Alex_Mustard

I have done multiple wide angle dives in the last few months with the Retra Pro Max, Seacam 160, Backscatter HF-1, Kraken KS160 (and Scubalamp SUPE D-Pro in December). They are all very good strobes. My preference is the Retra, but if I was forced to use one of the others I'd get by fine. I am always interested in testing gear that might expand by capabilities - but I won't test gear that I feel will restrict my photography in any way. I am not interested in wasting my dive time using lesser strobes - but the fact that I have done multiple dives with all of these - is a vote of confidence in them all. The Retra is my favourite because it has the nicest quality of light, lots of power and is two strobes in one (in Lembeh (May) I shot it small with 4 batteries, while in Raja Ampat (March) and Red Sea (June) I shot it with 8. None of the other strobes here are ideal for macro - so you probably need to budget for a second set of something else if you do dedicated macro trips. People make a lot of fuss about 8 AAs, but if you get good, fast chargers - they are super easy to live with and in real world UW photography you are never waiting for them to recycle. The battery life is a big step on from previous Retras. The controls are simple and excellent. Like the Bluetooth updates and I like how you can fix and change aspects of them by connecting to phone. Wished they made a non-TTL model. I own Retra Pro Max, totally reliable. I've not tried their sticky out Lithium battery yet, but I am not planning to get them (but will try some when I have a chance). The first Seacam 160s I tried (borrowed from he who shall not be named of Wetpixel) when they first came out were unreliable - and I didn't like them as a result. But I borrowed Erin's in March and had a very good experience with them. I find the light very, very similar to the Retras, just with slightly more throw and slightly less softness. The light output level is near as damn it the same as the Retras with real subjects. The batteries are nice, but that is a lot of money to pay and you need your own spares if nobody else is shooting these strobes. This is what is best about AAs - you can borrow them from everyone if you have a charging issue/flood etc. The power control was a bit annoying, without a deadstop - so you have to look at the screen all the time to know where they are set, and even worse the smaller increments are indicated by small dots on the screen which are hard to see without looking (closely). Erin's were set to 1/3 stop increments which was also annoying - but I presume this is an option. Anyway, very good strobes, but I wouldn't have them over the Retra even at the same price. Erin's were totally reliable. The Kraken KS-160 has a nice quality of light. But it does not have as much light output as the Retra and and Seacam. I know it has more stated WS-1 than the Retra - but this does not translate to light output. But they are still powerful strobes and capable of rapid firing with the Lithium batteries (although after you've shown off to your buddies - this really has limited uses in normal underwater photography, other than making everyone think you have no sensitivity towards the wellbeing of your subjects). The lithium battery packs are very nice to live with and charge straight from USB-C which is nice. I used them a few months apart, but I felt that the light and power from the "similar" SUPE D-Pro was identical. The SUPE I tried was not reliable and several of the power settings did not work. The Krakens were totally reliable. I think that they are correctly priced versus the Retras - cheaper - but a level below. I like that they are simple with no TTL. The Krakens weak point is ergonomics. The main power knob is in whole stop settings and then your have a turny dial to adjust within stops - I could say more, but this is not nice to use. They are heavy in the water, but have good buoyancy collars. The Backscatter HF-1 does not have the natural quality of light of the strobes above. But boy, does it have a lot of power. And it also has a well judged diffuser (the flat warmest one) that gives it a very decent quality of light, when attached. While still giving out more power than those above. It has excellent battery performance, which means you can shoot all day (not a big deal), but more importantly encourages you to use more of the power, more of the time. If you regularly shoot big animals/pelagics in bright conditions this would be my choice. If you shoot more close focus wide angle then you might favour one of those above with a more pleasing quality of light. The ergonomics are better than the Kraken and Seacam. They are a bit heavy in the water. They were totally reliable on my trip. They also have a video light. They are very attractively priced at present. They are my second favourite here. Alex

Here are some reasons: https://wetpixel.com/forums/index.php?/topic/14391-subtronic-nightmare-continues/ https://wetpixel.com/forums/index.php?/topic/55535-subtronic-support-did-it-again-be-aware/ https://wetpixel.com/forums/index.php?/topic/63755-troubles-with-subtronic-underwater-flashes/ https://wetpixel.com/forums/index.php?/topic/50432-subtronic-issues/ https://wetpixel.com/forums/index.php?/topic/44156-subtronic-customer-service/ https://wetpixel.com/forums/index.php?/topic/23076-subtronic/ You need to be a member of the other place to read.

Matt and I recorded an episode of The Underwater Photography Show on the HF-1 earlier in the week. We put the Brian Skerry episode out first. But I’ve scheduled the HF-1 episode for today (Dave gets a mention)!

Although I am massively behind on my image processing - there are 70+ FCP shots on my website now. They are not test shots, but hopefully they show the variety of images the FCP can produce: https://www.amustard.com/library/page/search/FCP/1/ Alex

I am ordering some Universal cables. Fortunately our local dealer is on my workshops - so he can bring them to Egypt (excellent customer service)!

What flash synch cords do these take? Trying to find some that fit. Alex

This is the first of two parts of an old interview I did with Martin - the interview was for a written article, and the recording was just for my memory. So the sound quality is not the best. The files said it was 2006, but listening to it, I actually think it was summer 2009.

I wrote this tribute to my good mate 😭 https://www.scubadivermag.com/underwater-photography-world-mourns-renowned-uwp-guru-martin-edge/

I am well versed in the various conversions, having shot Seacam Converted for Nikon 13mm, Belic Converted for Nikon 13mm and Isaac Converted for Sony. As Tom says, both the Seacam and Belic conversions do not report aperture correctly. At open apertures the difference is small, but gets more pronounced as you shut the aperture. Borut Furlan published a helpful look up table for converting the indicated aperture to the true aperture (very nice): This relationship is the same on the Saecam and Belic converted lenses - but the Belic converted lenses only stop down to an indicated f/22 (a true f/14). The other factor is that the Monster adapter is poor. I've only tested the LA-FE2 converter (the one that works with older AF-D lenses like the RS-13) briefly, but found it unreliable on the one test I made. And definitely not something I would want to use on important dives. I do use the Monster LA-FE1 (which only works on newer Nikon F lenses with AF motors inside them). This is still not wonderful, but does work with AF-C and AF-S modes. I find this adapter is OK to use, although I wouldn't bet my life on it! One issue worth mentioning I have had is when using it in cold water (Silfra). Here I had communications issues and it would not report aperture correctly. Often shooting with a different aperture than I set! I have never had that problem in warm water - and felt it was caused by a power drop caused by the cold. Isaac's conversion turns the RS-13mm into a Sony lens - with all the advantages that brings. Which have been extolled before in this thread and is definitely the way to go if you want to use this lens on Mirrorless (either Sony or Nikon Z). Alex

Thank you. Looking forward to shooting something different.

I've downloaded, but not installing it as I've going to Lembeh tomorrow and definitely don't want to loose all my custom settings. I plan to update post trip - but have the update downloaded in case I feel like updating in the field.

The correct advice for the workshop too!

I had Subal housings for all my Nikon cameras - so I didn't have any Nauticam N120 ports to carry over to the N100 system, I am afraid. With the Nikon 8-15mm lens, I use a 30mm EXT ring with the 35.5mm adapter and dome. I have used the 60mm with the standard 90mm (although it is slightly long). But also with the N100 4" port and N100 20mm extension (which I don't think is on sale - although I have 2 of them). Sorry that is not much help. I am sure others have used them with the N120 ports. Alex

For me, none of the other RS lenses are very interesting. I have the 20-35mm, 28mm and 50mm still, but have never been seriously tempted to convert any of them. The 50mm is just a standard macro lens. The 28mm and 20-35mm are both UW corrected - but neither is as wide as they seem. Just as the Nikonos V 15mm is actually the equivalent of a 20mm lens, so the 20-35mm is something like a 24-42mm (I don't know the exact conversion), which limits its usefulness underwater. Rene Aumann made an 18mm for the RS, but this was simply a land lens and dome combo - programmed and waterproofed (very expertly) to work with the RS camera. But not UW corrected.

For me f/13 is an ideal aperture for most wide angle on full frame. Because in standard shooting it is hyperfocal meaning that both your foreground and background details are both fully in focus. It also tends to give excellent corner sharpness. It makes for more engaging compositions of scenes - because all elements can full engage the viewer and makes the composition more engaging. It is easier to shoot more open - you won’t need such powerful strobes for a start, but then the different elements (foreground/background) of the images won’t all be contributing as strongly to the composition and the final image will be less impressive to the viewer. Theoretically there is a very tiny loss of sharpness due to diffraction between f/8 and f/13, but this is a completely minor issue compared to the image quality losses from dome ports and particularly shooting through water as we do underwater.

It is not a proper review - as I don't think I am the person to do that, but Peter Rowlands asked me to share some thoughts on the production FCP-1 in the latest issue of UWP Mag (issue 137 - for future reference): https://www.uwpmag.com (warning - scroll quickly past the photos of me in my Tux!) Alex

Just to add a photo to Mark’s report. The Sony converted RS-13 lens worked very well on the Z8 - from testing it as pictured. Really excellent news. Although as Isaac states it will need a custom port for N120. But otherwise good to go.

I've not shot with the Canon 24-50mm, but I have been very impressed with the quality of the Nikon 24-50mm Z lens (with the WACP, WWL and FCP on the Z8). Had that lens been available when I switched to mirrorless, I might have stayed with Nikon, rather than going to Sony. So I'd say not to dismiss these lenses across the board - because some of them are very sharp.

Mine is 0.76 KG for the port (with cover). And 1.2KG when it is in the carry case it comes with.

For me the biggest issues with this lens are that it can't be stopped down past f/16, which makes it unusable for split level shooting (if you want both halves in focus) and does not focus close enough for much underwater photography. With minimum focus you have to consider the virtual image (from the dome) distance - which gets closer the smaller the dome you use. So a lens like this won't be able to focus near to the dome with even the biggest domes. And probably won't focus on anything within a lightable distance with a 140mm dome or smaller. I think if you only shoot more distance subjects - and always use 230mm big dome (but don't like split levels) - it could be a solution! That said, I do look forward to someone bringing one on a workshop, so I can try it. But I'll certainly not be getting one.

Many lenses come with tripod collars - these are almost always easy to take off. This is also a light lens compared to big telephotos - the camera mounts are designed to take such heavy lenses. And these also go on boats/safari trucks. Sadly I agree with @Nikolausz - that this lens is useable underwater - but far from ideal in terms of close focus and aperture range.

Sorry for my absence from this chat. Been a busy time for me with the launch of UPY. I shot the Kenko TC (1.4x Pro) with the Nikon 8-15mm on my Sony A1. Which works - but really does not realise anything like the full image quality from a 40-60MP sensor and falls an equally long way shot of what those lenses do without the TC.This is no great revelation - since the first full frame cameras 15 years ago - loads of people have been trying this solution, buying the expensive Zoom gear to work with the TC, and the vast majority ultimately reject it and have been since the days of Canon 5D Mk2s. For the record I think that the Nikon 8-15mm on its own and the Canon 8-15mm on their own deliver really strong optical quality used with adaptors on the latest Mirrorless cameras. But while the adaptors don't impact image quality they do impact on their usability - on my last trip I ended up lending out my Nikon 8-15mm and Monster converter to a guy who was having intermittent issues with the Canon 8-15mm on Metabones. It is also important to remember that for many image quality is in the eye of the beholder. And many underwater photographers are happy with images as long as they look good to social media and print well at home. And the Fisheye + TC solution certainly delivers that. But my images are sold and used around the world, and I need image quality that stands up when I am not there to say "well there was a lot of particles in the water that day, and a lot of current" - they need to look great when zoomed right in and that's why I've rejected the TC fisheye as a mainstream solution for my camera.

I am sorry to hear that the access has been problematic for some people. I know loads of people are going through the material and it seems to be working fine for most. But that is of little comfort when it is not working for you. My understanding of how the system works (I don’t have a subscription to the course myself) is that you need to register with the site (Photography Experts) first. This has to be manually approved by their team (mainly during UK Office hours) because they have had problems with too many Robot accounts in the past. Once registered you can then purchase the subscription. I would have thought that under the My Subscriptions tab you would have access link. I am sorry that it is not there Atanas - I also don’t know why they are slow to respond to email - they are usually very efficient. Email should be the best way to sort this out. You can also try going direct to RECORDINGS on their website, when you are logged in, to find the videos. I am a bit swamped with UPY stuff these last couple of weeks, as I am presenting the Awards tomorrow evening in London. I’ll ask Photography Experts to add me as a Subscriber to the course - so that I can help with some of this trouble shooting. Alex

Thanks for the feedback. I'll flag it up with them. This is where that should link: https://www.photographyexperts.com/courses-subscriptions/underwater-photography-reboot There are two products available here: https://www.photographyexperts.com/eventrecordings The main REBOOT course - which is the newly recorded 8 x 1 hour series of talks designed to 'reboot', refresh, reinvigorate your approach to underwater photography. As @Kamaros points out above, it is aimed at existing underwater photographers and covers the important stuff, not the basics. GBP £95 - for 5 years access There are also a product called Alex Mustard On Demand - which a collection of recordings of major live events that I have done over the last few years, includes talk on switching to mirrorless, talk on shooting blur (long exposures and vintage lenses), talk on shooting Wide Angle Macro, a talk on selecting images for major photo contests, a talk fieldcraft/mindset, a Shark Presentation with Chris Fallows and Dr Neil Hammerschlag, - there is probably even more minutes in this collection - but it is not structured like the Reboot Course. GBP £35 - for 5 years access Hopefully that helps make sense of it all.

The other thing to watch is the physical length of the lens. Too short and it might not stick out far enough on some housings to work with a port. But pass these two tests and it will be definitely preferable to a fisheye on adapter.