10Bar Snoot

Anyone try out the 10Bar snoot? Seems reasonably priced (relative to some other options) and includes a laser to aid in aiming the snoot. I'm not sure if the laser is too gimmicky or not but I know the hardest part of using my homemade snoot is lining it up with my subject.

Hoping for some input.

http://www.backscatter.com/sku/10b-lo-led-sn-s240.lasso

It's been a few months so I thought I'd see if anyone has gotten their hands on one yet.

I have one and I purchased the laser separately. I think it is a great snoot, however, It needs a little tweaking. I use Sea&Sea strobes, and the snoot fits over the end. Although it fits snugly, there is no way to keep it attached, so when I reach up to move the strobe head, it often comes off in my hand. I am having three holes machined into the sides to mount some thumb screws so I can tighten it down to the head of my strobe.

There are graduating tips that screw off so you can have different sized light openings, but there is no grip on each tip, so trying to unscrew one under water with gloves on is impossible. Even dry, they are hard to unscrew. I had to put silicon grease on the threads.

The laser was a waste of money for me. There is already a light bar on the snoot that my strobes aiming light can travel down and it works great for positioning the snoot. On the Laser, I found the tiny red dot was never anywhere near the subject, even though it has plenty of room for adjustment. (The laser aiming light is for sale

The ring of light this snoot gives is nice. The edges are not hard like the Retra snoot, and not quite as soft as a fiber optic snoot. It is easy aim and gives a nice soft spotlight.

If you are looking to get a snoot, you should think about what kind of light pattern you want on your subject. I personally don't care for the hard edges of the Retra. The 10Bar is good. My favorite is a fiber-optic snoot made by Subsee. It gives you the option of positioning the light wherever you want and has different sized tips for small or larger subjects. You can also put two arms on one snoot if you want light coming from two different directions. It takes some practice to use, though.

Good Luck, I hope this is helpful to you!

Thanks for the response.

Very very helpful. I plan to use the snoot with Z-240s so I wonder if it will have the same detaching problem.

Thanks for the input on the laser as well. For whatever reason it doesn't look like the snoot for the Z-240 is sold without it. I'll have to ask around.

I believe the one for the Z-240 comes with the laser aiming light, and it may work well. It isn't needed on the YS-D1's because of the placement of the strobes modeling light. I just didn't realize that until I tried to use it. Good luck!

I've used mine once, with the laser aiming light. Had trouble with adjusting the laser accurately. Only one or two shots were actually lit on the subject. Also, if you want to have fun but not get the shot, Gobies treat a laser dot the same way cats do. The goby I was trying to shoot kept chasing the dot. Thankfully, Nudibranchs didn't. I didn't have any problem with the unit falling off my YSD-1's. I haven't tried it with the strobe aiming light. I'll have to see if that works better.

Also, if you want to have fun but not get the shot, Gobies treat a laser dot the same way cats do. The goby I was trying to shoot kept chasing the dot. Thankfully, Nudibranchs didn't.

I take an underwater laser pointer with me to use to point out critters for others, and found that quite a few fish will chase the laser spot. It is pretty amusing, just the way it is with cats.

I have one and I purchased the laser separately. I think it is a great snoot, however, It needs a little tweaking. I use Sea&Sea strobes, and the snoot fits over the end. Although it fits snugly, there is no way to keep it attached, so when I reach up to move the strobe head, it often comes off in my hand. I am having three holes machined into the sides to mount some thumb screws so I can tighten it down to the head of my strobe.

 

There are graduating tips that screw off so you can have different sized light openings, but there is no grip on each tip, so trying to unscrew one under water with gloves on is impossible. Even dry, they are hard to unscrew. I had to put silicon grease on the threads.

 

The laser was a waste of money for me. There is already a light bar on the snoot that my strobes aiming light can travel down and it works great for positioning the snoot. On the Laser, I found the tiny red dot was never anywhere near the subject, even though it has plenty of room for adjustment. (The laser aiming light is for sale

 

The ring of light this snoot gives is nice. The edges are not hard like the Retra snoot, and not quite as soft as a fiber optic snoot. It is easy aim and gives a nice soft spotlight.

 

If you are looking to get a snoot, you should think about what kind of light pattern you want on your subject. I personally don't care for the hard edges of the Retra. The 10Bar is good. My favorite is a fiber-optic snoot made by Subsee. It gives you the option of positioning the light wherever you want and has different sized tips for small or larger subjects. You can also put two arms on one snoot if you want light coming from two different directions. It takes some practice to use, though.

 

Good Luck, I hope this is helpful to you!

Did you end up having to cover the holes when not using the laser pointer?