Dave_Hicks

When i first tried the Retra Maxis my rig was too buoyant. I didn't remove any float arms as their length is more about strobe positioning. But I did remove two Jumbo Stix float blocks to get things rebalanced. I then made the HF-1 and Atom floats because without those extra Stix floats the rig was too negative by far. Putting the floatation on the strobe enabled me to quickly move between Maxi, HF-1, and Atom strobes without the difficulty of moving Stix blocks around.

I removed my strobes and arms but kept a single arm with stix floats configured as a cross-bar on top of the housing anchored at each side. Do a few buoyancy checks in a sink, pool, etc. Be sure to have a good lanyard and some place to attach it.

I agree that Retra really did a good job making the Maxi neutrally buoyant and it's a big advantage of their design. However, adding floats to the HF-1 does level the playing field a bit. Below is a set of photos with the Maxi strobe vs the HF-1 with my float design. As you can see, they are not wildly different. The HF-1 is about 12mm wider at the maximum, but shorter overall. With a float installed buoyancy of the two strobes is about the same. There might be an opportunity to make the HF-1 floats a bit taller and less wide with the same buoyancy.

Top to Bottom: Backscatter Atom, Backscatter HF-1, Retra Maxi. The Maxi is the biggest, but also the by far the lightest in the water - nearly neutrally buoyant.

I start to get shakes and twitches if I haven't been diving in more than 7 days. They say a cold plunge is good to promote longevity, so I'm going to roll with that advice.

I never had a problem with half-press shutter (Nauticam housings) even with heavy dry gloves and liners. I've done it for so long that it is entirely natural. When I dive warm water with no gloves I don't notice a difference or need to make a conscious adjustment. It just works.

Says a UK diver. Are you missing out on all the great local diving in your neck of the woods? :) Got to say, diving without flying is the best thing ever. Bring as much camera gear as you can stuff into your car! And some extra gloves for good measure! Cheers, Dave

I have never gotten use to BB button focus. I am a half-press shutter man and it works well for me. With Nikon AF-C I rarely miss a shot. Out of focus images are very rare.

Off camera remote triggering is not a feature of the Maxi's. You would need a dedicated remote trigger product. BTW, my full review of the Retra Maxi's will be published this coming weekend I believe.

All good.

No. The bumper extends about 10-15mm from the glass. The beam is very tight and not impacted at all.

If anyone wants to loan me an MFO-3 i will get right on it! I just made a similar protective Bumper for the BS OS-3 snoot. It really needed one as it is a big unit.

I went to Roatan 3 or 4 times in the early 2000's, always to CoCoView. It is a great place to rack up the dive count with at least 4 dives a day. I always had fun but the terrain of most dive sites is a bit similar everywhere. I am glad to hear the coral is recovering and it's still a good destination.