Tom Kline

Getting more magnification generally means getting closer (keeping the same lens). One will get more magnification along with greater working distance using a longer focal length lens. But they are more difficult to use due to the narrower angle of view one gets with a longer focal length. There is no free lunch. Also using a diopter instead of a teleconverter (TC) will yield a larger working aperture, i.e. brighter (if this is what you meant by "allow more light onto the lens"; lens shades are used to avoid this as this is generally a not desirable). TCs were used quite a bit to get greater than 1:1 a few years ago).

With the new Retra strobe already in the pipeline I have a number of new things to try out with its particular capabilities: short flash duration (under 1 millisecond) as well as the possibility of "motor drive mode" shots. Should keep me off the streets for much of the upcoming year, ROTFL!

If the SMC-2 is too powerful there is not much point to another diopter alongside either a -1 or -3 given the extended focusing range intrinsic to the RF100.

A quick followup to my post from yesterday. I heard back from Retra last night (Alaska time). The maxi IS compatible with the E-Opto converter also used for the gen 3&4 Retras. I showed my approval by pre-ordering. Happy Black Friday.

Happy Thanksgiving all!!! I am still trying to find out if the Maxi is compatible with the E-Opto converter preferably the model for gen 3&4 Retras (the converter screws directly on the underwater strobe). The person answering queries on the Retra site was not sure. The ability to use wired synch cable sets the Retras apart (among other attributes) from the recent competition. Here is a shot of one of my setups from 2024 where one can see the converter: https://www.salmonography.com/Salmonid-Topic/Family-ties/i-Cw48NgF/A

Are you aware that the lens aperture reported in the camera when using RS lenses is not accurate? The difference is greatest at the smallest aperture. For this reason I only use RS lenses in M exposure mode on Nikons. Clueless about use on Sony.

Nothing bothers me it is just very obvious when reviewing images in Lightroom and moving through them quickly in the 'filmstrip" or using arrow keys when they are taken with a stationary camera such as my salmon shoots in streams.

I can confirm that the Canon 8-15mm lens has focus breathing with concurrent change in angle of view.

We will just have to wait until the specs come out. Given its compatibility with many models it will likely be the same size as 4 AA batteries which does not suggest a super high capacity. Hopefully will at least equal 8 AAs. But upgrades will be possible.

Thanks. I am fairly nerdy with my pix - under the influence of my academic background.

4000 miles from the motherlode so grabbed a favorite from my website. 130° EMWL used to get this close up of a collector urchin, a common species in Hawaii but a challenge to get a decent shot of (ie., showing multiple details such as pedicellaria, tube feet, and spines). Taken off Waikiki where I made a pit stop en route to Palau.

EMWL - extended macro wide lens

Way more advanced than my video level. As well even posting v low rez versions takes many minutes even for a 30 sec vid. My net is very very slow for uploading.

OK figured out how to do the quote! Posting on facebok et al. even more important! Preaching to the choir if here.

Yes but it needs to wait until a get home. Meanwhile one can can look at pix in my techniques gallery. https://www.salmonography.com/Salmonid-Topic/Photography-techniques/ Many of these pix were previously posted on Wetpixel. The irony is that the internet is about an order of magnitude faster here (at sister's). Is there a way to post videos here? I know almost NOTHING about video. I used LR to edit and post the vids on my website via the LR smugmug app. All the recent ones there are done with my ipad that I have along to use with my Retras.

These time series images are priceless - having the dates on them especially. I think it is going to take a lot more of these to convince some politicians as well as the body politic.

I have used VEMCO acoustic tags in my past research. My guess is that the camera trap is triggered when a tagged fish swims by. BTW VEMCO had a diver-held receiver so one could visually confirm the tag was still in the live fish cf. in the stomach of a predator!! In my case I used stainless staples to suture the incision (where the tag was put in). The staple reflected a dive light rather nicely when we relocated the tagged fish while scuba diving.

The links are not links: Members 4 Posted Thursday at 12:26 PM I Googled "underwater camera traps" and this popped up: A low-cost, long-term underwater camera trap ... PLOS https://journals.plos.org › plosone › article › journal.p... by SM Bilodeau · 2022 · Cited by 13 — The DEAC camera trap design is a reliable, cost-effective, and easy-to-implement solution allowing the expansion of terrestrial camera trapping ... MantaID : LIDAR based underwater camera trap Ando Shah https://ando.xyz › work › manta-id The world's first underwater camera trap, designed to automatically capture the lives of manta rays and sharks.

I used the reflector on a single Retra (previous pro model) for most of my 105 shots from Palau in Feb 2023. Compared to many of the pix posted here I used slower shutter speeds to bring out more background. Because I am 4000 miles from the motherlode - I only have my website as reference. Many shots here https://www.salmonography.com/Marine-and-Freshwater-Biology/Palauan-fish-portraits/ There are some flashless shots as well as wide angle shots when I used a dome diffuser in this gallery. One can see a shadow in most of the reflector shots. One shadow looks more natural to me. The tiny circle with i in it will get you to the exif data.

I have shot several 100 thousand underwater images using just one strobe with the strobe at the 12 o'clock position. Here is an example: https://www.salmonography.com/Salmonid-Topic/Photography-techniques/i-xqzsjZ7/A Use the arrow keys to see more examples. Mostly used fisheye lenses. More recently (last 2 years) have been using the Nauticam EMWL lenses - first images in the gallery are the most recent. I do not think one strobe is much of a limitation!

I think we might be discussing two different phenomena here, one when the AF goes to sleep, as it were, and the other when it is totally kaput. When the AF of my 60 AFS died, AF never worked again but the rest of the lens functions were OK so it works as a MF lens.

Looks like a great idea. I bought white fins for the same purpose but they quickly got red stains on them when diving Hawaii. Plus forgetting to snap a pic with them in it. One trick is to have subjects that are not colored such as black or white. One can use the eyedropper tool to read the RGB values in LR and adjust the WB accordingly. Note that UW shots might look a tad more natural if the B value is greater than the R and G values. Try to get them closer to equal for subjects closest to the lens. I do this with salmon that are often black and white in the head area. For example adult Sockeye Salmon have a white lower jaw.

I still have a number of Inon Z220 strobes - now decades old. Never really warmed to the Inon battery compartment design that has not changed. Retras are much better especially the latest models IMHO. As well one has the choice of 4 or 8 batteries. Main disadvantage (esp with second gen Retras) is a dedicated fiber optic design as I use Seacam housings that come with electrical synch cords. The adapter (starting with gen 3) has one advantage and that is one can see if the cable is working by observing the disconnected adapter (one can also look for the light at the end of a FO but FOs are a tad fragile esp for my application so not so great IMHO).