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TimG

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Posts posted by TimG

    Hey Markus

    To add to Chris’ thoughts: yeah, odd that your camera shows the lightning flash symbol on the LCD screen but that it doesn’t stay illuminated. I’m sure it should. Sounds indeed like a faulty contact or maybe a trigger battery issue. Have you tried fresh batteries?

    As Chris suggests, clean all the flash and hot shoe contacts. I’m guessing you’ve tried using a regular flashgun on the camera. Does the flash illumination signal remain light? If so, a trigger or sync cable issues looks suspect. Again, trigger batteries or sync cable.

    Yeah, I've always found that post-dive rinse thing a bit of an issue in places like Bonaire. If you leave anything in the truck there's a high chance it'll get knicked.

    Arriving in Bonaire I used to buy a cheap laundry basket to take my gear to and from the truck/accommodation/beach. A couple of times I sank the basket in shallow water at the entry point weighed down by a couple of boulders and with a towel in it! I could then drape the sea water-soaked towel over the camera to help prevent it drying out before the next dive. Hardly ideal but maybe it helped a bit.

    • Like 1

    Hi Alan

    Well done taking the plunge. Good to have you with us. There's a good few TG users as members so you have lots of helpful company. Even more so with the a6700.

    We hope you really enjoy the forum. Welcome aboard!

    Best wishes

    • Like 1

    Hey Tom!

    Welcome to Waterpixels. Very good to have you with us. Yep, I'm sure you will find lots of tips for using your gear - and the Classifieds can offer lots of gear for sale.

    Enjoy the forum.

    Best wishes

    I hope the first day was fun!

    Would it be harder for a guide to point the LSD snoot for you since it's attached to the camera rig?

    The LSD does not NEED to be attached to the rest of your system. Just make/use a longer fibre optical cable. The LSD/Retra is no harder to point than any other snoot/strobe. Its advantage is that the pilot lines up perfectly. So what you light with the pilot is what you shoot with the strobe.

    I did notice SLOWER recycle compared to my Inons

    It's never been noticeably slower than my Z240s. It is faster with the Booster.

    I don't really understand Retra's power markings. Is half power 0 / 6, or is it 50 / +3?

    0/6 is half power. I found comparing with Inon was not very helpful - God knows the Inon numbering was confusing. Figure that 100 is full power, 0/6 is half and go from there.

    I also notice the colour straight out of the camera is a lot more warm (yellow/orange-ish) compared to the Inons

    Yep, I found the Retras warmer than the Inons - which I prefer. Can't help on a Sony, but on a Nikon I use AUTO and that for 95% of the time works out fine.

    • Like 1

    I know a few people comment on the problem of having to charge 8x AA batteries if you use a Booster. I can't say though that this has ever been problem even charging 16x AA for 2x strobes - and I only use 2x chargers each of which holds 4 batteries.

    I'd argue the extra weight is negligible.

    I'd have agreed the older Super Charger was bulky but, for me anyway, the extra 2-3 centimetres of the Booster is neither here nor there.

    But Luko offers an alternative view.

    Hi jjmochi

    To add to Chris' comments:

    I've been using Retras for about 5 years and now have the ProMax combined with a Nikon D500 - so an APS-C sensor. I switched from Inon Z240s.

    I use the Boosters all the time perhaps because I'm often using a snoot for macro and I do find I need to boost the power with a snoot. That said, I usually find a 4-dive day shooting maybe 100-150 images a dive, the 8x batteries in the Retra with Booster will last the whole day. I can't think of any reason why you would NOT use the Booster on all dives. They take up little room and actually provide a useful handle for adjusting the strobe positioning. Their battery endurance is reassuring.

    Accessories: I have White Diffusers but find I seldom use them. As Chris says, the Macro Reducer Rings are very useful for wider macro; I also like the Reflector for turbid/backscattery water. My all time favourite is the LSD which I find brilliant for macro. I very rarely photo macro without it.

    HSS: As Chris explains, HSS is very good for sunballs: high shutter speed (say 1/2000), f11-ish, ISO100 and HSS to light the foreground. I don't use HSS when shooting below 1/250.

    Leak Test: there is no "Test". Retra recommends you have the strobes switched on when entering the water so that if there is a leak the alarm will go off. I've managed to achieve this stupid feat once - and for sure, flashing lights! You can't miss it. Happily the way the strobes are designed, water only enters the battery compartment and I found it easy to clean out. No damage done. Well not to the strobes anyway: my self-respect took a hit.

    Trigger: I use a UWT trigger. There is no way of checking battery life but UWT (Pavel) says it lasts 000s of dives. I change the 2x CR2032s maybe once every couple of years. Never had an issue.

    Hope that helps. I think the Retras are terrific. I'm sure you'll like them once you get used to the new functionality.

    Tim

    • Thanks 1

    I was 10 when that movie was released and that and the Hans and Lotte Hass plus Cousteau stuff on TV was what got me wanting to scuba dive. Although there may have been homemade u/w cameras around, that Nikonos was the first I remember seeing in a movie.

    • Like 2

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