scipionems

Hi OneYellowTang, I used in Blackwater dives the Monster adapter with the Nikon 60mm Macro that is fantastic for bigger and more "consistent" subjects (like Paper Nautilus, long arm octopus , squid) but a nightmare with transparent , small subjects (like jellyfish or similar)... The Sony 90mm macro on the A1 works well and focus quite fast even in blackwater , probably on older models of Sony camera it was slower, but on the A1 is quite usable , the only problem is that you have to shoot at longer distance and not near like the 60mm Nikon. Unfortunately me and my friend Giancarlo (that use a Sony A1 too) had big problems with the electronic of the A1 using the Monster Adapter and the Nikon 60 mm macro.... in several blackwater dives the A1 freeze completely and it was impossible to switch on and off... and for a long time.... We were so scared to damage the camera that after these episodes we stopped to use the Monster+Nikon 60mm macro and used ONLY the 90mm macro for blackwater dives. I used the Smart TTL Backscatter trigger in blackwater in TTL Macro mode and it works quite well on consistent and bigger subjects like long arm octopus, squid and Paper Nautilus, but when you try to focus on trasparent, smaller an less consistent subjects (like jellyfish) the TTL don't work well... too much light and overexposed pictures... the HF1 shoot sometimes at full power with a lot of backscatter... So I prefer to use the Smart TTL Backscatter Trigger in MANUAL mode. On the Hf1 I used a 3D printed beam reducer , and these reduction helps a lot to avoid too much backscatter.

Hi Jazid, yes I use the port of the 90mm Sony for the Monster Adapter + Nikon 60mm macro lens. Probably the problems that I had with this setup depends by the extreme conditions of light (better of darkness) in blackwater dives. The Monster struggles a lot to focus on with tiny and transparent subjects (like small jellyfish or something like that). With bigger and more "consistent" subjects (like long arm octopus or paper Nautilus) it works better (even if it is not fast like an original Sony lens, obviously).

Hi Yazid, I use the Monster + Nikon 8-15mm on my Sony A1 by a couple of year flawlessly, using a Nauticam Extension ring 35mm N100-N120 + Nauticam Extension ring 30 and the Nauticam 140mm Dome port. This combination (Monster adapter + Nikon 8-15mm) works very well, good quality of the pictures (at least for me) , fast and accurate autofocus and zero problems with my Sony A1. Unfortunately I had a LOT of problems using the Monster adapter with my Nikon 60mm Macro lens in blackwater dives.... Often suddenly and unpredictably the Sony A1 freeze and it is impossible to switch off and on....for minutes.... I update the Monster to the last firmware available, but this problem persist and I am afraid that the electronics of my Sony A1 could be damaged using the Monster with my Nikon 60mm macro lens.... With the Nikon 8-15mm the Monster works perfectly with zero problems...

Hi to all, I purchased a Smart TTL Backscatter trigger for my Sony A1 in Nauticam housing and I used it in Anilao (Philippines) for some black water dives with my Backscatter HF1. The trigger works perfectly in manual mode and TTL mode with the HF1 strobes ... even if in macro mode for some transparent and tiny subjects the TTL mode is not very accurate and often the power of the lamp is too high , with the effect of excessive light and backscatter.... I have only one complain.... this smart TTL backscatter trigger doesn't work at all in manual mode with my backscatter Mini Flash version 1.... I try every setting on the menu of my Sony A1 to try to make works the smart TTL trigger with my Mini Flash 1 , but without success.... So I had to use a TURTLE TRIGGER in the morning to use my mini flash 1 for normal macro dives and then change the Turtle trigger with the Backscatter TTL trigger in the evening to use my backscatter HF1 for the blackwater dives.... not a very practical solution... honestly. If someone have a suggestion to allow me to use in MANUAL MODE the Smart TTL Backscatter trigger with my old MF1 strobes is welcome. Scipionems

Looking one of the video-tutorials about setting the flash menu of the Sony camera, I saw that they suggest to use only a particular kind of adapter using Canon lenses.... I wonder if this trigger will work using the Monster Adapter with my Nikon 60 mm macro in blackwater dives.... 🤔 But I don't know where ask similar information to Backscatter site....

Wonderful video Alex B, thank you very much for sharing with us 😃

Hi Litos, if you have a AOI Q1RC, there is an adapter made by Flex-Arm that allow you to utilise the snoot from Backscatter . https://www.flex-arm.com/it/flash/snoot-flash-subacquei/flex-arm-adattatore-per-flash-aoi-ucs-q1rc-per-snoot-backscatter.html So you can utilise your flash AOI and the backscatter snoot.

Wow fantastic video DiversLens. Thank you very much for sharing with us. I have seen even the video of Bali... amazing too 😃🤩

Thank you for the informations, I am absolutely ignorant about 3D printing, I will send all your suggestions to my friend. Thank again 😃

Hi Dave_Hicks, thank you for these reduction rings, i have a question. A friend of mine has this 3D printer Flashforge Adventure 4 and has problem with the .STL files. This printer needs .gx or .Step file format, but my friend was not able to convert the .stl files in .gx or .step format. Can you convert your .stl project in .gx or .step format?… Or do you know how to convert them ? 😳🤔🤔. thanks

I was able to see these flashes in Anilao last week, there was a team of Scubalamp testing them in blackwater. These flash have two li-ion batteries 18650, so they last for 4 - 6 dives and are able to sustain at full power the HI - SPEED rapid shot of my Sony A1 🤩. They are very small and light..... I don't know at what price they intend to sell them.. We will see.

Thank you Alex_Mustard for the video on the Hf1, I have already seen it. Very interesting and useful.... But for me it is too late... I have already purchase a couple of them ahah 😄

Hi , i have seen this https://www.retra-uwt.com/pages/retra-lithium-ion-battery-pack-coming-soon on Retra-uwt.com. Perhaps do you have some "rumours" or info about this li-ion battery pack ?...

Unfortunately it seems that the FCP is not "usable" on my Nikon D850 DSLRs with my old Nikkor 28-70mm, that previously worked perfectly with the WACP-C.... Looking the chart port Nauticam for the FCP, it seems that the 28-70mm is usable only from 35mm to 70mm ... so the angle of view is only of 122° and not 170° at 35mm... With the WACP-C this angle was 130°... more or less.... I am very sad... because I have already sold my WACP-C... 🥴

FCP is very interesting even if very very expensive.... But I wonder if I will be able to use it with my Nikon D850 and the Nikkor 28-70mm lens into my Nuticam Housing... I wonder if I will be able to use the 35mm Nauticam extension ring N120 to N100 that I was using with my WACP-C (that I have already sold hoping to purchase the FCP...). 🤔

grazie 😃

Hi to all, I am Scipionems from Italy and I am a passionate underwater photographer since 2000. Reading the last UWP MAGAZINE, i noticed Waterpixels.net... So I signed in. Scipionems