RETRA Strobe Thread

[Barmaglot 178]

1 hour ago, ianmarsh said:

(I am assuming you are on Nikon?)

No, I'm on Sony A6300.

4 minutes ago, Pavel Kolpakov said:

By the way, i also have some additional information for today, - few days ago Retra team tested new strobe with TTL-Converter UWTechnics #11031-II (Nikon TTL), it worked good enough using existing profile YS-D2 or YS-D1, only required some correction at the end of working range.

Very interesting - I'll try the YS-D1/YS-D2 settings today after work. Positions 2 and 3 on the selector dial, right?

[Pavel Kolpakov 70]

1 hour ago, Barmaglot said:

Very interesting - I'll try the YS-D1/YS-D2 settings today after work. Positions 2 and 3 on the selector dial, right?

Yes, positions 2 or 3 of onboard switch.

Pay attention:  optical cable must be exactly 613-fiber type, because of transmission index.  LEDs must be accurately positioned to core center. Those details are important for TTL LED control.

That test info was only for Nikon TTL board #11031.

I did not check such test by myself yet, cause i still don't have a strobe sample, but hope to get it in a week. I will notify about the results then.

Edited February 18, 2020 by Pavel Kolpakov

[Marcelo Krause 1]

12 hours ago, ianmarsh said:

Has anyone had a chance to use the new Retra Pro in TTL with existing UW Technic or Nauticam TTL triggers?
 

I know it’s early days, but wondering what to do regarding a TTL trigger for upcoming trip in April

 

ian

So far my experience is this

Set the converter to S&S YS-D1.

At F4 no compensation was needed 

At F8 something around +1.5

At F16/22 something around +2 or even more depending on the subject. 

Of course those are initial impressions, I will need more time using then to assert that. 

 

 

 

[Marcelo Krause 1]

5 hours ago, Pavel Kolpakov said:

Yes, positions 2 or 3 of onboard switch.

Pay attention:  optical cable must be exactly 613-fiber type, because of transmission index.  LEDs must be accurately positioned to core center. Those details are important for TTL LED control.

That test info was only for Nikon TTL board #11031.

I did not check such test by myself yet, cause i still don't have a strobe sample, but hope to get it in a week. I will notify about the results then.

Just out of curiosity, when the TTL converter board communicates with the camera, can it get information on what aperture the camera is set like the SB-900 can? focal distance? 

It would be nice if the user could create a "custom TTL profile" on the converter based on his equipment/preferences...

Regards

Marcelo. 

[Pavel Kolpakov 70]

29 minutes ago, Marcelo Krause said:

Just out of curiosity, when the TTL converter board communicates with the camera, can it get information on what aperture the camera is set like the SB-900 can? focal distance? 

Yes, of course. During the communication TTL Converter and camera exchange a lot of information, analyze it, perform different actions. This is intellectual protocol. 

[Barmaglot 178]

I just tested dial positions 2 and 3 and... it's weird. I'm using A6300 with 90mm macro lens, ISO 100, shutter speed 1/160, rear curtain sync, 0 flash compensation in camera or strobe, shooting a piece of black plastic (the sync connector cover from the strobe) on a white backdrop, and it's exposing reasonably well as long as I keep the aperture in f/14...f/22 range. As soon as I drop to f/13 or larger aperture, the resulting picture turns totally black. The only reasonable explanation that I can come up with is that I'm having light transmission or LED alignment problems, and the weaker pulse generated for larger apertures does not come through to the flash. I can see it actually flash, but that it probably just the pre-flash, not the main exposure, which gets missed. I'll try to investigate deeper over weekend.

[_Andre_ 0]

15 hours ago, Pavel Kolpakov said:

I plan to build TTL profiles for Retra strobe in a week. First turn is for Sony, some later for Nikon / Canon / Olympus / Panasonic.

I’d be grateful for the Canon version. ;) Are you talking in terms of days or weeks when you say ‘some later’, Pavel?

[ChrisRoss 150]

4 hours ago, Barmaglot said:

I just tested dial positions 2 and 3 and... it's weird. I'm using A6300 with 90mm macro lens, ISO 100, shutter speed 1/160, rear curtain sync, 0 flash compensation in camera or strobe, shooting a piece of black plastic (the sync connector cover from the strobe) on a white backdrop, and it's exposing reasonably well as long as I keep the aperture in f/14...f/22 range. As soon as I drop to f/13 or larger aperture, the resulting picture turns totally black. The only reasonable explanation that I can come up with is that I'm having light transmission or LED alignment problems, and the weaker pulse generated for larger apertures does not come through to the flash. I can see it actually flash, but that it probably just the pre-flash, not the main exposure, which gets missed. I'll try to investigate deeper over weekend.

The strength of the pulse does not change only the duration - maybe the white BG is producing a flash duration that is too short for the protocol to cope with? Maybe try a different subject or move back from it?

[Oskar@RetraUWT 51]

Testing the TTL output will be easier on a grey subject with some contrast in the middle for easier focusing. Our box is quite good for this. Below please see screenshot of 5 exposures done with the UW Technics 11031-II board for Nikon set to YS-D1 setting (#3 on the dial of this converter). The images were made with spot metering  at ISO100, approximately 0,6 meters distance from flash to subject and the Retra Flash was set to +3 for all exposures.

Pavel is currently working with the new Retra Flash and will release more accurate profiles in due course. For the time being we encourage you to try YS-D1 profiles and setting +2 or +3 on the flash.

[Azurreal 3]

42 minutes ago, Oskar@RetraUWT said:

Pavel is currently working with the new Retra Flash and will release more accurate profiles in due course. For the time being we encourage you to try YS-D1 profiles and setting +2 or +3 on the flash.

Hi Oskar,

Even with the Nauticam TTL Converter (D850) ?

Thanks

[Pavel Kolpakov 70]

3 hours ago, Azurreal said:

Even with the Nauticam TTL Converter (D850) ?

Nauticam TTL-Converter #26308 (for Nikon) works with Retra Pro the same way as UWTechnics #11031-II, you can use the same settings. 

Edited February 19, 2020 by Pavel Kolpakov

[Azurreal 3]

1 hour ago, Pavel Kolpakov said:

Nauticam TTL-Converter #26308 (for Nikon) works with Retra Pro the same way as UWTechnics #11031-II, you can use the same settings. 

Thanks Pavel !

I've been getting good exposure with the Z240 settings but I'll try the YS one.

[Pavel Kolpakov 70]

10 hours ago, Azurreal said:

I've been getting good exposure with the Z240 settings but I'll try the YS one.

YS-D1 and Z240 TTL-profiles are rather similar. Probably Z240 profile also can be used.

Edited February 20, 2020 by Pavel Kolpakov

[PatrickJ 3]

@Oskar@RetraUWT Any news on when the next batch will be sent out? Would be good with another delay noticed, as the last one said "will be shipping before mid-January 2020". Really jealous of everyone already received theirs :). 

 

Patrick

[Oskar@RetraUWT 51]

We are getting near to the end of the first batch and everyone who hasn't received the tracking details should be getting theirs in the next few days. If you need an exact shipping date please contact my colleague at: sales@retra-uwt.com

[Pavel Kolpakov 70]

In cooperation and with the support of Retra company,  UWTechnics has built accurate TTL-profile and HSS up to 1/8000, - for Retra PRO strobe support. New Converters are available for Sony, for other cameras it is in development now.

Edited February 24, 2020 by Pavel Kolpakov

[oneyellowtang 59]

Good news (with a twist...)

received a notice from DHL saying my 2 (Nov. pre-ordered) Retra flash PRO's were being delivered tomorrow (here in California). Timing is good because I've got a trip coming up in about 4 weeks, so looking forward to getting these strobes wet.

The "twist" was also getting a "Duty owed" notice from DHL. $118 USD for the 2 strobes... no real heartburn on the amount, just more the notice itself.

Posting here so others are aware (I did see the previous post on "duty owed" as well - looks like it is a theme for strobes shipped to the US/Canada).

 

Edited February 27, 2020 by oneyellowtang

[Balage_diver 4]

Dear All, 

 

I would like to inform you about the TRT-electronics and Retra Pro TTL characteristic.  

We updated the i-TURTLE, s-TURTLE, o-TURTLE software on the website to use the Retra Pro in TTL mode. 

We are working on the HSS possibility and the new orders will contain this function in manual mode. 

Best

Balazs

 

 

[TimG 62]

Thanks to all you guys who are working on the various software/firmware updates to be able to use the Retra to their max. Excellent!

I emailed Retra on Saturday to ask when strobes might be available for we non-pre-order people. I was surprised to get a quick reply saying if I ordered in the next few days, delivery would be within a week. 

So, sold my first-born, slapped in an order on Sunday.... and my Retra Primes arrived at my front door Wednesday evening (last night)! Sadly I'm not there to drool over them at the moment. But hey....

(Just to add to the joy of the day, Manchester City beat Real Madrid 1-2 at the Bernabeu last night).

What a great day!

[Walt Stearns 50]

As mentioned earlier, I had received notice form Retra back on Feb 2nd that my first two prime strobes were on their way, which arrived a few days later. In addition to purchasing two directly from Retra, I had also preordered two more through Backscatter around the same time. Happy to say they too are on their way to me now with the arrival this Friday the 28th., so Retra is getting them cranked out.

[bear35 11]

Oskar is there any news on the battery packs for the pro strobe? I am interested in swapping my originals for a couple of Pros but I would like to have the advantage of the quick recycling. 

[Oskar@RetraUWT 51]

29 minutes ago, bear35 said:

Oskar is there any news on the battery packs for the pro strobe? I am interested in swapping my originals for a couple of Pros but I would like to have the advantage of the quick recycling. 

We are working on the "Supercharger" for the new Retra Flash and plan to announce it soon. I can't give an exact date right now but it's at the top of our priority list. 

[unregistered 1]

Any word on flashing updated firmware to the original Retra strobes, @Oskar@RetraUWT?

 

[ianmarsh 36]

So, I've got my head wrapped around the HSS mode and it definitely seems like a good addition, but for the life of me I'm stumped as to what Smart SL mode is for and when I need to use it.

Anyone care to explain?

ian

[Algwyn 12]

From the Retra Manual:

Quote

Smart SL - Smart pre-flash cancellation mode

If the camera emits only TTL light with pre-flash and you wish to set the Retra Flash with manual exposure, this mode will automatically detect the number of pre-flash (1-10) and ignore them.

So I guess this would be useful with cameras where there is no manual flash mode, or where you cannot switch between manual and TTL underwater.

This enables switching between TTL and manual from the Retra flash without changing camera flash mode. It may be faster under water to do so.