Dave_Hicks

Retra Maxi Custom Knobs The responsiveness and precision of the Retra controls are superb. While the Retra control precision is excellent, I don't like that the Mode Switch and Power Level knobs look identical to each other. The power level is longer, but I found it hard to discern which was which, especially when wearing gloves. This is exacerbated when the strobes are in different orientations, resulting in mirrored positions. Both control knobs feel the same resulting in mistakes that screw up settings. I love to customize the gear I use, so I addressed this with custom made Retra Maxi mode switch and power level knobs. The Mode switch is rounded with a “fin” to aid in alignment. I choose red and white colors to better distinguish the two controls. I find these changes to the Mode switch work a lot better for my style of shooting. It also fixes another issue with the Retra Knobs - salt deposits. The Retra knobs are completely flush to the back of the strobe, and they have internal voids that retain water. Even after a long soak and air blow dry, you will find salt encrusting the base of the knobs a day or two later. My replacements are solid with smaller voids and leave a 1mm gap from the base. This allows any trapped salt water to be flushed out. The included Power Level knob is nearly identical to the original design but adds the small gap for drainage. Installation:Use a 2mm allen key to remove loosen and remove the inset hex screw from the original knobs. Use the same screw in the replacement knobs. Thread it a few turns into the custom knob. Align the new knob on the appropriate post. Note the hole that will receive the screw. Gently turn the screw with the allen key until it is flush with the knob. If installed correctly the knob will be solidly attached with no wiggle room. Original: Custom: Download from: https://makerworld.com/en/models/2290342-retra-maxi-pro-max-replacement-knobs

I share all of my designs and will post the Retra knobs soon. I am going to complete the set with a Power Level knob and will share them after a few more test dives. Can anyone share the height and diameter of the Pro Max knobs? I want to know if they are the same. Some of the older Retra models have smaller knobs.

I have the HF-1 and the Atom and will make those comparisons. Thanks for sharing your ideas for evaluating these similar strobes.

Likely won't work if your strobe is like this one. Zero gap under the knob and i use a powerful electric blower after a some hours in the sink. The knob ought to have a little space to drain, even if a small hole or slot at the bottom. There is a considerable hollow under the knob that retains a CC or two of water.

Great review Kiliii! I think we are in sync on a lot of the details. I especially appreciate that the strobes you are comparing to are completely different than what I am using. I have Retra Maxi, Backscatter HF-1, Backscatter Atom. I don't have a Retra Pro Max-II, and I think that is an important point of comparison. Retra Maxi Control Ergonomics: I'll add one note here on the Retra ergonomics. The responsiveness and precision of the Retra Maxi controls are superb. Better than the Backscatter strobes for sure. The HF-1 power level knob is a crime against cold water divers. The Atom is better in that it's not simple round knob but a flat paddle, allowing your fingers to feel the position. However, it is smaller than I would like. While the Retra Maxi control precision is excellent, I don't like that the Mode Switch and Power Level look identical to each other. The power level is longer, but I found it hard to discern which was which. This is exacerbated when the strobes are in different orientations, resulting in mirrored positions. As seen below. I often shoot with one strobe up and one out on long arms. I can't see the backs of the strobes when in an inward position and my fingers have to do the all the work. Both control knobs fell the same resulting in mistakes that screw up settings. I love to customize the gear I use, so I addressed this with a custom made Retra Maxi mode switch knob. I find this design works a lot better for my style of shooting. It also fixes another issue with the Retra Knobs - salt deposits. The Retra knobs are completely flush to the back of the strobe and they have a internal voids that retain water. Even after a long soak and air blow dry, I will find salt encrusting the base of the knobs a day or two later. My design is essentially solid and leaves about a 1mm gap from the base, allowing the trapped salt water to be flushed out. I will probably make a custom Power Level knob that looks identical to the stock knob but leaves a gap to allow proper flushing of the salt deposits. (If you look closely, you can see salt around the base of Retra's power level knob even after I wiped most of it off)

I just went to Bay Photo and looked at the Framed Print options. The absolute biggest "image display" options are 18"x30" or 20"x32" on a 24x36 frame. Such a thin matte would probably look like garbage. Selecting only the cheapest options. such a print is $270. A full $100 more than a 20x30 metal print and you can not to any bigger using a frame. No telling if the quality of that frame and glass is any good, and it would likely be a lot heavier.

Collecting this one!

Sounds like the problem I had. In my case Backscatter did all the talking to Nauticam and had them send me a new trigger.

https://www.printique.com/ Get on their mailing list and wait until they have a sale of at least 20%. Around holidays, mother's day etc they often have 30-35% sales. Metal prints are much cheaper than framed glass prints, more durable, and look sharper. Especially when you get into the poster sized 20-30 inch size range. Btw, i do have a very popular 3d print on Makerworld for hanging these metal prints using a command strip. Super easy and won't harm your walls.

I also print a lot of photos, with around 20+ hanging at home. Most are 30" x 20" glossy metal prints. A few 30x30, and some smaller 16x12s in small spaces. I also have had similar displays to what you described at Salons, Coffee shops, etc. The first time i did this I cleared my walls of the best stuff, and refilled my house with newer, even better photos! The metals prints are great looking, sharp, and modern. Frameless, easy to hang. Relatively affordable at around $200 for a 30" print and there are frequent 20-30% off sales.

I would be willing to try to fabricate one. Seems like a pretty simple idea. Could probably make it buoyant enough to balance the weight. Are you think of the +5 or +10?

If you ruled out the port getting fogged i would be looking at the lens. Loose the TC to remove another variable. Are you able to seal the camera in an air conditioned space?

The Atom has a Red light mode! The snoot mod I built worked well, dove it tonight.

I just got an Atom last week, and this week I made a snoot-adapter for the OS-1. Backscatter is planning to sell an "OS-2" snoot for the Atom but it looks like it's just the OS-1 optics on a different plastic mount. I quickly reverse engineered it from the product photos and used my spare OS-1 front end on my DIY adapter. I'll dive it tomorrow and report on results. It seems to work just as well at the MF-2 / OS-1 combo, but more powerful. This might be an ideal snoot setup as the MF-2 is limited in battery life if you have the spotting light on all the time.

China copy of a Hong Kong China company product? Its China all the way down!

Buzzer is more annoying than useful. Personally, i would just use it as is if simple measures can't fix it.

I am still field testing these designs for the new Backscatter Atom Strobe but thought I would share a sneak peek! Bumper Ring Full reduction ring set - Wide, Macro, Super-macro 4500k Color Filter that fits in the wide reduction ring Adapter to retrofit the OS-1 snoot to the Atom Strobe using the strobes bayonet mount

To be determined!

Thanks! We had some major floods last month that put so much silt in Puget Sound that I could only see one of my two fins. :) It's a lot better now.

Sharing are a few more wide-angle shots with the Maxi's. The water conditions around the PNW tend to be fairly particulate at the best of times, so I normally like to use reductions rings. The Maxi strobes (and my HF-1) are pretty cold around 6200-6500k so I also like to use a warming filter. Retra's wide angle 4500k warming dome is not compatible with reduction rings however. I ended up fabricating custom reduction rings a with 5500k --> 4500k gel filter installed. I think it all worked out really nicely and I was satisfied with the results. A note on battery life - Using 5300mah batteries, I took about 330 photos across two dives on this outing. At the end of the day the battery indicator light was still Green, meaning they still had greater than 75% state of charge. I only used the spotting lights a little bit to illuminate the GPO in its den. Battery life of the Maxi's seems to be great. I'm looking forward to some three-dive-days in the future to really stress them out. The photos below were not edited for white balance, this is how the colors came out of the camera set to auto white balance with using the 4500k filters: Nikon Z8 w/24-50mm, WWL-C, Pair Retra Maxi strobes Custom Reduction Ring and filter:

From what I can see in testing of Burst shots and recycle time, I think that Retra has designed the Maxi to prioritize triggering the flash with each frame. The Maxi will continue to fire with each frame even if at a reduced the power level. This is probably a valid choice at 1/8th or 1/4 power. At 1/2 or Full power I think this breaks down as the subsequent shots in the sequence become so underexposed that they might not be useful. The Backscatters seem to prioritize hitting the expected exposure with every flash, and will start dropping frames when they can't keep up anymore. At 1/2 and Full power the Atom still delivered useful exposures even if only every second or third frame. The HF-1 only skipped frames at Full power and then exposed every second frame. I think this is a case where preferences will vary.

No, please read it again. I tested with 3fps for 10 frames. The Maxi works perfectly at 1/8th power. Any higher power and you lose start to reduce the exposure with each subsequent frame. It's a gradual drop off at 1/4, and more significant at 1/2 and Full power. The Backscatter HF-1 and Atom are ramp up a bit higher in burst shooting. They never shoot an significantly underpowered frame. Instead they start skipping frames. Both work perfectly at 1/8 and 1/4. The Atom starts skipping every other frame at 1/2 power. The HF-1 starts skipping every other frame only at Full power, and the Atom skips two frames at Full.

The short answer is that the Maxi can shoot steady across 10 frames at 1/8th power (+1). At 1/4 (+2) there is a gradual drop off in power over 10 frames. At 1/2 the drop offs are significant and its a no go at Full. There are no blank or skipped frames. I shots at 3 frames per second in these tests.

I spent today diving with the Maxi's at a dive site called Sund Rock about 90 minutes drive from Seattle. Good visibility today (5-10 meters) so I am hoping for a few good wide-angle shots. I will do some test shots and comparison including recycle and power of 3-5 frame burst shots. I'll compare the Maxi, HF-1, and Atom strobes.

My 3d printed floats are hollow, mostly. Printed in ABS, 4 walls, 5% infill. Not sealed with any additional products or acetone smoothed. Not necessary. I have the printing parameters tuned well enough that the hollow body structure is completely waterproof and crush-resistant to a tested depth of about 35 meters. Trying to minimize dry weight against buoyancy. I have been using a few of these across 50+ dives each and weigh them periodically to very they have not taken on water. So far, they are rock solid.