RETRA Strobe Thread

[guyharrisonphoto 21]

Hi,

 

I am starting this thread for anyone who has purchased or is thinking about purchasing the new Retra strobes. I am taking a gamble and just ordered two of them. Retra has been great at responding to comments in the discussion under Alex Mustard's articles, but that seems an awkward place for it. So, I am starting this for anyone who has questions, or for Retra to comment and keep everyone posted.

 

If this violates any forum rules let me know, but it seems there is a lot of interest in these so I hope this will be a service.

 

Best Regards

 

Guy

[Alex_Mustard 0]

Here is a link to the article:

 

http://www.wetpixel.com/articles/preview-retra-strobe-by-alex-mustard

 

Alex

[errbrr 72]

I've ordered two. Key points of difference for me (compared to my current inon Z240s):

- Battery light charge indicator

- Aluminium casing

- Slightly easier manual controls

- Overheating protection, hopefully. I have burnt out too many Z240s at this point and I'm a bit sick of it.

 

All while still being:

- Powerful

- Light weight

- Small

- AA battery driven

[guyharrisonphoto 21]

If Retra is watching, here are my first couple of questions:

 

1. Looks like we are finally seeing availability of LiOn rechargeable AAs that run at 1.5 Volts (just like regular lithium AAs) instead of the 1.2 volts for NiMh. Will these work and will they help decrease the re-cycle time? In the comments following the articles, there was mention of a "battery pack", what is that going to be?

2. Will the LED aiming lights be close to the flash tube so the LSD can work without being offset and losing efficiency?

3. Where is the optical slave sensor for off camera use?

 

Thanks!

[Alex_Mustard 0]

2. Will the LED aiming lights be close to the flash tube so the LSD can work without being offset and losing efficiency?

3. Where is the optical slave sensor for off camera use?

 

 

Aiming light is aligned with flash tube - although it has a wide angle beam. But I think that this will make it a very accurate guide for snoot.

 

Optical sensor is on the back of the strobe.

 

Alex

[Tom_Kline 92]

I have two on order as well. Hope they arrive before the end of this year's salmon spawning season. Looks like they will be much better as a single strobe positioned at 12 o'clock for fisheye lens shots (SOP for me) compared to the Inons. I will report back to this thread.

Edited March 3, 2017 by Tom_Kline

[Draq 56]

I almost ordered, but inadvertently missed the "lowest price" deadline so I guess I will wait a bit. Does anyone know whether the mounting ball is easily removed / reinstalled for packing?

[Oskar@RetraUWT 31]

Hi Everybody, I am Oskar Zupancic, founder and managing director at Retra.

 

We are grateful for all the support we received in the first pre-order phase. Our heartfelt thanks to everyone who supported and gave feedback on the new Retra Flash.

 

We have created a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page about the Retra Flash -> https://www.retra-uwt.com/pages/retra-flash-frequently-asked-questions-faq

 

I will be following this forum topic regularly and be happy to give answers to any additional questions.

[Oskar@RetraUWT 31]

If Retra is watching, here are my first couple of questions:

 

1. Looks like we are finally seeing availability of LiOn rechargeable AAs that run at 1.5 Volts (just like regular lithium AAs) instead of the 1.2 volts for NiMh. Will these work and will they help decrease the re-cycle time? In the comments following the articles, there was mention of a "battery pack", what is that going to be?

2. Will the LED aiming lights be close to the flash tube so the LSD can work without being offset and losing efficiency?

3. Where is the optical slave sensor for off camera use?

 

Thanks!

Hi Guy, thank you for your questions!

 

At the moment we will only support the use of Ni-Mh, Ni-Cd and Alkaline batteries. Generally the problem of Li-ion is that they don't allow high current discharging (a common thing with strobes) and can get damaged, overheat and in some cases even catch fire if they are stressed beyond their limits. We will explore the option of Li-ion and if we find them to be safe we will support them. Your question was added to our FAQ page under No.26 and No.27. For the additional battery compartment please see question No.21 on the FAQ page.

 

Thank you Alex for answering the other two questions. They are also answered in the FAQ page, No.5 and No.10

[Oskar@RetraUWT 31]

I almost ordered, but inadvertently missed the "lowest price" deadline so I guess I will wait a bit. Does anyone know whether the mounting ball is easily removed / reinstalled for packing?

Hi Draq, thank you for your question!

 

The Mounting ball is easily removed with an Allen key.

[guyharrisonphoto 21]

Oskar

 

Many thanks for setting up the FAQ page. It has a great amount of information and answers all of my questions, and even more. I will check it regularly. I have to say your responsiveness is very impressive, as is this new product.

 

I have a general question here , Retra offers a variety of electrical cable connection options when you order (S&S 5 pin, S6, Nikonos 5 pin, Ikelite 5 pin are the options listed). I plan to use this strobe with optical cables on an Olympus EM1 Mk 2 in a Nauticam housing, so the electrical contacts are secondary. But, still, If I ever want to go to electrical cables for ultra fast recycle time, which is best to order? It seems like the Nikonos 5 pin is pretty universal, but I can't really tell.

 

Any advice on this? I think I ordered the S&S 5 pin but hopefully i can change that if i did not make the best choice, since production is so far out

Edited March 3, 2017 by guyharrisonphoto

[Tom_Kline 92]

Oskar

 

Many thanks for setting up the FAQ page. It has a great amount of information and answers all of my questions, and even more. I will check it regularly. I have to say your responsiveness is very impressive, as is this new product.

 

I have a general question here , Retra offers a variety of electrical cable connection options when you order (S&S 5 pin, S6, Nikonos 5 pin, Ikelite 5 pin are the options listed). I plan to use this strobe with optical cables on an Olympus EM1 Mk 2 in a Nauticam housing, so the electrical contacts are secondary. But, still, If I ever want to go to electrical cables for ultra fast recycle time, which is best to order? It seems like the Nikonos 5 pin is pretty universal, but I can't really tell.

 

Any advice on this? I think I ordered the S&S 5 pin but hopefully i can change that if i did not make the best choice, since production is so far out

Keep in mind that the choice is for the strobe bulkhead. One can get cables to N5 (housing bulkhead) from any of the listed bulkheads. I assume the Nikonos bulkhead is for use with Nikonos cables (those made by Nikon) so are a bit defunct. Both Inon and Sea&Sea use the S&S cables making them the most widely used. Number 2 is probably S6 but mainly for Eurostrobes. However Ike is probably more common in N. America. Your choice will dictate which brand cable you will be buying.

[Oskar@RetraUWT 31]

Oskar

 

Many thanks for setting up the FAQ page. It has a great amount of information and answers all of my questions, and even more. I will check it regularly. I have to say your responsiveness is very impressive, as is this new product.

 

I have a general question here , Retra offers a variety of electrical cable connection options when you order (S&S 5 pin, S6, Nikonos 5 pin, Ikelite 5 pin are the options listed). I plan to use this strobe with optical cables on an Olympus EM1 Mk 2 in a Nauticam housing, so the electrical contacts are secondary. But, still, If I ever want to go to electrical cables for ultra fast recycle time, which is best to order? It seems like the Nikonos 5 pin is pretty universal, but I can't really tell.

 

Any advice on this? I think I ordered the S&S 5 pin but hopefully i can change that if i did not make the best choice, since production is so far out

Hi Guy, thank you for the compliments and questions.

 

The recycle time for the strobe and the sync time between camera and strobe are not affected by the connector type. You chose the S&S 5pin which is the most common connector type (used by Inon and Sea&Sea) and I guess it's going to be easiest getting cables for that in the future.

Edited March 4, 2017 by Oskar@RetraUWT

[guyharrisonphoto 21]

Thanks Oskar. What I meant is that electronic sync means I am not limited by the in-camera flash's recycle time. If S&S is the most common cable then I will stick with that.

 

I saw you are planning an off-camera slave trigger device, will that use the optical or electronic sync?

[Oskar@RetraUWT 31]

Thanks Oskar. What I meant is that electronic sync means I am not limited by the in-camera flash's recycle time. If S&S is the most common cable then I will stick with that.

 

I saw you are planning an off-camera slave trigger device, will that use the optical or electronic sync?

Please see question No.29 on the FAQ page.

[custom 4]

 

Hello Oskar, Pursuant to above question= external optical triggers which require a power supply from the electrical connector like the Triggerfish.

Is the issue because of a lack of RDY signal like the newer D1/D2 Sea & Seas?

I have both the older version Triggerfish which did not work with my Sea&Sea strobes which was powered by strobe batteries and the newer version which has its own battery. Will neither work ? Regards, Wayne

[Oskar@RetraUWT 31]

Hi Wayne, the battery powered triggerfish should work. We are planning our own external optical trigger which will be announced later this year.

Edited March 23, 2017 by Oskar@RetraUWT

[custom 4]

 

Thank you Oskar,

I will hold on to the newer version until my new Retras arrive.

[Oskar@RetraUWT 31]

Hello everyone!

 

Since there have been a lot of inquiries this week I just wanted to give a quick update:

Right now we are super busy with the pre-production run of the new Retra Flash. At the end of this month we will publish an extensive update on the progress and we will also announce some of the accessories. We are very excited to show you what we've done!

The shipping schedule has been delayed a little bit and we expect to start shipping at end of June/early July. An exact shipping date will be published in the update.

 

We'll be in touch soon...

Thanks

[Tom_Kline 92]

Retra has just announced a bunch of accessories including a clever battery compartment extender.

https://www.retra-uwt.com/blogs/news/retra-flash-pre-production-update

[guyharrisonphoto 21]

Think I'll order the battery compartments and another LSD.

 

The improvements in the strobes look substantial. Very glad I ordered on the "ground floor" but they look well worth the cost even at the current $699.00. Also worth the extra month wait time.

 

Tom, I visited your website. Amazing stuff. Really, something unique and special. Good work!.

[Oceanus 3]

I´m really looking forward to receiving my Retras.

 

It will be my first flashes with optical cable option. As far as I understand a flash trigger unit is the way around the limiting internal flash recycle time. Can anyone recommend a flash trigger unit for Nikon D800?

 

Christopher

[Alex_Mustard 0]

Giving them a workout this week. We'll try and get them in the water as much as possible.

 

 

Alex

[guyharrisonphoto 21]

Alex let us know what you think. Let us know if you think the beam limiter or the "shark warmer" or the "neutral" wide diffuser are worth the cost, as opposed to just using the included warm wide diffusers. This is last chance to order some accessories at a discount (before July 21) so actual real world input would be valuable.

 

Already ordered the battery compartments. Debating on a second LSD.

[Alison Perkins 29]

I don't suppose they have the ability to be fired by push button on the strobe itself, rather than optical or electrical firing? This would be a very useful function in cave diving photography.