davec13o2

Very interesting. Can you recommend a dive resort/operator with above average access to nudibranchs (if such a thing exists) and with guides skilled in hunting them? Thanks for any comments and experiences.

I put Gorilla transparent, waterproof tape (Lowe's or Home Depot) over them, and add other labels like camera settings and useable lenses (without vignetting) on the ports. No edge lifting after several years, maybe 50 dives, and some intense sun exposure.

I did some research on Hawaii in prep for a trip there next week (Oahu and Kona). I was in contact with a company called "Maui Dreams Dive Co" before making my final plans, which unfortunately, do not include Maui this time. They have experience with macro and recommended the backwall of a sunken crater just off shore called Molokini. The macro target of interest would be the Blue Dragon. Some of their staff are macro-knowledgeable. I snorkeled the inside of the crater years ago, and it was stunning. I've set up a shallow reef dive and a night dive with the company "Dive Oahu", recommended by friends. They're in the middle of Waikiki and offer pickups from the big hotels. Very responsive to emails and calls. They were not very encouraging about macro, but suggested looking carefully around the wrecks they specialize in. What drew me to their shallow reef dive was that it starts at a respectable 10:30 am; and it seemed like an easy way to get back into the water (requalified) after a year off. My impression was that most of the Oahu companies specialize in wrecks, to be expected from a major WWII site, so I wouldn't necessarily expect the guides to be adept at finding macro; and the several I spoke with didn't seem interested in my offer to hire a private guide for that purpose. Some companies on Oahu offer blackwater dives, but my schedule didn't match with the availability.

Can you recommend a dive resort with knowledge of trips out to Mayan ruins? Planning on a trip late May-early June this year.

Big Blue 2600 lumen with adapted Backscatter OS-1 snoot. Complete assembly. Front view of snoot adapter. Nylon retainer bolts Big Blue and snoot adapter, rear view. Groove forward of retainer bolts to accept snoot rubber retainer fingers. Snoot wide open, f/8, iso400, 1/80sec, range 10cm. Target circles 10, 20, 30, 50 cm diameter. Red beam with above conditions, 1/30sec Snoot aperture 5mm, f/8, iso400, 1/20sec, range 5cm for optimum beam focus on target.

Well, I already have a high lumen video light that I paid $400 for, so I’m thinking of adapting the OS-1 snoot to it. In that case, I couldn’t justify the 4300 for wide angle video alone. I’m more of a stills shooter. Video seems too difficult to get good results in composition and post-processing. And then I began wondering how a macro subject would react under a concentrated light source. I had visions of it frying. In the end, I got the Backscatter flash and snoot, but couldn’t get it it trigger reliably, so sent the flash back and adapted the snoot to my Z330 in the interest of reducing cost and gear load.

I adapted a Backscatter OS-1 optical snoot to my Z330 using a standard 4" PVC pipe coupler (sched 40) and machined ABS snoot connector. Snoot offset 0.5" from center, snoot attachment 2" from Z330 hood threads. Mini lathe required. The nominal 4" PVC coupler, when cut in half, gives a section 2" long with a 3.875" ID raised lip that fits snugly on the Z330 after a bit of scraping with a razor blade. The pipe coupler seats against the raised threads of the flash to keep the axis of the snoot square with the flash. Nylon screws at 3 points around the diameter hold the assembly snugly in place without marring the Z330 surfaces. Testing with a Sony a7Riii and 90 mm macro in a Seafrogs housing range to target 15 cm, OS-1 aperture 5 mm, range to target 7.5 cm.Fiberoptic trigger signal via UWTechnics fibroptic in TTL mode. TTL appears to control illumination over f5-16 although not as precisely as with wide angle. Sorry for the mixed units. PVC pipe adapter with machined ABS snoot connector, indexing nylon screw and nylon retaining screws. Groove at rear of slightly tapered connector accepts lips of snoot for firm attachment, as with the Backscatter Mini Flash. All parts fabricated with a Mini Lathe. Flat circular PVC glued to PVC coupler with standard cement. Black ABS snoot connector bolted with 4-40 from rear. Target location and framing light. Target rings 10, 20, 30, 50 mm diameter. Flash illumination. Target rings 10, 20, 30, 50 mm diameter.

Interesting. Thanks for that. Oskar also mentioned that the LSD doesn't attenuate either the modeling light or the strobe very much from the 330.

Hahahaha, what a stroke of luck. You mentioned the 18650, so I rushed to the garage and found I have a small light with that very battery (and a charger). Thank youuu.

Thanks, Tim for the very informative remarks, as well as your comments I found in other posts. I have since found out from Oskar at Retra that the Z330 modeling light is angled inward (compared to the Z240), which he says helps with pointing accuracy. All things considered, I think I'll go with your suggestion of the LSD. Besides, I was a little dismayed that the single battery and charger for the MiniFlash have to be ordered separately.

I've checked Google, Youtube, and the WP search. Lots of product announcements, but very little user comments. I'm hoping some users can reply here. Or if I've missed something already published, please send a link. 1. The snoot barrel is offset from the center of the strobe to better use the modeling light, so I assume transmission from the strobe lamps is reduced. What is the reduction? I believe someone on WP said 1 stop. 2. I assume the LSD screws onto the front of the Z330 like its rotating hood. I find it very difficult to unscrew the hood, even on land. How difficult is it to screw on/off the LSD, or practically speaking, should it just be left on during a dive? 3. Since the modeling light isn't coaxial with the strobe lamps, how accurate is it in pointing the main beam? 4. How much is the modeling light intensity reduced, and would it useable in shallow water under a bright tropical sun? 5. There was a discussion on WP about tradeoffs using a Backscatter Mini Flash/Snoot. It could be attached on a third arm, leaving the Z330s for WA. Is this the best alternative? Thanks for any comments. I would really appreciate it. Dave

Hi Alex, I got to this ad too late. But I have a question I hope you can help me with. Is the barrel of the snoot offset over the modeling light of the Z330 so it can be used for aiming/framing. If so, is the modeling light still useful; and how do you like the unit in general? Thanks, Dave

Thanks, Chris Good points. I'll give it more thought. Dave

Does anyone have comments on using this light? I'm thinking it would be a good replacement for my focus light, also doubling for the occasional video.

Yes, very hopeful, thankfully. I've seen similar news releases, and waiting for the official publications. But there is tentative agreement on the 85% reduction for combined asymptomatic and symptomatic infection (as opposed to 95% for symptomatic only). And among vaccinated people who test positive, their viral load is reduced by 4-fold, meaning much less infectious. Who knows, maybe we'll be able to travel knowing that there is low risk we'll be infected or we'll infect others, while waiting of course for the peer-reviewed journal articles to come out. Of course, low risk doesn't mean zero risk.