Dave_Hicks

Nice. I solved that problem a little differently and made a tpu hood that stays on all the time, especially when diving. Personalized:

I have been snooting with the Atom on medium power (4 levels) and get about 2 hours with the lamp on the whole time. At least 25-50% battery left after two hours.

The light is on a YS mount attached to a ball one the top of the Nauticam housing. The ys mount makes it easy to flip the light up for snooting or shooting a portrait of someone without blinding them.

That Kraken 1800 is very similar to my OrcaTorch. The 21700 batteries are the way to go.

Try a night dive! But seriously, in clear bright water you may not need a light for focusing. The camera may be able to achieve focus much if the time. But go under an overhang, swim-through, cloudy sky, or even setting sun in the shadow of a wall and it might be a problem. For me, i actually want to see the true colors of everything and a bright wide beam focus light is both my focus light and primary dive light. I bring it always even to the brightest destinations. You will always find a situation where it helps you get more from a dive. I am using the Orcatorch d710v mk2 these days. Small, simple, bright, with good battery life.

A fair summary. The Maxi and HF-1 are competitive with each other in relative brightness. All the shots are in air. See the electrical outlet on the left. 😀 I do have a pool but it is about 8c in there at the moment. Not gonna do it!

The 4500k filters loose .5 fstop vs unfiltered. It's a significant difference. I don't expect that to change in the boost levels.

Likely there is dimenishing returns or efficiency at the high end. The histograms at the top levels do show more light but it is a very minor difference stepping from boost to full on both strobes. Setting such a small apeture and ISO might flatten the gradient some what and a light meter could show a different spread. None of these strobes did any throttling as I took only two or three frames at the high power levels. And i don't think i have ever shot a wide angle strobe at full power on a proper dive. My poor snoot strobes like the MF-2 and Atom get a much tougher work out.

https://makerworld.com/models/2322173?appSharePlatform=copy

I updated the Power Level comparison, trying to find a better and cleaner way to visualize the range and alignment of power levels across the three strobes being compared. Feedback is welcome! (PREVIEW) Power Level Test Suite For this comparison each strobe was set to Full power, Half power, Quarter power, Eighth power. The images were taken with a Nikon Z8, 8-15mm lens at 15mm, 140mm dome, at a range of 65cm from the wall. No filters or diffusers were used. The color temperature of all three strobes is similar at 6200k (Maxi), 6500k (HF-1), and 6400k (Atom). Aperture and ISO were f25 & iso50. As I have compiled the comparison images of brightness and coverage, it became clear that the “Labeled” power levels between the Maxi and HF-1 really don’t map to a common scale. After a variety of methods to visualize the data, I decided to rank the power levels from each strobe by their relative brightness. I used the brightness information from the Photoshop Histogram Information display to capture a common and comparable value. I am sure a professional light meters or similar instrument would be better, but I used what was available. The comparison images align well with the measurements, so I am happy enough with this methodology. The HF-1 has a power level scale from +2, +1, Full, , Half, Quarter, , Eighth, Sixteenth, *. The +2 and +1 levels are documented as Boost modes, but they are fully accessible on the dial. The Maxi has power level scale from +4, , +3, , +2, , +1, , 0, and down to -4. There is a hidden Boost mode accessed by pressing the Center button while at +4. It’s active for just 5 shoots. I suspect this Boost mode will rarely get used due to poor discoverability. (Does anyone ever read the manual?) The Atom keeps it simple with clearly demarked power levels from Full down to 1/32. Additional even lower power levels of 1/64 to 1/1024 are available under a Low Power Mode accessible via the Mode button. Findings: The Retra Maxi is a little brighter at Max Boost mode compared to the HF-1 by a tiny 1% difference. The HF-1 +2 mode maps almost directly to the Maxi +4 level. Backscatter advertises that the Atom at Full is equivalent to the HF-1 at Full. It is close but the HF-1 at Full is 13.75% brighter than the Atom. Summary Notes:The Maxi at +4 is nearly identical in brightness to the HF-1 at +2. The Maxi Boost mode does not move the needle very much further, but it is about 1% brighter than the best the HF-1 can deliver. The fall-off of light is similar across all three strobes at around 1 f-stop 50 degrees from center. The Maxi has the greatest fall off at 1.22 f-stop reduction from center. The HF-1 @ 11 has the least at 0.92 f-stop reduction. The HF-1 and Atom are remarkably similar, as advertised. The HF-1 is 13.75% or 0.07 f-stops brighter than the Atom at full power.

The only part i designed was the MF-2 body form. In fusion360. I auto generated the tray, then positioned the MF-2 as a negative modifier to the tray in the slicer. Added some text and color accents in the slicer. Here is the MF-2 negative model. BS MF-2 Strobe Negative.stl

20 minutes to design. 3.5 hours to print it out! Will share it out after it's validated. I needed one of these anyways, will also be making cutouts for the HF-1 and Atom too, if they will fit in my drawer. The lens cutouts were a start on cleaning out a chaotic cabinet full of gear and getting things into the drawers currently full of random plumbing and electrical parts.

I will update with the boost modes soon. I found all three of these strobes wanting in the cold-water ergonomics department. The HF-1 power level knob is horrible. Round, hard to turn with gloves, and impossible to tell what setting it is at by feel. The Maxi knobs are much better in that they are easy to turn with gloves and feel what position it is in. But unfortunately the two knobs are identically shaped and you can't tell by feel if you have the Mode switch or Power Level knob. The Atom has a decent power level knob, but it also has two buttons to control mode and the spotting light. Of course these are impossible to distinguish wearing gloves and it is hard to press the button to change the spotting light without screwing up the aim and position of the strobe. I came up with fixes for the HF-1 and Maxi but have not figured out the Atom yet.

I can make an MF-2 tray pretty quickly. I played with tooltrace and similar but they only created flat outlines and a sculpted round one is better for this application of lenses and strobes. These are easy as you just make a stack of appropriately sized cylinders to model the object. Then you save that model. Make a gridfinity tray of the needed size using a parametric modeler, fully filled to the brim. Import the object model as a negative modifier and position in the tray. Done!

Gridfinity Storage for Nikon Underwater Photography Lenses I designed this set of gridfinity lens cutout storage trays for the full set of lenses that I use most often for underwater photography. Some of the trays will also be useful for any user of these lenses. I shoot a Nikon Z-mount camera (Z8) and the following lenses: Nikon Z 105mm Nikon Z 24-50mm with Nauticam Zoom Gear Nikon AF-S 60mm Nikon AF-S 8-15mm Fisheye with Hood, Nauticam Zoom Gear, and FTZ adapter Storage trays with cutouts that fit each of these lenses are provided in the set. Each is on its own plate with STL files available. The trays are 4x3x7 or 3x2x7 gridfinity units. https://makerworld.com/en/models/2316979-gridfinity-nikon-z-underwater-photo-lens-set#profileId-2530092

A very constructive reply! Thanks for that. Feel free to delete the marketing accusation in your earlier post.

Thanks Brandon! So far the Atom is pretty good. So far i have only shot if for macro scenarios and fitted with a Snoot. In this regard I am thinking it may replace my highly regarded MF-2 / Snoot configuration. The MF-2 is demoted to secondary fill light. The bigger battery capacity and higher refresh rate makes the Atom a superior option. I need to pair it with an HF-1 for some wide angle work. The studio shots are promising, positioning it as a smaller, lighter, low cost HF-1 replacement with no video light. I will say that the control ergonomics of the Atom are not as good as the Maxi or HF-1. In particular the two offset buttons that control mode and spotting lamp are awkward and easy to transpose in the water. Putting the OFF setting on the power level knob is a poor choice as well.

Okay, maybe you should work on a review for your specific needs. You may recall that I did ask for input on what parameters to test for in post #1 of the thread. Didn't hear from you though. And drop it with the accusations of "marketing speak". Not appreciated and not true. Retra loaned me these strobes because i have sometimes been critical of of their products, so good for them and their confidence in their new product. I will go back and compare the max boost modes and include those in the comparisons grids. It is an unnecessary gap in the review and easy to fill. Thanks for that feedback. Regarding burst sequences, I think you can see from what I have shared so far how the Retra and Backscatter strobes are going to perform. At any given power level and frame rate when the strobe can't keep up with the power demand, Retra will reduce exposure and Backscatter will skip frames. I prefer the Backscatter approach as you still get exposures across the entire burst period even when the capacitor can't keep up.

Technically, the Maxi has a Boost mode brighter than the HF-1 boost. But it is not very accessible. The HF-1 F+2 mode has cautions against using it more than a few shots in a row. So at FULL, the Maxi is brightest of the three.

Coverage delivered with Reduction RingsSummary Notes: Retra’s stock reduction ring is 88mm wide. The Retra 88mm reduction ring provides a more defined edge that is only slightly smaller than the naked strobe. Backscatter does not currently provide any reduction rings for the HF-1 and Atom strobes. I have made my own set of custom reduction rings for all three strobes with a consistent 78mm aperture. (Available for free on MakerWorld) The 78mm reduction rings provide a sharp edge with about 90-100 deg width. Additional 60mm and 38mm Macro & Super macro rings are available for all three strobes. The Retra reduction ring does not allow for the use of a warming filter. My custom HF-1 reduction ring fits over the 4500k flat filter allowing the use of both modifiers at once.

Burst Shooting Results at Common Power Levels(10 frames at 3 frames per second) Summary Notes: The Retra Maxi clearly has a design priority of delivering a flash with every frame shot, even if that flash is severely under powered. The Backscatter HF-1 and Atom have a different design priority where they attempt to flash only if they are close to the requested power level, resulting in black frames while the capacitor recharges. Both designs have their own valid logic, and reasonable photographer might prefer one over the other. The Retra Maxi will only deliver properly exposed frames at the start of the burst using Full or Half power. Subsequent shots will be very underexposed and may not be usable. The Retra Maxi delivered just 1 fully exposed frame in a 10-shot burst at Full Power. The Backscatter HF-1 delivered 5 fully exposed frames across the full span of the 10-shot burst at Full Power. The Backscatter Atom delivered 3 fully exposed frames across the full span of the 10-shot burst at Full Power. At Half Power the Maxi and HF-1 both delivered usable exposures across 10 shots, with the HF-1 being more consistent. At Quarter Power all three strobes delivered the expected exposures across the full 10 shot burst. Realistically, one should probably consider Half Power to be the ceiling for taking Burst Mode images with any of these strobes.

Coverage at Common Power Levels (Diffuser 4500k) Summary Notes: All three of these strobes are probably best configured with a warming filter due to their very cold outputs of 6400-6500 kelvin. The diffuser for the Retra Maxi is their Wide-Angle Dome Diffuser delivering a 4500K output. Retra does not offer a flat diffuser. The Backscatter HF-1 and Atom strobes were tested with their respective 4500K flat diffusers. The fall off in power from Full was around 0.50 f-stops for all three strobes. The Atom had the least reduction at 0.40 f-stops, and the HF-1 had the most at 0.50 f-stops.

Continuation of the Pre-Review of the Retra Maxi Strobe.... Studio Comparison Shots with Retra Maxi, Backscatter HF-1, and Atom StrobesThe following grid of images are comparison shots from Retra Maxi, Backscatter HF-1, and Backscatter Atom. This trio of strobes have a lot in common with a set of similar specifications. These specs include: High power, Wide Angle capable Lithium Ion powered, two cells per strobe Rapid recycling times $800-1300 USD price range For this comparison each strobe was set to Full power, Half power, Quarter power, Eighth power. The images were taken with a Nikon Z8, 8-15mm lens at 15mm, 140mm dome, at a range of 65cm from the wall. No filters or diffusers were used. The color temperature of all three strobes is similar at 6200k (Maxi), 6500k (HF-1), and 6400k (Atom). Aperture and ISO were f25 & iso50. Unfortunately, it’s not an exact apples-to-apples comparison. The Retra does not have precise gradations at these power levels. It uses a 17-level scale from -4 to +4 “units” in .5-unit increments. The units don’t equate to F-stops exactly, but Retra reports the +3 and +2 are close to Half and Quarter power, so I went with that approximation. The HF-1 does have a Full setting with Half, Quarter, and Eighth levels, but it also has two higher “Boost Levels” beyond F on the power dial. I found that the “F+1” or “11” setting was very close to the Retra Maxi at Full Power. The Maxi also has single 30% boost level, but it is hidden behind a 3 second press of a button and then active for exactly 5 shots. I suspect this will rarely get used due to poor discoverability. (Does anyone ever read the manual?) The Atom keeps it simple with clearly demarked power levels from 1/32 to Full. Additional even lower power levels of 1/64 to 1/1024 are available under a Low Power Mode accessible via the Mode button. Power Level Test SuiteFindings: The Retra Maxi is a little brighter at each level. Partially this is due to the variance of the power level scales. One-click higher on the HF-1 evens it up with the Maxi. Since this HF-1 has those two additional clicks beyond Full, this is easily achieved. I included an extra comparison row with the HF-1 turned to 11. (Full power plus one more click) Backscatter advertises that the Atom at Full is equivalent to the HF-1 at Full, and the comparison shots support this claim. The HF-1 does have it’s +1 & +2 modes, so there is more headroom on the bigger strobe vs the Atom. The Maxi is the brightest at Full, but I don’t think anyone is going to be lacking power with any of these strobes. Summary Notes: The HF-1 at Full +1 click is very similar to the Maxi, just a .03 f-stop delta. The fall-off of light is similar across all three strobes at around 1 f-stop 50 degrees from center. The Maxi has the greatest fall off at 1.22 f-stop reduction from center. The HF-1 @ 11 has the least at 0.92 f-stop reduction. The HF-1 and Atom are remarkably similar, as advertised. The HF-1 is 0.07 f-stops brighter than the Atom at full power.

What is your issue? Details would be great. I am going to post burst comparisons shortly, and I only use 3FPS. Maxi, HF-1, Atom strobes. For one, 3fps is the only speed I care about or use, and second it is more than sufficient to highlight capabilities of the strobes recycling time and behavior once the capacitor is exhausted.

Very impressive!