Luko

I don't think that was the same place : most of the pix I uploaded above in my first post with gorgonians and soft corals are from Proco Bambu. A year would not explain that coral growth. Besides that no coral wall, more of a slope completly COVERED with corals. The other member who's been twice to Proco also confirmed he thought the housereef was spectacular.

Sure, Komodo and Alor are also places where the currents get nasty sometimes. However I have seldom noticed any current on/off switch that transforms it from "Zilch" to "Let's start to panic" within a sec. Most of the time you see it coming, turn away or -at the most- end the dive, etc. (for the record the only current I was really surprised with was during an earthquake in Nusa Penida/Bali. Real on/off button, even had the "Reverse" and "Tornado" positions. Scary.) Best proof is when we started to dive Proco Bambu house reef, there was a mild to sporty current in the end, however the site itself was beautiful, suddenly it revealed colors we didn't have on any other sites. I would understand liveaboards being cautious with spots they dive twice a year, not as much for a 7 years old operation on site diving their sites everyday (same experience in Alor were LoB can go completely wrong while land ops dive these sites on relatively good and safe conditions a couple of hours earlier or later ). And if for any supernatural but sensible reasons we were doomed to only dive the tame places of the area, then I 'd still state that it might be not worth diving. After all isn't diving (and shooting images) our main purpose ( Or what am I doing in this "good housekeeping" board? Where can I find a good recipe for the strawberry jam ?). That's also how my inside voice is questioning me. The answer is perhaps. "On est toujours le (vieux) con d'un autre" On the other hand you may call that experience as well. I might be wrong, the experience of repeating dive places teaches you to focus on the overall rather than the jetsams and flotsams, one trip maybe not as good as another at the same place weatherwise, visibility wise, fish wise, etc having said that you learn to see the core features or the potential without all the external conditions. I recently read posts in another board where first visitors were complaining that Raja wasn't worth diving anymore because the place had a bleaching episode at the start of the year. In my book they obviously missed a few points focusing their attention on the finger rather than the moon it was pointing at (FWIW I dived R4 this year as I did last year and the year before, etc. I think that Raja is fantastic OVERALL despite everything). Personally I didn't fully click on the Halmahera "overalls", from a landbased resort that is to say. Talking about "old people", our favorite motto becomes "Life is too short to [insert whatever action/dive site/wine producer which didn't match for you]". If age doesn't matter you can add on top " Wallet is too small to...". As stated above, I think shooting UW images is our main goal. Typically I try to organize my trips with UW photography in mind, let aside some constraints (non-diving wife meaning no LoB, comfortable accoms as we had our share of mandis in our younger times). I am questioning on this trip about what was really worth shooting? Then if that was just about putting my head underwater, what's that fuss about carrying 60 kgs of equipment mainly geared towards shooting fish and their underwater neighborhood, waking up at night checking that the battery charger was doing its job despite the random power shutdowns, stressing on which lens/port I should kit up for the next dive and whether the alarm system is still green? All in all, I think not everything is equal, and talking about my own UW shooting and likings I am not sure Halmahera is the place to fit me (That was also a valid statement for at least two friends I know, even though I don't need an external validation for what is more personally suited for me.) . A member on this board stayed a couple of times there and liked it very much, as I understand. The housereef that I dived (with some current) was probably the most spectacular dive of the trip. For the blue whales, you'll have very good chances to spot them in Alor in October, where they are regularly seen (even on the housereef of a dive resort!)

Weather issue, yes maybe the season was not optimal, that said this year was terrible all over Indonesia. in North Sulawesi it was raining at the same time and Bali was dramatically flooded in dry season. The guests I met when I arrived were all starting to get into depression after a week of rainy days. I have absolutely nothing whatsoever to complain about the resort itself, Salibay is top notch for accoms, well maintained, the staff is amazingly friendly and efficient. The only thing I could argue about is the reluctance of the dive team to dive into the current, even though some clients were asking for it. That was my main a surprise, as I often talk with a friend journalist diver whom we try to share the updates or new openings in Indonesia, she was the first to tell me about Salibay resort, that was before COVID 7 years ago on their opening. From her report, I expected raging currents difficult to handle with a camera (funnily enough I dived with her same guide 7 years after her visit, which btw says a lot about the staff being happy with the management) but I never experienced this kind of dives and was quite disappointed overall. When finally i asked her whether it was worth the hassle, she said .... well... ya know... errh... that's up to you, man... ya know... In a nutshell not her favorite place to dive. I am quite a seasoned diver in Indonesia, my first trip was 25 years ago, these 15 past years I dived Indonesia twice or three times a year. For some reason I never had THAT unresistible attraction into diving Halmahera that drives you crazy when planning your next holidays, and that leaves you wanting the time to run faster until you get there : was it for the first hand reports (my journalist friend's conclusion) or photos I had seen, so far it didn't push the red hot "diving emergency button" (unlike Triton Bay for instance, that I unsucessfully -for various reasons- tried to book for years and finally have my week confirmed and very much expected for next year) . TBH I didn't expect much from Halmahera, in some ways it lived up to my absence of expectations. One of WP member who was on a liveaboard at the same time (Paolo) told me he had a similar experience of a quite disappointing area, lacking action, colorful corals or exciting fish schooling. Coral bottom and medium sized fish don't lie, visibility won't conceal everything, take Raja Ampat even in 10m viz you can still see lush colors of the ciorals and the fµ*$!&g huge biomass of fish !!! There are probably uncharted "new frontiers" in diving Indonesia (I suspect there might be some hidden gems in the Seram sea in between Maluku and Papua) however some of the new areas in Indonesia that opened more recently feel more or less like shots the dark with a less exciting level of diving than what was expected. I suspect in a way that's what is happening for this side of Halmahera (Weda on the other side was supposed to be exceptional but now wasted with mining), it was not a prime dive area for Indonesia but since there are a lot of divers wanting to see something else, it becomes attractive in terms of market opportunities : suddenly 4 resorts opened in a 10 nautical miles radius within 3-4 years while the place was completely devoid of dive ops, although liveaboards used to ply these waters for a longer time. Wolfgang I don't know what's your experience with Indonesia, as we say YMMV but I would state Halmahera is a second choice if you' haven't yet dived the Indonesian "classics". In my book I have still Raja, Komodo & Alor as topmost destinations in Indonesia. Hopefully Triton will get into this "GOAT" list. Maybe I would have put central Maluku including Ambon/Banda/Lease islands at the "Could Have Been Legendary" level, however too difficult to go, many dive ops have failed and bankrupted there. A level below those dive destinations, I would put Bali even though the array of diving is quite incredible from frequent Rhinopias to Mola mola, because I feel like staying at home now without the holiday abraid excitement (more than 20 trips to Bali and counting every year), N/Sulawesi which is for me a "tamer" and too westernized destination, and for very different reasons it's probably the level where Halmahera belongs for me. Back to your question, Wolfgang. I have no idea how everything changes for Halmahera in April. (and pretty much sure I will NOT modify my trip to Triton Bay to tell you whether it's better at that time. 😄 ) Of course, if you have all those questions you'd like to know the answer but you're afraid to ask, PM me . ;)

Disclaimer : I am replying to you but am afraid that we are completely out of the OP topic, sorry for that. So far I can notice you have 2 problems : one is the black hole inside the light which I guess is the signature of the circular bulb, the other one is that you have a light "fall off" spilling outside of the snoot hole (the outer ring of subdued light around the main light). For me, it's due to the absence of a condenser lens that would both diffuse the circular light into a flat light and make the light converge to a focus point this avoiding spill off. We (my guide and myself) usually take continuous torch lights when we do macro, that we use when I need precise lighting other than the main snoot light or when two snooted lights are needed. All of these small torches are equiped first with a lens like this one https://www.uwcamerastore.com/weefine-optical-collector-with-m52-for-smart-focus-6000?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21961101493&gbraid=0AAAAAD6tS_h9daR4-OxoqiVVd9_zdO1Lf&gclid=CjwKCAjwr8LHBhBKEiwAy47uUpyg-mpCh6yNn1-WSBCsL9CNJP9mI_UhLEkk2WRtWjKc90Kuc_xbshoCXKoQAvD_BwE then screwed onto the condenser a plain metallic black funnel to reduce the light spot. However it wouldn't work without the condenser, which is the most important piece. Just to show you the difference, I snapped 4 images of my mousepad with a tirch light, the condenser and a funnel. A= full mousepad image lit by the torchlight, B= condenser on, the beam is reduced and condensed, C= condenser and funnel on, exactly what you expect from a snoot, even though I was not aiming at the sweet spot distance, not much light loss, same distance as withe condenser only D= funnel but NO condenser, I had to put the light much closer because of the loss of light, light spills outside of the main focus point, you cannot clearly see it but when I put the light close there are distinctly patterns of the LED light inside the main focus point.

Nice weedy rhinopias, always good to find one. One of the spots in the southern part of Lembeh, I guess?

Perhaps a clue here? I've also had some issues with unproperly charged or older eneloop batteries when I used my first gen Retras, years ago... Retra explained to me their strobes can be very sensitive to the batteries (be aware "It worked fine with Inons" is not a proof it does with Retras, since the circuits/softwares are different). Lesson learnt, I now purchase new Eneloops every other year, I also changed for reliable battery chargers. Would you have any other spare batteries set or can you borrow eneloops/chargers from your fellow divers, just to check? I don't believe 2 Retras would stop working at the same time without a "user side problem" otherwise they'd probably have to call back the full batch of their new strobes. Fingers crossed, let's wait for Retra reply, problem is that it's Sunday and the support is off.

Most probably, since the HSS is used to generate a longer than usual flash of light, hence using more power. This possibly explains that you fell out of power after less than 3 dives. I don't have such issue even though I have a PRO (less efficient for battery use) and I am NOT using the Supercharger for macro dives. I don't know who wrote this non-sense about comparing the use of a snoot with the ability to provide a black background, this is not the very purpose of the tool. A snoot is mainly used to funnel the light on specific areas, not for the whole background. You can easily achieve black background at F/18 and 1/200s (my standard setting for macro) and just positionning the strobes accordingly, this without a snoot. Because you're wasting too much power on HSS as explained above. Forget the HSS for macro, that is useless. Note that Retra strobes can fire without being totally recycled unlike some other strobes. Yes Retra are warmer than Inon (4800K vs 5500K If I'm not wrong). I would recommend to set your color temp at 4800K in your camera if you want to have the .jpg straight out, even though it won't impact the slightest bit on the RAW files. That's also what I am doing : I use a private guide who helps me for the snoot lighting. I recommand you change the last segment of your flash arm with a quick release system and also a long optic fiber for one of your strobes that you will use when snooting. I have tested a few systems, Carbonarm or Flexarm are IMO the best (Scubalamp system is crap, the lock twirls and breaks after one year use) https://carbonarm.com/en/quick-release-arms/366-carbonarm-18-with-quick-release-0806808286321.html. Whenever you have to use your snoot you can detach the flash easily and give it to your guide (who will be happier holding it if you don't use your supercharger -see discussion above- ). More than a diffusor that you need but rather a fresnel lens of something equivalent, the problem without any converging lens is that all the power will be lost. (That's what happens with the crappy Scubalamp snoot which is only equiped with a diffusor device, used it on one trip, never again, back to Retra snoot now) .This is why the Retra snoot is for me the most efficient one : you see for instance there is a sweet spot according to the distance you aim at your subject, the "halo" of the snoot will get sharper whenever you're on the ideal distance.

Here's a list : less batteries to charge at night time less negative weight underwater, easier to handle when detached with the snoot on less weight and protruding thingies bumping painfully into my body parts when carrying the camera for shore dives, I don't see any advantage with "faster and more", it doesn't mean better photos, esp for macro where precision of both composition and lighting is key. (TBH I wouldn't understand coming out of a macro dive with 150 shots, except that I probably wouldn't have any idea of what I'm doing, but that's me I prefer thinking my image over randomly clicking. )

Another Retra user experience FWIW... (I am using an older version : the Retra PRO which is notoriously battery consuming, hence everything would be improved with the PROMAX). Wide angle : Superchargers (or boosters) are paramount whenever you need to shoot fast bursts, which will certainly happen in Alor. I have never used HSS even though it is enabled on this version, I am happy with my current 100 ISO-1/320s synch speed even in the shallows of Alor. I have the wide angle diffusers but won't use them anymore since it decreases the light and I am satisfied with the overall softness of the RETRA circular bulb. It also brings warmer temperature for a strobe that is already warm, since the diffusion was also improved with the PROMAX2, I feel it would be slightly overkill in such blue waters as Alor. Macro : I am not using the superchargers, it saves me weight and charging time for 8 eneloops. I don't care for fast bursts at max level given in this case I'm always below 1/2 power and 200 ISO. HSS? really can't see when you should be faster than 1/250s, never happened to me in 25 years shooting macro... but YMMV LSD snoot is essential, perfectly fit and aligned with the Retra strobes (unlike the Inons with their offset light). Doing probably 1/2 my shots with it, just be careful not to fall into what I call the "black background snoot ditch" at the expense of your creativity. Background colors are nice too! Which brings us to the macro light reducer ring, critical piece of equipment when you're not using the snoot. So you shoudl already think how you're going to attach it to your BCD or housing when you screw your LSD on your strobe. On the other hand I am not in love with the supermacro reducer ring which I find either too narrow or not narrow enough to replace a snoot. Hence I'm usually equipped with 2 macro reducers (without the supermacro reducer ring) and a LSD attached to my BCD Other : I don't think there is a leak "test" but a month ago I definitely had a leak alarm underwater flashing alternatively blue/red with the pilot light lit up. I stopped using it despite no apparent water in the battery compartment nor on the flash dome. Sent the strobe to Retra for an inspection, no water inside but they changed a few parts which were aging. For 130€ I have a serviced strobe now.

And now just for fun my first videos spent on Halmahera/Sali Besar reef shallows. (Videographers and mods don't shoot me : how do you embed a video in a post?).

Some muck or night dives shot with Canon R7 / RF100+MFO1 or EFS60 : including Halimeda GhostPipeFish and Epaulette Walking shark

Mid August 2025 I stayed for a weektime at Sali Bay Resort located in the Bacan Strait, southwest of Halmahera. My dates overlapped with another WP member diving from a liveaboard (who might jump in), we exchanged impressions of nearby dive sites almost in real time and got only subtle differences between resort-based and boat-based diving in the same region. Alike almost all of Indonesia this year, the weather in northern Indonesia was unsteady, with grey clouds and intermittent rain squalls. Surface conditions were exceptionally calm—some days felt like on a frozen lake or ice-skating rink. Despite the flat seas, the overcast skies muted underwater light and the absence of current on most of the dives reduced overall visibility (from 10m to 25m when the current was exceptionally present). I hired a private guide but except when a group came in, all the divers (majoritarily a european experienced crowd from Germany, Netherlands,or Italy) used the same big and comfortable boat. Up to 4 dives a day could be planned on demand. The spots we dived alternated Lembeh style black sand dives (to my surprize) and lush coral reefs sloping down to a sandy bottom. Most sites featured abundant hard corals, though broken sections were visible in places (storm or human cause?). Incredibly large and healthy coral fields contrasted with areas of rubble, suggesting a reef in partial recovery. Soft corals were not that abundant although could be very spectacular on some specific sites in teh current. I encountered zillions of small reef fish—anthias, damselfish, and purple queens—but virtually no medium-sized schooling species. Blacktip sharks appeared on almost every dive over reef slopes. Problem is that the resort dive boat avoided even mild currents, despite divers’ experience levels. On one occasion we skipped a site enjoyed by snorkeling families (with kids!) because our guide assessed the flow could be too strong. Which resulted too often on boring dives where I surfaced with 80–100 bar remaining after more than an hour underwater because I prefered to stay in the shallows with the clouds of reef fish rather than finning over semi deserted hard corals. I even found myself switching to video (for the first times in my life!) for a quick and dirty try. Exceptionally, the guides were probably not expecting it, a manageable current picked up at the house reef near Proco Bamboo Resort and litterally transformed the dive. Within fifteen minutes, corals unfurled their polyps, colors intensified, and fish activity spiked. That single drift dive was the trip’s standout. Macro was OK, one of the black sand spots hosted lots of Halimeda GPF and two wonderpus, although not as much abundance of other critters than Lembeh or Tulamben. I had hard times to have my guide confirming beforehand what was the specifity of the site we would be diving, in order to select the kind of lens I would kit my camera with (macro or wide angle). Except for some obvious sites, (black sand for Macro or Proco housereef for Wide ) Often the answer was "whatever you prefer" which in my mind didn't sound really promising in terms of critters to be spotted or for the expected reefscape. Overall this area of SW Hamahera felt like a hybrid of several Indonesian spots: • A touch of Raja Ampat’s reef structure but with fewer fish • Alor’s terrain but with reduced visibility and less colors • Komodo’s drift potential without its vivid coloration and no fish schools • Lembeh’s black‐sand sites yet lacking a dense critter populations Overall biodiversity was respectable but not as spectacular as the Indonesian marquee destinations. It really lacked the currents and the fish action. On the other hand, swiss italian owned Sali Bay Resort excelled in every non-dive aspect: • Spacious, air-conditioned bungalows with open air bathroom and a large terrace only 5m away from the sea • A dedicated camera room at the jetty for gear setup • A lively housereef with walking sharks on night dives • Fresh, varied meals (foccacia to die for) and friendly, super efficient staff The only downside was the divestaff’s reluctance to tackle currents—even when conditions were well within diver capabilities- and quite iffy Nitrox analyzers (after a the initialization readings for ambiant air randomly in between 17% and 26%, I simply set my computer to a minimal 28% ) Unsurprisingly, our return direct flight from Manado to Bali on Lion Air was abruptly canceled. They rebooked us on an earlier flight going through Makassar that departed four hours before our scheduled landing in Manado, despite a single-PNR booking from Labuha (the airport on Bacan) to Bali on Lion Group airlines. Did that raise an eyebrow on their side, I guess not even. Resolving the routing via WhatsApp took my wife seven frustrating hours. So boohs to LionAir as usual. Conclusion Halmahera is quite a long way and tedious to get to due to unmatching flight connexions (Wings air flight Manado-Labuha flies only once/day departing early afternoon, hence not allowing a same day connexion from Singapore ). Sali Bay Resort delivers top-notch accommodations, service, and easy access to calm, (too) friendly dives. However, the conservative current management and modest marine life—particularly the absence of schooling and intermediate fish—may leave thrill-seeking divers wanting. In this respect Halmahera didn't live up the hype it is currently getting. I’m torn on a return visit: the resort operation earns full marks, but I’d hope for more energetic drift profiles and richer fish action next time if there is one. Here are some shots from the reefs : all wide angle shots taken with Canon R7 / RFS 18-45 / WWL1B

I am shooting macro 70% of my time. My own thoughts when I considered the HF1 as a more powerful replacement for my older Retra original strobes (New Retra strobes are out of my budget) : can it be manageable to handle a snoot with focus lights that are located on the periphery of the strobe? My point is that the internal focus light is paramount for snooting with a strobe, it needs to be aligned with the flash bulb, otherwise you won't illuminate what you're currently lighting with the focus light. There was already a problem using a Retra LSD with the Inon strobes since their focus light is slightly off centered. On the other hand snoot lighting is perfectly accurate with the Retra strobes since both focus light and bulb are centered. I also wrote to Backscatter a year ago asking them when and what kind of snoot they were expecting to roll out for the HF1. They replied a custom snoot was scheduled for the end of the year (that was 2024). Nothing moved since, I am quite dubious they will find a satisfying solution with their completely off centered focusing lights, IMO the problem comes from the design of the HF strobe itself. I agree only a custom made snoot like Iardino's could handle this problem (however depending on the model I have been informed that Iardino's snoots are more or less accurate, you should ask first whether he will use optical fiber which should be the most accurate technical solution) I eventually bought Retra Pro strobes second hand for the price of new HF1s, I happily use them for both wide angle and macro with a Retra LSD

Not a flare but rather looks like the reflection of the camera lens (inside the housing) into the front glass. I don't know for the specific case of the EMWL but in wide angle photo, it used to happen with some dome ports (particularly the non optical glass ones) when shooting in the sun light. You need to prevent shiny parts inside your housing to reflect sun light esp the front of your camera lens, I used to stick some non reflective black felt material around the camera lens front so it limits the light reflection. Once again I don't know whether this workaround would operate with a EMWL.

The first one definitely a sacoglossian, not a nudibranch. Looks to me like one of the numerous undescribed Elysia sp. seaslug. the rectanglular head with eyes on the side (almost like a small cow) are quite characteristic. 5 -6 cm long ??? I guess you rather meant 5 or 6 mm... For the second one no other photos?