if you're using the NL2160HP with 20A, or the NL2160 with 8A? Thanks for the Link! May I ask, which strobes you are using this batteries in? This appears to be the same battery I linked to in my first post: https://www.backscatter.com/Xtar-Dual-21700-5000mAh-Rechargeable-Li-Ion-Batteries However, on the site you linked, they cost only a fraction of the price compared to buying directly from Backscatter. Interestingly, XTAR offers a slightly more expensive version with 6000mAh, but only with 10A: https://www.akkuteile.de/en/lithium-ionen-battery/protected/size-21700/xtar-21700-5000mah-3-6v-3-7v-li-ion-battery-electronically-protected_100839_3404 So if someone is successfully using the Nitecore version NL2160 with 8A in the HF-1, this version would probably also work. I'm still waiting for Backscatter to answer my questions... Btw: I just received information from a Nitecore employee that the model NL2160HPI is only suitable for specific Nitecore flashlight models. So, don't buy it for underwater strobes!