RETRA Strobe Thread

Hi Alex,

 

thank you very much for this review.

Wich one would you prefer for wide angle, the seacam 150d or the retra strobes? Or is this comparing apples and oranges because of the more power of the seacam flash?

 

Rob

Hi Rob,

My Seacams are my main wide angle strobes. They are the strobes I use for all my wide angle in blue water. I know their light and how to make it do what I want. So I will continue to use them as such.

I also own 6 Inons, so I plan to get a pair of Retras, though, to use where I was previously using Inons. I don't always travel with the Seacams - as their long length makes them less suited to macro shooting - and the wide beam angle isn't always beneficial in murky green water. And baggage allowances are not unlimited!

Alex

 

By the way, want to thank you, Alex, again, for all the work you have put into the testing. The updated article was very thorough and useful.

 

If mine arrive in time, there might be a week or two left to shoot the goliath grouper aggregation here in South Florida and I hope to be able to post some pics.

I am excited to see people using them too. It was interesting to lend them out to the guys and gals on my workshops, but with lots of people wanting to try them, nobody got more than a couple of dives - so didn't get to know them in detail. So it will be exciting to see owners put them through their paces.

Alex

I'm planning to upgrade from my YS-01 - how would these strobes compare to the new Symbiosis strobe? I like the idea of having a video light and strobe at the same time.
Also it seems the Retra has been postponed quite a few times now, when will it finally be released?

Anyone getting shipping notifications yet?

Anyone getting shipping notifications yet?

Hi Everyone, the first two boxes are going out today!

We will gradually build up quantity for the first two weeks so I kindly ask for your patience. It will take 4-5 weeks before all pre-orders are sent and delivered.

Once your order is ready for shipping you will get an email with tracking details. All orders are shipped with DHL Express so they will get to you as soon as possible.

Thank you all for your patience and support!

Great job oscar and thank so much for your responsiveness here.

Hi Everyone, we've been able to send about 20% of pre-orders in the last two weeks. Now that we've gained some experience we can pick up the pace and hopefully get all strobes sent in the next 3-4 weeks.

Thank you for your patience and support!

Thanks for the update Oscar. I am watching my e-mail every day . . .

Hi Ladies and Gents,

My customers and I have also ordered the new Retra strobes & accessories, but it seems my experience with the customer service is a little different. We were some of the first to order on the 1st special price and have since been given numerous different delivery dates with no actual delivery. Obviously my customers and I have become rather anxious and we communicated to Retra saying that this has now become unacceptable and that we would like some actual delivery dates that are real with a actual tracking number. All of a sudden we get "refunded" because they are now getting some negative communique after 8 months, this is NOT the behaviour of a professional company.....is it. A company that would rather refund than deliver on their promises is questionable in my opinion. Is there anyone else experiencing the same concerns?

P.S. I do not have the luxury of visiting forums and reading news letters over the last 2 years due to the nature of my new work, so I rely of direct communication and this has been rather sketchy with lot's of promises and no delivery.

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

Kind regards,

Allen

Hi Allen, we have refunded and additionaly compansated your order after we’ve received several negative emails from your group.

I understand the frustration of waiting and we wanted nothing else but send your order. Unfortunatelly you have bullied us into a corner and we replied.

We are now achieving more and more shipments each day and photographers who were so kind to be patient and supportive are already getting their rewards.

Our heartfelt thanks to everyone who gave us the positive thoughts to move forward.

Thank you

I'd like to say a big thank you to Oskar. I received shipping notification of my strobes today. I see the feedback above but I have to say that each time I have emailed Oskar, I received a reply within an hour, even though they were late at night, explaining the situation.

Yes, the strobes were a bit longer than I expected them to be but as with all new products, sometimes there are delays, this is why we were all given the introductory rate I would guess.

Looking forward to getting them in the water when they arrive.

Hi Oskar,

I think I take a little exception to the comment "bullied us into a corner"......all we have asked for is a date, you say 10 days, we say cool, you say 1 month, we say cool, you say next week, we say cool, 8 months later you say we WILL SHIP TO YOU IN 12 days we say cool, 12 days later you do not ship or notify.....so you get a few negative emails and you call this bullying....sorry, I do not share your sentiments.

You and I know I have always supported Retra products and I have them all, up and until now.....so please do not insult me, or my customers, we have supported you, but we expect honesty and delivery on promises. If you said we will advise in two weeks, then cool, but you said:

Hi Celia, thank you for your email. (Celia stood in for me during my leave)

We've just sent the first two boxes yesterday and we will slowly build up quantity in the next two weeks. I expect Alan's order will be ready for shipping in 12 days.
Once your order is ready for shipping you will get an email with tracking details. All orders are shipped with DHL Express so they will get to you as soon as possible.

Thank you all for your patience and support!

Then another delay:

"We are on our way to shipping the first Retra Flash!" does not mean that we are shipping.

Hi Allen, I guess it’s water under the bridge.

We’ll keep up the hard work and get the photographers, who are patiently waiting and being supportive of our efforts, the product we’ve been perfecting all this time.

Thank you all very much.

Great Oskar,

Then we will be expecting delivery very soon as you have been promising for some time now. Please keep in touch with me and advise when the strobes etc. have been sent.

Kind Regards,

Allen

After everything youve done certainly not. Weve fully + extra refunded you and youve shown no respect for what we are working hard to achieve.

Hi Alex "The Doctor"

Can we have your input here, it would be highly appreciated.

This is the latest reponse we have received from Oskar and his team at Retra:

It’s water under the bridge.

Allen, no sure what you are trying to achieve...

I understand your frustration, and you seem to have made promises to your customer based on the information you have received. But at the end of the day, this is a new product created by a small team. They have tried to keep the community updated (not perfectly, but I suspect that they kept their heads down trying to deliver, and sometimes there is a bit of time between updates, nonetheless they have build loyalty among the most us by being transparent).

I would have been very surprised if they had managed to deliver on time considering all the trimming of the manufacturing process required, not to mention possible design tweaks. The focus seem to be the delivery of a quality product, rather than meeting a fixed date. And most of us support that. For myself I have an expensive trip coming up and it's going to be very close for me - but I still support quality over dates.

Allen, no sure what you are trying to achieve...

 

I understand your frustration, and you seem to have made promises to your customer based on the information you have received. But at the end of the day, this is a new product created by a small team. They have tried to keep the community updated (not perfectly, but I suspect that they kept their heads down trying to deliver, and sometimes there is a bit of time between updates, nonetheless they have build loyalty among the most us by being transparent).

 

I would have been very surprised if they had managed to deliver on time considering all the trimming of the manufacturing process required, not to mention possible design tweaks. The focus seem to be the delivery of a quality product, rather than meeting a fixed date. And most of us support that. For myself I have an expensive trip coming up and it's going to be very close for me - but I still support quality over dates.

Hi Stefan, unfortunately the promises where made on expensive trips my customers have already gone on, they went on their trips without their new cutting edge Retra strobes! I had to loan them my equipment just to appease them and cover for the failure to deliver on several promises made on email. Retra's solution to this is too refund us, this is no solution in any way. Further to this you need to understand the outlay in terms of Rand vs, Euro and maybe then you can understand the concern.

It is one thing to say we will update your in a weeks time or even a month, it is another thing to promises on several occasions that "your parcel will be shipped in 10 to 12 days. This is my conundrum.

Frustrating to be sure. But on the other hand, not sure why you made promises on delivery dates on a product you have no control of, a product that is being developed.

I understand you want to keep your customer happy and that shows good commitment on your part, but you should either have made it very clear to the customer from the start that this product is being developed and dates will move - a lot - or refused to take the order if the customer showed no understanding on the implications of this. There are other products that could have been sold if dates needed to be kept.

To be blunt (but I don't mean to be insulting), you should not try to shift the blame of your broken promises to Retra.

We actually fully refunded the payment and sent Allen additional €480 for the Rand vs. Euro depreciation during his original purchase and now.