I want it ALL! Tell me how to get it. :)

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DevilEyeDog

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Messages
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Location
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I put a snoot on my YS-01. I love it, but struggle because the focus light on the YS-01 is so weak it does not penetrate the snoot. So I'm left guessing where to shoot.

The problem is, I want it all.
1) A decent strobe upgraded from the YS-01 that I can shoot with a snoot without the guessing of where the light will land. It needs to have a focus light that can penetrate the snoot. I'd love something more powerful to add to my photography equipment.

2) The ability to take the snoot on/off so I can use the strobe as a strobe (The FlipSnoots are pretty cool for this)
3) Affordable :spend:
(Affordable is defined as <$700 ideally)

Is it a pipe dream?
And I know many of you are going to say Backscatter Mini Flash with Snoot, but I can't find the specs on it?
How wide is the beam with/without diffuser?
What's the guide number?
I don't think it's any more powerful than my YS-01 so I struggle to drop the coin for upgrading to something with a focus light. I'd rather go all in on something that will upgrade both my strobe and snoot experience.

If there's something that is >$700 tell me about it so I can decide which kid to sell off. (It's a joke...maybe)
TIA
 
Retra Flash Prime/Pro + Retra LSD is pretty much the ultimate snoot solution, and it's great for wide angle, but it's significantly above your budget.

Backscatter MF-1 is the budget option, and it's got a 500 lumen targeting light, so aiming should be relatively straightforward - I have a 500 lumen light on my Retra Pro and I can easily see the target spot. I don't believe there are any diffusers made for it; it's simply not powerful enough for wide-angle shots, but it's plenty good enough for macro. I mentioned this in another thread recently, but I've been diving with Alex Tyrrell on Koh Tao (www.dive4photos.com), and even though he has a pair of Retra Pros with all the accessories, most times we went on muck dives, I saw his Subal/Nikon D500 rig set up with a pair of MF-1s.
 
Retra Flash Prime/Pro + Retra LSD is pretty much the ultimate snoot solution, and it's great for wide angle, but it's significantly above your budget.

Looks like the Retra is sold out, but is about $1200 USD. It does make me drool a little bit and question how broke do I really want to be? Hum...

Backscatter definitely seems nice, but I can't justify getting a strobe that has lower specs that the YS03 just so I can have the focus light on it. I'd rather keep guessing where I'm shooting. I would say most of my time is not snooting so I'd rather focus on quality of snoot.

Any thoughts on how snooting would go with inon z330 or Ikelite DS160? They both look like solid strobes, but I can't find much info on how they stack up with snoots?
Thanks again![/QUOTE]
 
Backscatter definitely seems nice, but I can't justify getting a strobe that has lower specs that the YS03 just so I can have the focus light on it. I'd rather keep guessing where I'm shooting. I would say most of my time is not snooting so I'd rather focus on quality of snoot.

Ignore the specs, you don't need ALL THE LIGHT! - all you need is enough to properly light your shots, and at macro distances, that's not a lot. MF-1 has a long tail that can be used as a very convenient handle for aiming, which, in snooting, is more important than you probably think.

Any thoughts on how snooting would go with inon z330 or Ikelite DS160? They both look like solid strobes, but I can't find much info on how they stack up with snoots?

Z-330 has an offset modeling light, so trying to snoot with it underwater is going to be an exercise in frustration. DS-160 does have a center-mounted LED, but it's fairly weak, and the strobes themselves are big, bulky, heavy and can only be triggered by electrical sync cord rather than fiber optics. If you do go down the Ikelite roout, consider getting a DS-161with its more powerful modeling light.
 
But Barmaglot, maybe I want all the light. :) In all seriousness, I'm hoping for a good solid strobe so I can shoot a big manta down to a tiny nudi.

Thanks for your thoughts on the DS 161 and the info on the others!
 
But Barmaglot, maybe I want all the light. :) In all seriousness, I'm hoping for a good solid strobe so I can shoot a big manta down to a tiny nudi.

I dive with a pair of Retra Pros, outfitted with superchargers, wide diffusers when I want to shoot wide, and reduction rings + reflectors when I shoot macro or fish portraits, plus a Retra LSD when I need a snoot, and this is pretty much a do-all setup, but it's expensive.
 
I shall have to save up then. :) The Retras do look awesome, but out of my budget. Thanks for your thougths!
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

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