Info Backscatter Hybrid Flash HF-01: preliminary review

[Nicool]

Hi Scubaboard,
I had a chance to use a pre-production version of the Backscatter Hybrid Flash in January, I've put my observations and thoughts together in this review:

Backscatter Hybrid Flash Preliminary Review - The Underwater Club

Back in January 2024, I had the chance to try a pre-production version of the Backscatter Hybrid Flash (HF-1). This review gather my preliminary observations and thoughts on this new strobe, and will be followed by a complete review of the production version, in a few weeks' time. Review index:…

theunderwaterclub.com

 

[Craig F]

The strobe features alone look awesome. Adding video / focus light is a slam dunk.

 

[arew+4]

Looks awesome.

Does look pretty awesome, maybe I'll be selling my MW4300, and Inon D200.

 

[Double.Ender]

Just as I was looking for new strobes! Might have to splurge on these.

 

[deeper thoughts]

Have a canon camera and it seems no ttl option
I read they may be addressing this

 

[Diver-6873]

Have a canon camera and it seems no ttl option
I read they may be addressing this

There is a TTL option mentioned. I hope it’ll work well with an Olympus TG-7 in TTL.

I guess Cannon TTL is different:

“Smart Control TTL Flash Power for Sony, Olympus, & OM System Cameras”

 

[Craig F]

Have a canon camera and it seems no ttl option
I read they may be addressing this

It does seem Canon is left out for the moment. But shooting manual isn't all bad. Just have to dial in that first decent exposure - and this is a far cry from Ye Olde Photog Stuff of guide numbers, ASA, estimating distances and the like.

 

[AggressorBLUE]

Just as I was looking for new strobes! Might have to splurge on these.

Same exact boat. Was debating holding out for new high end Inon, but this is tempting, especially as I have an OM-1 and Tg-5…

 

[BoltSnap]

Looks very interesting and definitely will be my first choice when buying new strobes especially considering the very competitive price. My only concern is that this is a first generation/version and it may have issues like its younger siblings, the Mini Flash 1 and (I think) the earlier production Mini Flash 2.

 

[WS007]

The announced HF-1 strobe looks very good, maybe too good to be true when price/performance is regarded...

I am highly inclined to preorder two, as I am searching for strobes with more power as my current Z330s have, which come to their limits in bright sunlight and clear waters with the FF sensor (Sony A7R5; for the MFT cameras I was using previously, the Z330s were strong enough). The choice in filters/domes for warming up the light and the remote operation without additional flash trigger seem also attractive...

There is another, similar, strobe announced: the Apollo III from Marelux. The Apollo has three linear flashtubes (HF-1 has two), uses three 18650 accus (= 136 kJoule (kW.s) in total) while the HF-1 uses two 21700 accus (=137 kJoule). Apollo III delivers 800 flashes at maximum power (=170 Joule/flash), while the HF-1 delivers 375 (=366 Joule/flash). These numbers are probably somewhat smaller, since the flashes will probably stop operation before the entire power is drawn from the batteries, but they may be a good approximation...

=> >350 W.s per flash (at 2x power) is highly exciting, but is the heat sink capable enough to prevent burn-out of the flashtubes?

=> Does someone here have experience with preproduction versions of Apollo III and could compare to the HF-1?

Thanks, Wolfgang