RETRA Strobe Thread

Dears

Problem solved and was not all around what we discuss here.

The emmited light by the e-opto is too strong and after the first trigger, then the strobes cannot cope with it and are blocked.

Retra team advice me to cover with black tape 2/3 of the optical part of the strobe and now it works fine.

This will be fixed by a firmware update in the next 2-3 weeks.

I have the latest Pro X.

Have a nice day

Dimitris

Thank you for your cooperation Dimitris.

This issue was detected in combination with the new E-Opto converter which mounts directly to the Retra Flash without a fiber optic cable in between. 

We have already amended it in the new firmware which will be released in the next 2-3 weeks along with other improvements.

When the superchargers arrived they were, as has been noted elsewhere, very hard to open.  They have been easier since then and I wonder if being sealed during air travel and my elevation at home contributed to this.  I am considering whether it would make sense to remove the O rings for air travel, carrying them in a baggie, as I do with the housing O ring and did with my Inon O rings.

Anyone have any thoughts or experience with that?  I can't really envision it being a problem but thought I would inquire.

2 hours ago, Draq said:

When the superchargers arrived they were, as has been noted elsewhere, very hard to open.  They have been easier since then and I wonder if being sealed during air travel and my elevation at home contributed to this.  I am considering whether it would make sense to remove the O rings for air travel, carrying them in a baggie, as I do with the housing O ring and did with my Inon O rings.

Anyone have any thoughts or experience with that?  I can't really envision it being a problem but thought I would inquire.

Yeah, I found the same thing intially, John. A little hard to get the "lids" off and I was a bit wary of pulling. But as I used them more I just became more confident and now just keep pulling till they pop off. And they do.

I don't think you need to remove them for air travel (although Oskar might chip-in with his thoughts). I'm sure if this was necessary, Retra would have included that in the instructions.

Thanks, Tim.  I am sure it is not necessary or Retra would not ship them with the O rings installed, but I am not sure there is a downside to removing them, either.    Hopefully Oskar will comment.

9 hours ago, Draq said:

Thanks, Tim.  I am sure it is not necessary or Retra would not ship them with the O rings installed, but I am not sure there is a downside to removing them, either.    Hopefully Oskar will comment.

That is a fine way to lose or damage your orings as you pack for a trip. It is all downside, no benefits. Are you going to remove the orings in your lights and regulators as well? 

Hi

No sense to remove o-rings for any air travel, there is no valve that would result in a pressure change in any of the chambers. It's actually better to keep them mounted as you risk damaging them while dismounting or getting them dirty while packed.

We have discovered recently that the lid of the Supercharger is much more difficult to remove (after being stationary for a couple days) if there is a gracious amount of silicone grease applied. This mistake was previously done in our workshop which is not surprising since it is counterintuitive. Solution: wipe away all silicone grease and when necessary lubricate only very slightly until the o-rings are shiny. This applies only to the top two o-rings on the Supercharger where the lid is mounted.

4 hours ago, Oskar@RetraUWT said:

This mistake was previously done in our workshop which is not surprising since it is counterintuitive.

Sure is! Thanks, Oskar. Good to know

Interesting on the lube, I will reduce the quantity of grease on the upper O rings per Oskar's instructions, and leave O rings on. 

DaveHicks:  Thank you for your input.  I have not forgotten or lost dive photo O rings in the past 15 or so years, including the baggie of spares I always take, so I am not too worried about that.  I generally follow manufacturer advice on maintenance and care and was unsure what Retra recommended or others may have experienced, and have not yet gotten the superchargers on a dive trip.

Bonjour,

Nous sommes trois photographes à posséder chacun deux flashes Retra Pro X dont deux avec convertisseur UW Tecnics (Canon 5D4 et Nikon D500)et un avec  Turtle (Nikon D7200)

Aucun de nous n'arrive à avoir de bonnes expositions en positions TTL malgré des milliers d'expositions et ce dans des  conditions différentes et avec le Firmware 2.17.

Possesseurs de Retra Pro X avez vous réussi à avoir un TTL efficace ?

20 minutes ago, Jean Raphael said:

Possesseurs de Retra Pro X avez vous réussi à avoir un TTL efficace ?

Hmm, bizarre.

J'ai des Pro X avec un D500 et le convertisseur UW Technics pour le Subal.  Normalement je fais d'expositions sans TTL, mais je peux verifier avec TTL ce weekend.

5 hours ago, Jean Raphael said:

Bonjour,

Nous sommes trois photographes à posséder chacun deux flashes Retra Pro X dont deux avec convertisseur UW Tecnics (Canon 5D4 et Nikon D500)et un avec  Turtle (Nikon D7200)

Aucun de nous n'arrive à avoir de bonnes expositions en positions TTL malgré des milliers d'expositions et ce dans des  conditions différentes et avec le Firmware 2.17.

6 hours ago, ChrisRoss said:

Owners of Retra Pro X have you managed to have an effective TTL?

I have the original Retra Pro rather than X, but I also haven't been able to achieve effective TTL either with the UWT converter or with the pop-up flash; everything seems to come out way too dark.

1 hour ago, Barmaglot said:

I have the original Retra Pro rather than X, but I also haven't been able to achieve effective TTL either with the UWT converter or with the pop-up flash; everything seems to come out way too dark.

Yes I expect it has more to do with the camera model than the strobe.  I do recall a few Sony users reporting TTL worked for them in wide angle, but don't recall which model it was.  Have you had any success with macro TTL? or is all TTL bad for your setup?

I don't recall trying it in macro, only wide-angle.

Regarding TTL, the firmware updates from 2.17 onwards for the Pro X and Prime X have improved the accuracy and range of TTL especially with LED triggers, it really shows the capability of the new triggering system in the X models. The existing TTL profile for PRO and Prime models is maybe not ideal because the TTL curve has been shifted for the added range. My suggestion is to try with another TTL profile which can be set on the UW Technics trigger board. The one for Subtronic 160 maybe better suited with some small adjustment within camera flash compensation. We have been in touch with Pavel from UW Technics and in a few months he will prepare a TTL profile specially for the X models.

On the topic of firmware updates we have recently published a new series of updates (3.4 for the X models and 4.3 for the PRO&Prime). There are many small improvements and bug fixes to the operation of the flashgun, you can read the full list in the user manual topic "FW UPDATE DETAILS".

Besides this we have released a new diffuser called "Soft diffuser". It sits between the Wide angle diffuser and the White diffuser. Basically it offers a softer light which was previously associated with the WA diffuser but without the noticeable color shift. It is already available in our shop: https://www.retra-uwt.com/collections/shop/products/soft-diffuser 

I’m considering purchasing a pair of Retra Pro X strobes with the Supercharger. We have several liveaboard trips lined up and I’m interested in hearing how folks on this thread handle battery management.

It looks like I need 32 batteries and at least one 8 battery charger in order keep battery changes to one per day, assuming 3-4 dives.  Does that sound right?

Hi Redwing

I've just done a 7-day  liveaboard in the Caribbean with 2x Retra Pro-Xs both fitted with Superchargers.

We did 4 dives a day evenly spaced during daylight hours. I tended to use a wide-angle lens and Retras with diffusers for the 2x morning dives; then 2x macro dives in the afternoon usually with one Retra with a snoot and one with Retra macro rings. Probably around 250-300 images each day. Superchargers were always fitted.

In general the 8-batteries needed for each Retra/Supercharger were enough for one day. There were one or two days when, if I expected I would use a snoot heavily, I would change one strobe battery set for, say the 4th dive. I find using the snoot makes quite a difference on battery life as I often have that strobe on maximum power especially if using the smaller mask openings. 

I had 2x4 AA chargers (EBL type) plugged into a USB charger with me and 32 batteries. In practice I never had a problem running out of charged batteries. I had thought about getting an extra x8 charger but really didn't need it.

Update: a mistake in the App resulted in the App not recognizing that there is a firmware update available. This has been resolved now. Please download the new Retra UWT App (v1.9.9) and update your flashguns to the latest firmware, 3.4 for the X models and 4.3 for the PRO&Prime.

Just unboxed a pair of Retro Pro X flashguns with superchargers, wide angle diffusers and an LSD snoot.  Very impressive.  Placed fresh batteries in the flashguns and checked battery level and test fired both.  Connected the strobes to the app on my smartphone and upgraded to version 3.4 of the firmware.

After upgrading to version 3.4 firmware I am unable to test fire the strobes when in the "BATT/TEST" mode.  Is this by design?

From the firmware upgrade summary:  ""Always batt" mode has been disabled on all flashguns due (sic) high probability of false battery readings while the flashgun is in operation.  Please use the BATT/TEST for battery indication.  More details in the topic BATT/TEST."

Thanks in advance for any assistance.