Retra LSD Snoot with Inon Z330

I recently got the Retra LSD snoot for my Inon Z330 as it came highly recommended by the local underwater photography store. I've been using different strobe and snoot combinations for a while now and I find using the Retra LSD with the Z330 to be very challenging and inconsistent.

Initially I had issues where the strobe light does not hit where the focus light is aimed at. After reaching out to Retra and sending them some sample shots they recommended attaching the strobe diffuser which helped the strobe light to be more aligned with the focus light. 

I am not getting more on target shots but, I am still getting shots where one half of the light beam is much darker than the other half. This seems to happen more when I have the snoot closer to the subject for a sharp circle then when I have the snoot pulled back to light up a larger subject.

Has anyone had similar results and have tips on how to over come this?

The snoot is aligned with the focus light, I burp it when get in the water, I try and keep it at recommended 175MM distance from the subject.

Hi DewaltK

I use the LSD on almost all my macro shots and there is quite a learning curve as you are discovering. But once you get there, you can certainly get some tremendous images.

A couple of thoughts: it looks as though you have the LSD on your left-handside. Is it possible that the angle is so low to the subject that the strobe can only light that left side and what you are seeing is natural fall-off of light? Perhaps try with the LSD more head-on?

I found the LSD very hard to aim with the Inon Z240 (and switched to Retras which, surprise, surprise, work extremely well with the LSD). But I read on WP that the Z330s are better. It sounds like you have sorted out the aiming but I wonder whether an element of the current issue is the T-shaped flash tubes of the Inons?

Oskar of Retra usually reads posts here so may well chip-in too.

Thanks for the reply Tim,

The strobe and snoot is on the left side yes. I keep it above my camera facing downward at around 45 degrees over the lens. I've also noticed this half lit circle when I have the snoot facing straight down. I get a nice round circle but one half is significantly brighter than the other half.

Perhaps the Inon flash shape might be the issue, I would think that once the light is in the snoot tube the lenses focuses the light evenly.

1 hour ago, DewaltK said:

erhaps the Inon flash shape might be the issue, I would think that once the light is in the snoot tube the lenses focuses the light evenly.

Yeah, I thought the same thing both with the focussing light and the actual flash when using the Inons. You pour light in at one end. It comes out the other. But seemingly that’s not the case.
 

Chris Ross (amongst others) may well chip-in when he’s awake again as he understands these things. It’s all voodoo to me.  I just got so hacked off with it I switched to Retra strobes….. no problems at all now! 

I tried using a couple of different snoots with Inon 330 and got frustrated. Aiming problems, loose attachment mechanisms, and uneven lighting are all issues. The 330 is just not designed with snoots in mind.

A strobe designed with snooting as a goal is probably a better way to go. Retra and their LSD use a circular flash tube and central focus light, and the snoot attaches well. It seems like a good solution but it's expensive and very bulky.

I got one of the Backscatter DF-1 Mini Strobes + Snoot back in 2020. This little strobe is specifically designed to use a snoot. As such it features perfect aiming with the focus light, a simple and solid attachment for the snoot, and it is very small and easy to manipulate underwater. It's a great solution and the simplest snoot package I've used.

I've tried the Inon snoot and this FlipSnoot (aquacam.nl) one. The Inon was basically useless, the Flip snoot I actually liked as it focuses the light down the middle and its very light weight since its 3D printed. The snoot just absorbs too much light so I ended up having to set the strobe to full which I did not like.

My GF has the backscatter MF-1 with snoot so I am familiar with it, she's on her 3rd one due to the others failing and getting replaced by Backscatter.

I may have to look at getting the Retra or maybe the Ikelike strobe which I was hoping would have been avoided by getting the LSD snoot.

My Backscatter strobe has also died about 3 times. I cut them some slack for this because they have replaced/repaired it in under 7 days each time. 

A buddy has two of them and his have never died. Go figure. 

As I understand it the LSD is offset on the mount for the Z330 and if I understand correctly you've aligned the tube over the target light.  This means it will not be centred over the either of the two T-shaped tubes.  This will be why the beam is not fully illuminated.  The LSD can only focus an image of what the optics in it "sees" it can't miraculously redistribute the light. 

I believe you will need to centre the LSD tube over the flash tube to get even illumination.  This of course will mean the target light won't be as well aligned, but it is the only solution that will allow full illumination of the circle.  It looks from the photos like the tube is placed at top so it sees all the top tube and half of the lower vertical tube.  You can visualize this by placing a drinking glass about 60mm diameter over the face of the strobe.

The issue of uneven lighting on the presented image of a goby fish can be reduced by choosing a smaller diameter mask and moving the LSD a couple cm further back for a softer edge. Flash power will need to be increased in this case.

As others have mentioned the eccentric positioning of flash-tubes and pilot lights is not ideal for snooting. We do our best to reduce the effects but they of course remain and need to be considered in order to get the best results.

Thanks Oskar, I'll be doing some more testing over the weekend and see what I get. Testing outside of water it seems to be working fine, underwater is always more difficult to get everything aligned for consistent testing.

I managed to get some shots in today and it seems like this snoot with the Z330 is only good when the subjects are really small. I managed to get some good shots of a couple nudibranch's but anything bigger than about a quarter is a challenge between uneven lighting or not getting enough light on the subject when having the use the smaller slider and pulling the strobe back.

These are super! Nice job 

A great snoot option to look at is the Marelux SOFT. I use it with my INON z240 and it works great. Snoots will always have a learning curve, but the build in aiming light, the amount of light through put and ease with which the light diameter can be adjusted makes these snoots unique. 

I actually just got one last week and used it for the first time yesterday and today. So far I like it and my keep rate is higher than with the retra. Still need to practice with it a bit