Nemrod

6 minutes ago, Kristin said:

No, it isn't the battery, which I have changed already.

The vacuum seal is not working.  

Have just pulled it out and tried to see if anything is obvious.  If anyone has pulled theirs apart to see the spring and little foot, it would be great to hear from you as it seems that this has to be the issue somehow - there's really nothing else that can go wrong.  I can't find a detailed parts diagram or instructions on how to fix this online at all.  

Just a couple of months ago I forgot to put  the cap on and went in the water. Got to about 30 feet and realized my error, NA-R50 housing. Fortunately I did not flood. However, salt crystals formed despite my effort to wash it out. Two days later I had a problem pulling vacuum. The green light would come on but I would quickly get the flashing red light while I was at breakfast. I thought perhaps some salt crystals or debris had formed on the internal seal surface. I pulled a vacuum as best I could and quickly put distilled water in the cavity and pressed the release button several times. I repeated several times. I had placed a microfiber cloth inside to ensure no water got anywhere inside the housing. I completed the trip and have had no further issues and just recently did a pool dive, all functioned normally. If I could stay home long enough I would like to take it apart. Too expensive to replace but if I cannot then I guess off to Reef Photo it goes. YRMV.

Edit to add, I forgot, after forcing the distilled water flush through the valve I used an air gun to gently dry it including pressing the release while allowing air to flow through it. It functioned the remainder of dives and is still seemingly fine. I too would like to know how to disassemble the valve.

Steady red light is a low battery. If a fresh battery does not cure the problem something is possibly amiss with the circuit. Pull a vacuum and let it sit over night. Then release the vacuum, do you hear the valve equalizing? If so there is probably not a leak. If no vacuum, then I guess there is a leak. Change port and door O-rings perhaps, inspect the sealing surfaces.

Please, no. I hve not entered a contest ever but I apprecite looking at the photos you folks put up and the skill and luck and chance and dedication. AI will ruin photography because real photographs can never be perfect. I understand using some tools to get white balance, remove backscatter perhaps but at what point is it no longer your photo but something else.

With the Canon 18-45 lens you will want the WWL-1 not the WWL-1C if getting the full 130 degree FOV is important. The WWL-1C will only get about 116 degrees with a base 18mm APS-C lens. The WWL-1 was designed for 28mm equivalent lenses and the WWL-1C was intended for 24mm equivalent lenses. The WWL-1 does have a lanyard attach point.

The WWL-1 and I imagine the WWL-1C are too large to use the flip adapters. Alignment is critical to prevent vignetting. I do not consider it practical to switch out between the CMC lenses and the WWL underwater. Simply too large and heavy and expensive. You can quickly switch out on the boat and go from one to the other. I do have a bayonet slot on my rigs to temporarily park the WWL for flat port work but no way I would leave that expensive and fragile piece of kit anywhere for long but on my port.

3 hours ago, Christian K said:

Ok, I’m lazy. How does this strobe position itself to the HF1?

Well, okay, none of us are expert on this strobe. Per Backscatter it is smaller than the HF-1 considerably and has a UW GN28 which is equivalent to the HF-1 at max power until you set the +1 or +2 settings which I think are GN34 and GN40 respectively.

Per Backscatter and the strobe operator manuals, the Backscatter MF-1/2/3, Atom and HF-1 will only shoot TTL with the Backscatter trigger. If this is not true, explain how this is not the case because I might like to purchase a set but I want to run off my UWT board or the pop up strobe for TTL. Manual of course is no issue with the UWT trigger or the pop up flash but TTL?

On 11/30/2025 at 10:12 PM, Pavel Kolpakov said:

Backscatter strobes have proprietary TTL protocol, not a classic TTL. Proprietary TTL protocol requires Backscatter triggers usage, as i remember those triggers exist for Olympus and Sony.

Yes, that is the problem. I would wish for "classic" or what I am calling mimic TTL mode for the Atom flash that will sync with either the pop up flash or the UWT trigger board when set for TTL operation without a proprietary board that will not work with many existing cameras and housings.

The trend these days seems to be to market strobes that require a proprietary TTL trigger. The Backscatter strobes do not have a simple mimic TTL mode. And reading the manual for it and the HF-1 the Backscatter trigger is required for TTL?

My three camera rigs run from the pop up strobe or from a UW Technics board. So the Atom would be manual only I assume though I think the HSS mode would work from the UWT board?

Just returned. I think Roatan no different, no better, no worse, from the rest of the Caribbean basin at large. Everything has suffered from the scd, bleaching and overly warm water. Notice all the floaty stuff generating backscatter, supposedly not typical? Lots of rays and turtles, good number of fish, corals typical. (Nauticam Canon NA-R50, WWL-1, dual Marelux Apollo strobes)

On 11/11/2025 at 3:22 PM, SwiftFF5 said:

I have been offered a trip to Cozumel in January, and I am struggling with whether to take my camera gear or just forgo it for this trip.

I have been to Cozumel many times including just this past July, twice the year before and usually at least once annually. Over the last trips I have been asked how many cameras I have and I answered one. Now, to be complete, I have not gotten the red button on my last trips. This is flying into Cozumel. If you do the bag drag from Cancun, who knows. Cozumel, you should be okay with one camera. Put the camera in the housing.

Tools, yes, my Nauticam Allen keys were taken from the carry-on camera case. Despite having carried them through multiple times.

23 hours ago, Adventurer said:

If people are on a limited budget or have limited luggage the INON S-220 is the goto strobe !

If you can crank up the ISO of your camera a little you can compensate, not bringing a large gun such as the HF-1 or Apollo III 2.0.

I love my two S220 strobes. I had been using D2000 strobes until they went TU. The S220 is much stronger and nearly as strong as a pair of Z240s I had borrowed and they do throw a wide beam. The thing I run into is flash fill against a sun lit background (sun balls, shallow water, bright sand) is that I run out of sync speed on my Sony (1/160 though I can get it to 1/200 with the UWT trigger). Thus needing to use the aperture/ISO to help control the background exposure and the little S220 (D2000, Z240 et al) quickly run out of power. Yes, going to a lower ISO and aperture works until I run out of strobe power.

Just playing in the pool, what needs f5.6 with the S220 (GN22) I can do at f8 with the Marelux Apollo (GN33) and just a wild guess maybe with something like the HF-1 (GN40) at f11? I am not putting this photo up as an example of great photography ;), but here two S220 strobes did allow me to get a decent exposure of the turtle at the Salt Pier against a bright background, WWL-1, S220 strobes with warming diffusers, NA-6400, f8, 1/200, ISO 200.

3 hours ago, JS1221 said:

I know this thread is a bit old so forgive me. I'm wondering what your opinions would be on taking the S-220 to Socorro to photography the manta rays and hopefully whale sharks? I shoot an Olympus E-M1 Mk III, in an AOI housing, using a 14-42mm EZ lens with the Nauticam WWL-1B, or the Olympus 8mm Fisheye with a 4" dome.

It is true the S220 is much stronger than the S2000 series strobes. Maybe even encroaching on the old Z240. But I think you might be asking too much of them. Can you make do, well, maybe. Not ideal, I have used mine for wide angle and CFWA, but whale sharks in shallow, brightly lit ambient conditions will be over powering for them is my bet.

After experimenting with off loading my back up Peregrine to my strobe arms I decided I did not like that. It just got in the way so back on my arm it went. Putting the computer on the camera may be a good idea for some but it just did not work for me.

If I am using a towel I try to get a freshwater soaked towel. My usual resort in Cozumel has no water or rinse tanks on the pangas. But the DMs will usually wet me a towel down which I place in my cooler bag. I will also bring along a large bottle of water for a rinse. They place the camera back into the bag usually for me or sometime hold it as I climb aboard and I do so. They have always been good about being gentle. Of course a nice soak in freshwater once back.

My new NA-R50 does seem to have a different finish but again, there are areas of discoloration already. This despite significant effort to prevent this from happening. But it does seem better.

I think the anodizing is preventing damaging corrosion as long as the housing is rinsed well and properly. It is more of an aesthetic issue.

Here is the NA-6400 after return from service summer before last and just prior to a month nearly of submersion in the Red Sea. Just doing some test set ups before the trip. So, yes, it was pretty again but not like new. And a photo of the NA-6400 in action just a few weeks ago in Roatan (D.Haas).

42 minutes ago, Chris Ross said:

I've seen pics of worse Nauticam housings than that. With my housings, it's less dives than yours, but I generally have a damp towel available to cover the housings on dive boats. Presumably the RIB is taking you out from the mother ship, so you shouldn't be in it long?? I don't know. I shore dive a lot at home and have my own car, so the housing only walks from the exit to the car and gets covered with a damp towel.

It appears the link you had that the guy has a process to clean up the housing? Perhaps he polishes it? Apparently if you send your housing to Nauticam it comes back like new.

As for ceramcote, i'm sure it could work but you would need to strip all the buttons etc I think, remove the rear window, strobe trigger window etc and work out how to mask off all of the o-ring sealing surfaces, in the button holes , the housing back etc. i'm not sure I'd want to have an O-ring trying seal against the coating?? It would need proper research to prepare the surface properly, mask as required etc. and a good applicator to apply it. There would probably be procedures around the protective anodes as well to follow.

That housing was sent for service at three years as I stated. It looked much better but was not anything like new. That photo was prior to service.

Have you sent a housing to Nauticam, not to a repair facility authorized by Nauticam but actually to Nauticam?

I do use a wet towel when nothing is available, wet with fresh water. I also will carry a bottle of water to rinse the housing best I can before placing in the wet towel. I also often use a cooler bag and will pour freshwater in it or the wet towel if no water is available. All of that is easier said than done in a tossing boat or a rented Jeep at a place known for theft (of even wet towels) or a beach entry that needs a half mile walk or a pickup truck ride through desert heat to and from. My FIX housing has had the same use for many years and has little discoloration, Nauticam seem particularly good at turning white.

If you want to defend Nauticam or place the blame on operator error I understand that POV but it is my opinion based upon ownership of several aluminum housings that Nauticam could improve their coatings for the cost of their housings.

On 10/19/2025 at 8:31 AM, rwe said:

Can someone put a picture of a Nauticam housing that has turned white or partly white? Is it really white or more like grey which is the typical color of aluminum with a protective aluminum oxide layer. Is it possible that the white color is just due to the dye leaching out of the oxidized layer?

I hope I am not breaking a rule, fuss at me if I am, here is a link to a gentleman and his business that repairs UW camera housings and equipment. Scroll down to the video of a recent repair of a Nauticam.

http://oceaninventions.com

Here is my NA-6400. Purchased around January of 2020 and has about 500-600 dives on it. I had it serviced in 2023 prior to a Red Sea trip just to make sure I had no issues on the trip, peace of mind. You can see the white-ish discoloration compared to the less used 4.33 dome.

This housing has not been abused. I am OCD. But what RIB has a tank of freshwater? What beach on Bonaire has a freshwater soak tank and water hose to fill it of which would not be stolen out of your rented vehicle? The complaint here is that these housings cost $$$$$$$ and Nauticam could provide an improved coating that does not turn white in normal, real world use. The good is that there appears to be no degradation of functionality, just aesthetics, at least for mine. It is nonetheless quite annoying. When I go all OCD and clean it up it does not look so bad. And, again, I do a Balistol wipe down and it looks pretty from 10 feet. So I just do not get closer than 10 feet so as not to trip into a nervous breakdown 🤣.

Notice that my (2009) FIX/Canon S90 housing is clean and shows little white discoloration and has tons of dives on it. It clearly has a better anodize process.

I wonder if Cerakote could be applied as an additional protection at considerable expense?

I think the whitish discoloration is inevitable on a Nauticam and just a sign of use. I have religiously rinsed, dried, blow dried, used distilled water, rain water, kept my rig in a container or bag full of fresh water, wiped dry with soft micro fiber cloths and still the places that tend to hold water will eventually turn white and in time the entire surface of the housing will take on the white discoloration.

I now use Balistol on a micro fiber cloth and cotton swabs. I do not spray the housing but just the rag or swabs. I do not get the Balistol on the ports or windows or down in the controls or O-rings, just a surface wipe. After application I allow to dry and then gently wipe any excess away. This leaves a resistant coating that will last several dives.

For as much as a Nauticam housing costs they need a better corrosion proof finish, maybe epoxy paint over the anodize or a more durable anodize :(.

Right here, set strobe control to M and there should be no preflash. If set to ETTL there will be a preflash always.

57 minutes ago, Chris Ross said:

If that's what is happening the camera is emitting a pre-flash in both situations. The double lightning bolt is setup to ignore the first flash and only fire when the main flash trigger comes through.

The mystery to me is why would a Canon R5 be emitting a pre-flash with the (in the menu) Flash Control settings chosen to Manual flash?

Some Sony cameras do not have a Manual strobe setting and always fire a pre-flash even with the camera in Manual mode. This of course allows TTL during an exposure with manual f-stop and shutter speed. However, my little Canon R50 and S90 does have a Manual flash control setting in the menu under Flash Control settings which most definitely only fires a single flash. I think the OP needs to explore the Flash Control settings and see what is enabled because a Canon R5 should have a Manual strobe setting with no pre-flash.

My (old) UWT TTL trigger does have a setting for no-preflash, it is setting 0 on my board. This for my Sony.

On 10/4/2025 at 7:36 PM, Pavel Kolpakov said:

If you mean TTL Converter switch position 9, - this is a mistaken choice.

Check the User Manual for TTL Converter: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IpmCU-Ei8IeeApRnpLnTrDu8gVBUIzw9/view

There are three positions for HSS strobes:

Position '2" - for Apollo-III.

Position "3"- for Apollo-S,

Position "7" - for Retra Pro MAX.

😊 My trigger was purchased about five years ago, there are no position for any HSS but for Retra. I was just recalling from memory which switch position on mine is Retra.

11 hours ago, humu9679 said:

I could be wrong, but wouldn’t the power control dial on the right would allow for output changes, even in HSS?

I do not know. I do not see any difference in my limited trials turning that power knob in HSS using the Retra board switch position. I do see that the Backscatter HF-1 only has one power setting in HSS and I suspect the same here with the Apollo S, excerpt from HF-1 manual attached. I have the Apollo manual and I do not see this addressed therein. I think I am beginning to understand HSS.

The reason I am asking about power control in HSS is that I do not see any change between full and minimum settings. From that I concluded that the power knob is not functional in HSS mode on the Apollo S strobe? In a couple of weeks I can get in the water and play with HSS. Thanks.

4 hours ago, Adventurer said:

I must admit that I used MARELUX Apollo III strobes with the UWT Retra dip switch position successfully in TTL and HSS before a converter appeared that had a dedicated Apollo protocol. You may want to get your hands on an Apollo S or Apollo III for that reason, maybe?

Thanks, I am just going to try it in a couple of weeks in Roatan and see what goes.

I am using (borrowing) Apollo S strobes. They are impressive kit for sure. How did you control the Apollo S strobe output in HSS?

I always liked OM cameras but in film days I had the Nikon F and FMII Titanium instead because they just fit my hands better and these days it is Sony and Canon. Is the OM really that much smaller than a Sony or Canon APS camera? Not really comparing them side by side and now the new Sony FF cameras are awfully small as well.

One thing for the OM was that the cameras were/are rugged and weather resistant. The little consumer level Canons, like my EOS R50, are beautiful little cameras but they feel plasticky and are not ruggedized for heavy outdoors use. My Sony A6400 at least has some weather and dust sealing though not awfully inspiring.

31 minutes ago, RVBldr said:

Do you have the extension on the release tab? That makes it significantly easier with dry gloves.

I second this, Nauticam does have an extension and it works with both generations of bayonets. Also, I tether my WWL-1 to the housing should I drop it.

Hah! Maybe he can reprogram my trigger board ;).

Please, I am not being serious, I would not expect to be able to reprogram an old board :).