Ultimate Guide: Buying Your First Underwater Strobe Setup

In this article we discuss all about buying your first strobe set up. In the next issue we will discuss strobe set up and positioning.

Why Do We Use Underwater Strobes?

Light behaves differently underwater compared to on land. Water absorbs and scatters light, resulting in loss of color and contrast as you descend deeper. Strobes, or underwater flashes, are essential tools for compensating for this loss of light and illuminating your subjects effectively. By providing artificial light, strobes help restore colors, enhance contrast, and bring out intricate details in your underwater images.

Almost all great shots you have seen of colorful reefs and fish have been shot with strobe light and adding strobes to your underwater photography rig will improve your images too!

What To Look For In Your First Strobe

Usually when people are looking to buy strobes they think about the cost and usually end up buying a cheaper entry level single strobe. Now this may seem a good way to begin, however you are much better off spending money on quality underwater light than you even are on a newer model camera.

The very essence of photography is capturing light; the strobe light you will invest in will be in almost every photo you take, so it is best to buy the very best quality light you can. There are plenty of options on the secondhand market of high quality strobes available. A top end pair of strobes will have more influence on your photography than pretty much anything else you can buy for underwater photography, and they will last you a long time. 

Can I Use a Video Light Instead? 

I would not recommend this; a video light is for video, even the highest powered video light pales in comparison to any strobe available on the market. This is because a video light is a constant source whereas a strobe fires for an incredibly short time and emits all of that energy in one go.

Choosing the Right Strobe Setup

When it comes to selecting a strobe setup for underwater photography, there are several factors to consider, including the type of camera system you're using, the depth and conditions of your dive, and your budget. The two main set ups are as follows:

1. Single Strobe: Ideal for compact camera systems or beginners on a budget, a single strobe can still significantly improve your underwater photos by providing directional lighting and reducing shadows. Once you have one you always have the option of upgrading with another second strobe in the future.

2. Dual Strobes: For more advanced photographers or those seeking greater control over lighting, dual strobes offer balanced illumination for more even lighting and can help eliminate shadows for more professional-looking results. A high powered dual strobe set up gives many more options than a single strobe.

What To Look At When Buying An Underwater Strobe

1. Battery type: some strobes come with lithium battery packs, whilst others come using standard AA batteries. This is a choice for you to make. A lithium battery pack supplied by the manufacturer will be rechargeable, it will have good staying power. However, it will likely be expensive to replace, and when using strobes heavily you will need to have an additional one for each strobe so they can charge whilst you dive, so consider this cost. Additionally, airlines have strict regulations on carrying lithium batteries in the hold which means you have to carry them in hand luggage; not necessarily an issue but they might take up space for other things you would prefer to hand carry. An AA battery powered strobe will have slightly less battery duration, however it is very easy and cost effective to replace batteries and if you have any in field issues with batteries it is easy to source them even in remote locations.

2. Light tube shape: lower end strobes usually have a T shaped or cross shaped light tube. This is more cost effective for the manufacturers, however it can cause hot spots in the image. More high end strobes have circular flash tubes which creates much more even and soft light.

3. Macro or Wide angle: If you only plan on ever photographing macro subjects then you can get away with less powerful strobes. A relatively inexpensive macro strobe is the Backscatter Mini Flash 2 (MF2). It will produce enough light on the subject when you are close. However, don’t make the mistake of spending money on strobes that will only work for macro and then decide that you would like to try wide angle photography as these strobes don’t have the power to light a wide scene.

4. Accessories: some strobe manufacturers offer great light accessories that are plug and play. Additional accessories you may consider in the future are snoots and diffusers. Snoots are light shaping devices that narrow the beam to a spotlight for macro, and diffusers soften the light even further but cause light output to be lower.

5. Fiber optic or electronic sync: The method in which your strobes are connected to your camera. Electronic sync provides a physical electronic cable that comes from the camera hot shoe through a water proof bulk head in the housing and on the other end the electronic cable connects through a water proof connection to the strobe. Electronic sync is not as popular as it used to be; there can be serious issues using this method with damage to cables that are hard to replace in the field and water ingress into the connection causing them to fail and also damage the strobe. Fiber optic cables on the other hand rely on a light signal sent from inside the housing via an LED trigger board through little windows in the top of the housing. This light signal then travels through fiber optic cables to the strobes and tells them to fire. It is much more reliable and the cables are easy to replace in the field as most people use the same cables. It is also completely water proof.

What Strobe Brand Should I Buy?

If you are looking to get your first strobe and worried about cost then Inon strobes can be a good option. The Inon Z330 is their current prime strobe, but they offer competitive lower end strobes in the D200 ad S2000. Inon strobes are often many shooters first strobes.

For more high end strobes Retra UWT make an excellent strobe. The Retra Pro Max is the mainstay of many pro shooters today. It is an excellent strobe with circular flash tubes, high power and plenty of great accessories.

If a new strobe is too expensive, then take a look at the used market. Many underwater photographers want to buy the latest and greatest strobes so are constantly upgrading their gear. This creates an excellent secondary market for those who still want quality strobes but don’t have the money to buy new. An older model of the Inon strobes is the Z240. This is a quality strobe that will give you very nice light and can be had for a reasonable price.

Strobe Positioning

In the next issue we’ll discuss mounting strobes and how to position them.