Nemrod

So your gear is in the cooler bag, where is the camera? Where did you get water on the boat? Most of the pangas in Cozumel have no water reservoir onboard that I have seen.

No, it is blinking red. Which means test failed. Yet it retains vacuum and went on many dives with no leakage.

Well, dang, what to do, what to do----. Looks like either has enough power to boil water or fry fish. Just the case size bugs me for the Maxi but I suppose I am just fixating as I oft do.

I cannot see that it has a focus light like the ProMax does? Can the video light be set to shut off when the strobe fires?

What is the watt/sec for the Maxi? Retra gives that strobe GN and the Pro Max in watt/sec! Do they have similar coverage for WA?

We just got back also. Where did you stay? Hope you had a great trip! Good news your rig worked perfect. I am beginning to wonder if there is an operator issue though I see nothing he was doing that did not seem right. It is as if the electronics sensitivity is too much and a small fluctuation sets the red light to flashing though there is no leak.

Dave, isn't the Maxi in a larger case, which is a concern to me because I like to get into tight spaces to shoot morays and critters? Also, isn't it kind of a video combo strobe. Video is something I never do. The Pro Max II is meant for still photogs I thought? Simply zero interest in looking at or shooting videos. But, yes, let me take another look at those, I think they can come without the video light option? Thanks.

Not looking to bash on Retra. Basically I am down to purchasing a set of these. I see the booster pack. I realize that is something I should get in due course but due to the rather expensive nature of this purchase, can I use these strobes without the booster. I am shooting a Sony NA-6400 and a Canon NA-R50. Mostly wide angle and mostly with a WWL. Can anyone tell me how many shots (they get) in (their) normal shooting without the boosters? I realize there can be a range here but most folks do not shoot at full power or need the fastest recycle for every dive and every shot. What can I typically expect? How do you think these strobes will handle with a Nauticam APS size housings? Are they huge? Being as I am known to be fastidious and OCD with my belongings, do these have good resell should I decide I have bought a Rolls Royce strobe set to shoot with my Toyota level systems? Why do I want these instead of the new Atom or HF-1? Simple, the Backscatter strobes do not have a universal TTL mode and the Retra does. I shoot manual but do want TTL capability and the Backscatter strobes do not support TTL with my systems.

A good friend and dive buddy purchased one of these new along with an OM camera, lenses, UWL-09Pro and a macro lens. He used it in the fall in Roatan and the vac system never reliably gave a green light and would flash red. He dived the rig anyways and enjoyed it but for the lack of vacuum system function. He returned and sent it back to----- who then charged him several hundred dollars to repair the faulty system on a brand new out of the box unit. Now, the past two weeks, back in Roatan, same thing. Out of 40 dives he got a steady green light maybe three times. And the flash trigger went dead several dives! Is this a known issue? Is there a fix or special technique or is this brand new, now repaired once already ($$) and still not working housing just in need of some more repairs?

I see the same on my housings. I was told it is the coating. I was also told to ignore it. YRMV.

I am using a Kraken 1500 focus light that is cold shoe mounted atop my Nauticam housings. The light has a mode that it shuts off during the photo flash thus reducing backscatter from the focus light. Sometimes it can just attract too many critters, those blood worms in particular.

I have been using the Sam's Club bags, often well under $10. One of them lasted three years including a Red Sea Trip. I left it last trip in Roatan with left over new in package food items, soaps, shampoos my wife had bought and did not use that the room service lady wanted. Got another plus a spare. They will take my Sony NA6400 or my Canon NA-R50 and Inon S220 strobes rigged and zipped and will hold water for a rinse if needed. They are light, fold flat and are inexpensive enough, that they can be just left if need be.

It produces a disco effect, a new technique I have developed. I am sure Alex and Matt on the UWPS will soon copy it. But I did it first! Really, I always set my system up (on the dining room table) before a trip and run it through it's paces. I know that most people wait until they are on the other side of the planet on the RIB heading to the once in a lifetime dive site to test their equipment! Maybe I am a little over kill but my stuff usually works, ha! My wife tolerates me, she is used to my oddities.

I have been using a mini electric blower for some time now. I use it at the end of the dive day after a good rinse to blow the water out of the controls and surfaces. Not as forceful as using compressed air but very effective at removing water especially behind buttons and lens surfaces. I think I am going to purchase a small corded electric blower to replace the rechargeable blower to reduce my "battery" count as I want to carry such things in checked luggage.

I just hope Cozumel remains clear.