RETRA Strobe Thread

I have the V1 jackets, which I assume are the same as V2. The bumpers protect the ends of the strobe and when the jacket is placed over them, they stop the jacket from sliding off the front or back.

Thank you very much for the pictures!

So the neoprene covers that now come with the new strobes are actually different! I'm not really sure that the bumpers will fit with the new ones.

Neoprene homemade with an old wetsuit for me

33 minutes ago, Flo said:

Neoprene homemade with an old wetsuit for me

 

certainly a lot cheaper.  The protective ring may seem useful to protect the front without diffusers.   I wonder if it prevents full light diffusion before ordering it.

It's not the protective ring , it's reduction ring for macro

And yes, cheaper, I don't want to spend 84 € just for that

Got mine! Two Retra Pros, two white diffusers, two neoprene jackets and one LSD. Total 1905 € + 1859 NIS (480 €) in taxes and fees. Going to take them underwater in the Philippines in three weeks - it's just too cold here to dive right now.

Got mine! Two Retra Pros, two white diffusers, two neoprene jackets and one LSD. Total 1905 € + 1859 NIS (480 €) in taxes and fees. Going to take them underwater in the Philippines in three weeks - it's just too cold here to dive right now.

3 hours ago, Interceptor121 said:

How much did it work out over unit?

The original order of two strobes (pro model) was 1478 €. If I split the taxes and fees proportionally, it works out to 925 € per strobe.

 
The original order of two strobes (pro model) was 1478 €. If I split the taxes and fees proportionally, it works out to 925 € per strobe.

For all sales to end users inside the EU we are required to add VAT (value added tax). With the PRO's this means the price of €899 (excluding tax) comes up to €1.096 or just shy of €200 of tax per flash which is a little more than 20%. All EU customers pay this tax.

When sending items outside the EU (exporting) we are not required and do not add any taxes as the destination country will place duties and local taxes on the imported goods based on the rules they have. In my experience these are much lower in the majority of countries around the world and many of them even come out without paying taxes. I think Canada might be the most expensive of the western ones but it still comes out at about 15% which is considerably less than the EU. In the US I think it's much less, as Herb pointed out he paid no more than 5% tax.

When you are purchasing products directly from the manufacturer there will be no middleman to take his part in the sale. In our case this means we can keep the product priced lower because we can count on at least some of the sales to come directly. Although the majority of users still prefer buying at a local shop instead of the internet and we always see a total drop of direct sales in an area where a reseller starts to operate.

1 hour ago, Interceptor121 said:

Ok so that is 225 more expensive than a sea and sea or inon

Sent from my SM-A505FN using Tapatalk
 

A bit less - local price for a YS-D2 or Z-330 is about 770-780 € equivalent due to VAT and retailer markups, so it's about 150 € difference after accounting for early pre-order discount. Without the discount, getting new Retra Pros here (once retailers get them in stock) will be considerably more expensive, I expect. We pay 17% VAT here - less than EU, but more than most of the rest of the world.

1 hour ago, Barmaglot said:

A bit less - local price for a YS-D2 or Z-330 is about 770-780 € equivalent due to VAT and retailer markups, so it's about 150 € difference after accounting for early pre-order discount. Without the discount, getting new Retra Pros here (once retailers get them in stock) will be considerably more expensive, I expect. We pay 17% VAT here - less than EU, but more than most of the rest of the world.

Actually here in Europe the difference is a bit more. You may find the YS-D2 at around 665€ (549.59€ excl. VAT), and Z-330 at 699€ (577.69€ excl. VAT).

However, for me there is no question the Retra are worth the difference ...

The difference in specs, build is huge between these strobes. And reliability/repairability of S&S strobes is so bad, that I will never buy an other one.

2 hours ago, Algwyn said:

Actually here in Europe the difference is a bit more. You may find the YS-D2 at around 665€ (549.59€ excl. VAT), and Z-330 at 699€ (577.69€ excl. VAT).

However, for me there is no question the Retra are worth the difference ...

The difference in specs, build is huge between these strobes. And reliability/repairability of S&S strobes is so bad, that I will never buy an other one.

Inon reliability is fine. I was just trying to understand how those are priced and they are in the middle ground between more mainstream units and the more expensive seacam etc

23 minutes ago, Interceptor121 said:

Inon reliability is fine. I was just trying to understand how those are priced and they are in the middle ground between more mainstream units and the more expensive seacam etc

They're priced in line with Ikelite DS-161s, which also have a circular tube with similar power output (160 W/s vs 150 W/s) and a strong center-mounted pilot LED (useful for aiming snoots). The advantages of Retra are wider angle, size, weight, standard battery cells as opposed to Ikelite's proprietary units, controls, and, theoretically, custom modes like HSS.  Both only have one mode of triggering (optical for Retra, electric for Ikelite) requiring an external adapter to accommodate the other. Arguably, the Ikelites have a larger selection of accessories (snoots, fluorescence excitation filters, etc).

Mine arrived so just starting. Fiber optics are totally new to me too. Was not able to find the "app" either via Google using Chrome on my computer nor the Apple app from the Apple App store. There needs to be a back up maybe a pdf at the Retra website?

Trying to figure out how 2 fiber optics are attached to the adapter. Is the part that inserts into the strobe a standard part?

49 minutes ago, Tom_Kline said:

Mine arrived so just starting. Fiber optics are totally new to me too. Was not able to find the "app" either via Google using Chrome on my computer nor the Apple app from the Apple App store. There needs to be a back up maybe a pdf at the Retra website?

Trying to figure out how 2 fiber optics are attached to the adapter. Is the part that inserts into the strobe a standard part?

@Tom_Kline

From what I have heard from them, it's not possible to fire 2 strobes from one "E-Opto-converter"   (if that is what you are referring to) 

1 minute ago, g3cko said:

From what I have heard from them, it's not possible to fire 2 strobes from one "E-Opto-converter"   (if that is what you are referring to) 

Yes that is what I was referring. I seem to recall from when I ordered the strobes that two fiber optic cables could be used but that one would be included with each adapter.

Not to speak for them, that may have changed through their development.... but what was communicated to me sounded like that was not possible due to the trigger not being bright enough. 

We will have to hear from Oskar.  Meanwhile I was curious about the black cap over the optical sensor. I have never used these on my ori. Retras and have only used the similar part on my Inons when using them as slaves. The Inon part fits on the Retra Pro but the Retra part does nor fit on the Inons due to the larger diameter of the sensor - at least on the Z220 model. The hole in the Inon part has a larger diameter.

22 hours ago, Oskar@RetraUWT said:

For all sales to end users inside the EU we are required to add VAT (value added tax). With the PRO's this means the price of €899 (excluding tax) comes up to €1.096 or just shy of €200 of tax per flash which is a little more than 20%. All EU customers pay this tax.

When sending items outside the EU (exporting) we are not required and do not add any taxes as the destination country will place duties and local taxes on the imported goods based on the rules they have. In my experience these are much lower in the majority of countries around the world and many of them even come out without paying taxes. I think Canada might be the most expensive of the western ones but it still comes out at about 15% which is considerably less than the EU. In the US I think it's much less, as Herb pointed out he paid no more than 5% tax.

When you are purchasing products directly from the manufacturer there will be no middleman to take his part in the sale. In our case this means we can keep the product priced lower because we can count on at least some of the sales to come directly. Although the majority of users still prefer buying at a local shop instead of the internet and we always see a total drop of direct sales in an area where a reseller starts to operate.

One of the concerns expressed is the exorbitant fees charged by the likes of DHL for customs clearance.  It can be quite significant - different countries have different rules but I know in Australia at least you can do your own paperwork if it arrives by regular parcel post.  Seems it would be nice to have options for how they were shipped.  If you buy through a dealer the brokerage fees would be "there" but probably less but would include a dealer profit margin.   Backscatter list the Pro at $1049 so that is the Retra price plus just over 5% which seems like a wash for US residents.