mdo905

Yes, all of the backscatter-branded strobes (miniflash, hybrid flash, and atom flash) are all designed in coordination with AOI and built by AOI.

I was running the Atom Flashes in manual, not TTL. It wouldn't recognize the pre-flash in manual and they confirmed that. You're right, their strobes are only for Oly and Sony TTL, so I edited my last post because it is incorrect.

So I bought two Atom Flashes about a month ago after one of my YS-01s died. When I set them up with my rig (LX-10 with nauticam housing), they would fire/not fire seemingly at random when on manual with the camera flash. After troubleshooting over the phone for about two weeks with Backscatter staff (which included getting two new optical cords), I ended up sending in my housing, camera, and the strobes back to their store in CA to verify that the strobes had some type of incompatibility with my camera. Once received, the Backscatter staff determined that Atom Flash was having difficulty reading the LX-10 preflash, causing all of the misfires. Unfortunately, I leave for a dive trip in a week, so Backscatter is doing me right by sending back a pair of rental strobes along with my housing and camera (which is currently in route). I was told that they're going to work with AOI to determine if there is some type of algorithm change to provide LX-10 compatibility, but they're not sure if that's possible. Otherwise, they're going to warranty the strobes and provide a refund. I was really hoping these would work with my current rig - the specifications and snoot seemed ideal for my use. I'll see what happens with AOI attempting to fix the incompatibility. I wasn't planning on buying new strobes anytime soon, but I was basically forced when the one underpowered YS-01 crapped out. I've been looking at a MFT for a while, but didn't want to spend the money on it. Maybe this is my forcing function to get that MFT and keep the Atom Flashes. So lesson learned is: If you have a Panasonic, call Backscatter and ask if they've tested compatibility with your camera's TTL.

The thought was to have the MF-3 for snooting and 2 high power strobes for wide angle and faster cycling, but since the Atom Flash can also snoot with the same qualities as the MF-3 (super bright focus light, aperture cards, and even has a red focus light), I would just snoot with it instead. That would save me from buying a third strobe since the Atom Flash can handle wide angle too? Having 3 strobes isn't a bad thing, but it's just more to transport and more money. If I went with the MF-3, then having two more potent strobes would be preferred to have a GN28 strobe. I'm probably going with an MF-3 just because the Atom Flash is still a pretty big unknown at this point. I'll just buy more powerful strobes when I finally upgrade.

After spending a week last year in Anilao without a snoot, I realize how important a tool it is. I currently run a compact with YS-01s, but will be upgrading to a m43 in the next year or two. I'm planning a trip to Lembeh for this coming September. I was planning on buying a MF-3, but the Atom Flash just appeared. It seems to have the same qualities as the MF-3, may be powerful enough for wide angle , and also has a relatively small form factor. I'm looking to buy before the backscatter black friday sale ends. I have a couple questions. I would rather buy and travel with two strobes (Atom Flash x2), than buy and travel with three strobes (MF-3 + higher power strobes (YS-D3 Duo x2 was recommended by Bluewater)). I want to do both wide angle and macro on a trip, so could anyone guess if the Atom Flash x2 be enough for a m43 with a fisheye lens? Unfortunately, there are no reviews out there for the Atom Flash since it's so new. Since I don't have snoot experience yet, would the bigger size of an Atom Flash be a detriment compared to the smaller MF-3? As we all know, the MF-1 had significant issues and this is the first generation of the Atom Flash. Should I hold off on even thinking about an Atom Flash because it just came out?

Hi everyone, I started into serious underwater photography in 2019 when I bought my first real camera rig (but had been diving for almost 20 years at that point) and read several underwater photography books. Now, most of my diving is focused on getting photos, but I love lionfish hunting when I have the opportunity. I was on wetpixel.com as mdo905 for a long time, but that forum is obviously now defunct.