Somewhere down there I already stated that I used the SF-01 but this flash seems to be mostly unknown here in the community.
Using only one flash is of course not a major problem, but as most photographers use two of them it might make sense. I often freedive instead of scuba what leads to many different light situations (with every meter further down the light changes). Additionally I only can take one or two shots before I have to go up again (comfortably 50sec without breathing).
In September I will be in Marsa Shagra with PanOcean photography course and I wonder whether to upgrade before going there or just wait what the teacher say...?
Buy two Retra or wait? Buy one used Retra and see what is possible? Don't buy anything an just improve skills?
I wouldn't mix an SF-01 and a Retra due to differences in color temperature and beam shape. If you're happy with the performance of SF-01, I see no reason not to get another one. Yes, a pair of Retras would be better, but it's a case of diminishing return on investment - the performance delta between one SF-01 and two SF-01s is much greater than between two SF-01s and two Retras, while the cost of a single extra SF-01 is around $400, compared over $2k for a pair of Retra Primes.
Question is, why are you looking for a second strobe to begin with? Do you feel that you lack light coverage for wide-angle shots? That's the primary reason to run a pair of strobes - they will do a better job of lighting up a wide-angle scene, but since you do a lot of freediving, they will add considerable bulk and drag as well.
Hi @Barmaglot that absolutely makes sense. In fact, the lack of light from the strobe is not a problem. So I'll stay tuned with my single flash and do the upgrade only if there's not enough light under water (and not because reading about the wonderful performance of Retra).
Thanks a lot!
For what it's worth, I used to shoot with a pair of SeaFrogs ST-100 Pro strobes, and my main issue with them was lack of manual control - that particular model was TTL slave only when using optical triggering, something not mentioned in any marketing material. They had manual control, but only when using sync cords, which I don't have the bulkhead for in my housing. Incidentally, in November 2018, Retra announced a deeply discounted preorder - 739 euros per Retra Flash Pro - and I jumped on the opportunity, getting my pair in February 2020. In the SF-01, it sounds like SeaFrogs fixed the manual control issue, and although I haven't seen one in the wild, it looks like a perfectly reasonable strobe.
