JohnD

I think seller is some sort of asset or estate liquidation company. In this case, for $100 less than new retail, the risk exceeds the reward. If it were about a hundred less than their current asking price, I might go for it. Besides, I don't really need it...the 45 with 20mm ER does the same thing.

Thank you for letting me know. I saw that and have it in my watchlist, but due to no returns allowed, a limited description of condition and limited photos, I am a bit hesitant unless price comes down more.

I don't typically remove the housing O ring either during dive trips, I was thinking more of dive and focus lights and such, where the o rings are smaller and have to be slid over threads or pinched hard or stretched.

Let me know if you have either of these and would like to move them along to a new home.

I have traditionally maintained O rings by removing them, inspecting and cleaning if warranted, lightly greasing, and replacing. I have tried to be careful about stretching the o rings or damaging them on nearby screw threads and sharp edges. In general, this has worked fine for me for many years. Recently, though, I saw a maintenance comment from Retra that suggested leaving the o rings in place on the battery cap, and just greasing the visible portion. I asked Retra about this and the response that removal or leaving them in place was fine with the caveat not to stretch or damage the o rings during removal. Similarly, my dive computer mfr warns that in removing o rings from the battery cover, remove the O rings from one side only, avoiding the threaded portion of the battery cap so as to minimize the risk of damaging the O ring. I also have a couple of lights for which removal of the O rings is difficult and I worry about damage and/or stretching, and I have considered just lubing them in place absent some evidence of grit or dirt. So, it got me to wondering what other folks do: Are you a take-it-off person or a leave-it-there to lube it person or does it depend on the O ring and equipment in question for you?

Perhaps it because uses a battery module instead of bare batteries and that makes a difference? Perhaps better quality contacts? Maybe luck? I have lithium-powered lights on which I have never cleaned the contacts and the manufacturers don't say anything about that, but they are expensive lights and other items intended for hard use and not used underwater and mostly made in the USA, Germany or Japan. Maybe manufacturing quality matters? I believe the RGBlue stuff is/was well made, no? Maybe the relatively low power of the light and the absence of strobe functions? Just speculating

This has been an educational discussion. I guess Sealife is ahead of the curve and if using high power strobes and lights with lithium batteries, take q-tips and isopropyl alcohol and wipe the contacts with every battery change. Luckily, isopropyl alcohol can be carried on planes (under 3.4 oz). and is readily available. Wondering what Oskar from Retra thinks about this, now that the maxi strobes have gone over to the dark side (Lithium). By the way, when I comment on lithiums, it is in large part because one of my sons is an engineer working in forensics, and travels within the U.S. and internationally investigating fires, explosions, train wrecks, boat fires, etc. Earlier in his career he was employed as an engineer by Panasonic, working primarily on battery technology and testing, and has set fire to, exploded, crushed and otherwise abused a large number of lithium batteries. I have numerous lithium battery devices and will undoubtedly have more, but am aware of their downsides including significant fire risk. Take a look at what Backscatter warns about their lithium battery devices: Never do the following: Never charge batteries in unattended areas. Never charge while sleeping. Never charge below decks of a boat. Never store batteries below decks of a boat. Never store batteries in the light below decks of a boat. Never use batteries without protection circuitry. Never dispose of batteries in the garbage or trash. Never put batteries in checked baggage when traveling. Never walk around with bare batteries in your pocket, especially with other metal objects than can easily bridge battery contacts. Always do the following: Only charge batteries in common areas where and when others are around. Always remove the battery from the Macro Wide 4300 light when not in use. Only use batteries designed for end use by consumers with safety protection circuitry. Only store batteries in a battery box designed for 21700 batteries. Always travel with batteries in cabin baggage.

Good points. Several years ago I ordered a set of "scratch brush" electrical contact cleaners and carry a couple of those with me on dive trips. I only had to use them once on another person's strobe, but they can clean contacts that suffer some corrosion or other issues. They are cheap, light and small and can be purchased on Amazon and at other places. May be worth sticking in your gear somewhere, in case Coke or contact cleaner or alcohol isn't available after a leak? As far as preventative maintenance goes, I know Sealife warns that: 1. IMPORTANT UPDATE – Clean battery contacts every time before charging Applies to all Sea Dragon lights with 1200+ lumens and Fluoro-Dual Beam models. Clean the gold-plated contacts on battery and inside battery compartment EVERY TIME before charging the battery. Use a clean cotton cloth moistened with isopropyl alcohol to thoroughly clean contacts. Not cleaning the contacts will permanently damage the gold plating and result in the device not powering on. DO NOT store the device with battery installed. Remove battery before storage. Left contact shows black spots resulting from not cleaning the contacts. Kind of boosts my appreciation of my old Inon lights with their AA batteries. But I know Lithium and massive lumens are the future.

I have that problem with the Retra LSD 😉

I have been following the progress of the maxis and the recent updates have been very timely for me. I recently became interested in trying some video and have been trying to figure out the best way to deal with the lighting requirements. I have looked at a number of products and the maxis look interesting. However, I will not be purchasing these at least until a USA retailer can supply them. On my last Retra purchase, DHL charged me duty and miscellaneous fees that was 17% of the price of the strobes, even though underwater strobes should be exempt from duty under U.S. laws, or at most subject to a minor duty of about 5%, if mis-characterized under the tariff schedule. Assuming DHL did that again, that would be a $425 additional charge on the Maxi, making it the same price or less to buy locally. When this happened previously, and I tried to discuss it with DHL, they simply told me to pay up within something like 48 hours or they would ship the strobes back to Retra. More recently, I ordered a product from a reputable store in the Netherlands. It was shipped via DHL and simply disappeared in transit and DHL was useless as they have no real USA customer service program. Seller suffered the loss. So, I avoid DHL whenever possible and especially on a $2500 purchase. Okay, well, rant over and I don't blame Retra for any of the DHL issues and I like their products. So, I am anxiously awaiting more testing and product availability in the USA for possible future purchase. I guess the real question is if I were to take the Maxi strobes/lights on a trip, would I miss the the Pro Max and if so how much? I bet Retra could make a killer of a small, bright video/focus light....

Yes, this was with the Z8, so the 60mm stayed home this time. I rarely used a 105 on the D500, but on FF, the 105 with the MFO-3 is a nice combo, as it would be with the 60 on DX.

I just got back from a couple weeks in the Philippines. Using a 105 on a Nikon, I also took the MFO-1 and MFO-3. I have only done casual macro before and doing nothing but macro all day, every day, was an experience. Anyway, I used the MFO-3 on a flip and loved it. It is a bit heavy on land and fairly long when on the lens, but easy enough to carry around flipped off the lens. I loved the MFO-3 as I often found critters or scenes too large for the 105 and in an instant could cut the focal length in half. For something like blackwater, I would probably just take a shorter lens, assuming I wanted to travel with he extra lens and port, and a M43 30mm port are pretty small, but otherwise, I am having a hard time envisioning diving with the 105 and not having the MFO-3

I like the idea. I may have to try that when I get back from this trip. Why is your LSD wearing a sweater (jumper in UK speak)?

The LSD is fairly large. I do have a pocket it will fit in. I think it will be a mix of mostly macro and some snoot, but not sure.

I agree completely with Dave. If, however, you want a rectilinear instead of the distortion inherent in the 8-15 and WWL, AND are willing to deal with a large or huge dome port and long extension ring, the 14-24 is OK, the 16-35 F mount is, I think a bit better, but will have to use the FTZ. Not sure if your 14-24 is a Z or F but am guessing it is a Z mount. I have heard good things about the Z14-30 and it is smaller and lighter than the 14-24. But I never use any of my wide rectilinear lenses. 8-15 or WWL is it. I think the image quality is a bit better in the 8-15 in a 140 dome, but WWL is more versatile. (Great shot, Dave)