Dave_Hicks

I think these strobe power tests would be a lot more interesting if they included strobes set at 1/2 power. I rarely shoot at full power as it includes too many negatives like flare and backscatter in all but the most perfect water conditions. I have a pair of the new HF-1 strobes expected to be delivered this week, and what I really want to take advantage of is the ability to fire at least 3 frames per second. This would typically be at 1/2 to 1/4 power levels.

My responses in Red. I've been shooting underwater for a long time now and experimented with many strobes, diffusers, etc. At the end of the day, you can adjust your strobe position, angle, and power levels to achieve the results you desire. Diffusers are like wearing ear-plugs at a concert and sunglasses at a movie. If you need them then it's too loud or too bright. When shooting with strobes YOU have full control of the power knob. Use it as needed.

Pictures, settings, location? Strobes should not be a factor as they don't impact water. How you are processing your photos matters a lot. AutoWB in camera, white balance adjustments in post-processing software are the relevant factors. Generally, you would fix this in editing to create the water color that you saw or desire for the image.

What this tells me is that diffusers are a major detriment. I don't know why anyone bothers to use them.

Do your phone and laptop and focus light run on AA batteries? No? So, what's the problem? Just buy Quality chargers and li-on batteries and don't worry about it. I think in a few more years there won't be any more AA driven strobes. They are just not competitive anymore on features or performance. Even Retra created an ugly hack with their SuperCharger, but are now replacing that with a Li-on pack.

How are you applying the Carbon or Fiberglas coating to your parts? What material are you using?

Most of my underwater prints have been PETG. Things exposed to the elements like 2nd Stage Regulator Purge, Optical Cable connectors and Inon330 Strobe button-blocker. They have held up well for several hundred dives with no sign of deterioration. Zoom & Focus rings I printed in PLA as they don't get much exposure. I need to make another 2nd stage regulator part and will use PETG. For the Port Float I decided to go with PLA for the first draft as it would be coated with epoxy, and direct exposure to the elements would not matter so much. I am considering printing with ABS for the v2 attempt as it is supposed to have better strength than both PLA and PETG. It doesn't like UV light, but again I think a primer paint and epoxy layer will deal with that. I've not made an ABS print yet, but recently upgraded to a Bambu P1S that can print this material. I'll try it today or tomorrow. I'll try to take the PLA port float down past 30 meters this week, but I rarely have cause to go as deep at 40 meters. I'll do a bounce down there if I get the chance in the next few weeks.

That is good input. The current design used PLA, but I have considered ABS as a stronger material. Do you have an opinion on ABS vs PETG in this application? I have another design for modular floats that snap on to ULCS arms. I haven't tested it yet with epoxy as I was try to get validation with the port floats first.

I've made a handful of dives with the Float Collars for the Port87 and Port60 now. No problems, and they seem to work very well. Form fitting to port, securely attached, and it blends right into the rig. Balance and handling is much improved. Best of all no leaks and no implosions! I want to get at least 10-20 dives on these to declare success, including some dives below 100feet. Perhaps in a few weeks I'll be ready to share a design. To get these watertight I used a clear epoxy resin that is easily painted on to the part. Aside from the fairly toxic fumes and wearing a good mask in a ventilated space, this is pretty quickly done.

I don't see one anywhere. Design one and share it!

I recently created these 3d printed custom fit port-attached float collars for Nauticam port 60 & 87. I have done a handful of dives with each and they worked great. The 87 float adds about 400g of buoyancy and helps a lot if you use diopters mounted to the port which tends to make the rig front heavy. image widget

If you are shooting a WWL port for wide angle, it's no more difficult to pack than a Macro port. They are quite a great solution with amazing quality. I've been using a WWL-C for a few months with a Z8 and it is fantastic. And the Mirrorless EVF advantage is just as important as with Wide Angle as with Macro. Add a 45deg viewfinder and it's incredible how much better than a DSLR it can me.

After a trip to Galapagos years ago, we had particularly strong currents. I really had to clamp down my arms to get them to stay in place. After I go home and did a more relaxed dive, I noticed that all my arm segments were super floppy! I assumed that the o-rings had taken a beating and bought a full new set. Problem solved! I had my first set of ULCS clamps for over 10 years and used them on many hundreds of dives. At some point when I was reconfiguring my camera and adding longer arm segments, I decided to buy all new clamps. I did a good job cleaning all of the older ones and put them up for sale. I recall that I was able to sell them for about 50% of the cost of brand-new replacements. If these things are cared for, they hold their value really well over time. Not too many UW Photography accessories you can say that about!

My PETG & TPU printed underwater camera parts have fared well on hundreds of dives.

You are talking like there is only one correct way to do lighting. This is not so. You can backlight from behind the port. You are able to create much more dramatic light and shadows with all of 3d space to position your strobes, which I do frequently. Pointing the strobe toward the lens is OK. However, with this WWL len/port it can catch an internal reflection perhaps more dramatically than other ports I've used. "also they are not red" Are you trying to tell us that this is a T-shaped bubble or sun flare? I assume the color is changed via some refraction in the glass as in chromatic aberration.

See below: This is flare caused by the strobe reflecting in the lens. The lens/port CAN see the strobe. I do a lot of shooting where the subject is backlit and/or the strobe is in front to the port aiming back toward the lens. Most ports don't show this sort of reflection, so I suspect it is a quirk of the WWL wet optics. In this case it's easily removed from the photo. I took another shot seconds after this one where I pulled the strobe back just a bit and the reflection went away. I was shooting an Inon strobe with a t-shaped pair of bulbs. It's clearly visible. null

It is flare in the WWL-C. I was shooting with it today after reading this thread. Confirmed. I released any bubbles at the start of the dive. In some particular strobe positions I can see the 2 parts of the "T-shaped" xenon bulbs of my Inon 330. In the very next shot I move the flash off the plane of the port and it is gone. I use a lot of inward lighting and if it is on the plane of the glass port it can reflect.

Looks like left right strobes positioned too close to the port. Get longer arms and get them up and out! Try two 16 inch segments per arm.

FYI - I shared a 3d printed design for the 24-50z Nauticam zoom gear. Save yourself a bundle with DIY. https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6460615

That 9.99/1TB plan is for Lightroom only - Not Lightroom Classic.

I bought my first 3D printer about a year ago and have had a lot of fun learning how to print, design, and make useful tools. This is my latest project. One of my common UW Camera configurations is to have a macro lens/port with two heavy diopters on a dual flip mount. This makes the rig front heavy and adds over a full pound (450g) of weight. This had me contemplating a functional custom built Port Float Collar. Most of the Nauticam Wet Optics have built in float collars, so that is one inspiration. Making a float collar that would fit over the port seems like a nice solution that does not add bulk to the setup. I've seen foam floats sold for this purpose, but that seems clunky and also, where is the fun in buying something? Turn out that making a waterproof, pressure resistant object with 3D printed materials is not so easy. Even tight prints are full of microscopic holes. I made a number of block floats to experiment with, and they all leaked at depth under 2-3 atmospheres. After some trial and error and research I finally came up with an effective solution. Balancing weight of the object with desired buoyancy you can't use too much material, or the float won't add more buoyancy that it adds dry weight. I've got a solution now that provides about a 1.3 ratio of buoyancy/mass, but I expect I can improve this more over time. Nauticam ports have a plastic foot installed with two M3 bolts. I removed the plastic foot (does anyone use that?) and used the bolt holes to fix the float to the port. Yesterday I had the chance to test my first working solution and it worked great! No leaks or implosion and the balance of the camera rig seemed to be improved! I took it to about 90 feet and didn't see bubbles. I weighed the float before and after to be sure it did not take on any water. I haven't shared a design at this point as I want to test and evaluate for a while to see if it holds up with use or needs improvements. I'll next make another sample for the Port 60 as I sometimes use that with a Kraken KRL-09s wet wide lens + diopter on the dual flip adapter. Here are a few pictures of my first effort: Port Collar Float for Nauticam Port 87 (105mm): Dry Weight: 199g/7oz Buoyancy: 355g/12.5oz

That ship has sailed. Every underwater flashlight in use today is Li-ion, and a good chunk of the strobes are as well. I've been using other Backscatter strobes run on 18650's for 4 years now, and the MF-2 with 21700 for a while now. I'm careful with them and won't change unattended, but I don't have any major concerns. What I would like to see is for Li-on chargers to have better regulation / qualification and for the online retailers to put a moratorium to crap quality batteries. I've bought devices in the past that came with chargers that did not even have reverse polarity protection, which is pretty bad indeed.

Yes please!

Durability is of course a big question. However, I will say that at least in the US, Backscatter has been incredibly customer friendly in dealing with service issues. Low friction and fast turnaround in every case I had, and there were a few as the original MF-1 strobe had some early problems. The newer MF-2 has been rock solid for me and I've not heard from others about defects.

From the website: The Hybrid Flash is significantly brighter at maximum power than what most people are used to shooting. At guide number 40 it generates a lot of light but also generates a significant amount of heat if shot in rapid succession at that power level. The Hybrid Flash manages this with an aluminum flash head, internal heat sink, and multiple temperature sensors. These protections allow the hybrid flash to keep shooting without interruption, so you'll never miss a shot. At least the front of the strobe in aluminum if not the whole body. But there is nothing at all wrong with plastic. It's durable and lightweight. My trusty Inon strobes are fully plastic with a metal heat sink. The Backscatter MF-2 strobes are fully aluminum by the way.