Dedicated Strobes For Macro And Wide Angle. Optimisation Or Unnecessary Expenditure?

In this article from The Underwater Photography Show, we'll be diving into one of everybody's favorite topics—should you be buying more gear. Well ’tis the season, and all that. Specifically, we're discussing whether it's useful to have dedicated strobes for macro and separate dedicated strobes for wide-angle, or if one quality set of strobes can get the job done for everything. We're going to explore both sides of this debate.

The Argument for Dedicated Strobes

You can definitely see both sides of the argument. As a strobe manufacturer or camera shop, the line to push would be that everyone needs different strobes for macro and wide-angle.

Reasons to Choose Separate Strobes:

• Optimization: Excellence in underwater photography is often achieved through the optimization of gear and approach. Having dedicated strobes for a specific job clearly follows this route of optimization.

• Manufacturer Design: Some products on the market are designed specifically for one purpose, almost forcing you into a choice.

  • For example, Backscatter's offerings include the Mini Flash for macro and the HF1 for wide-angle. The Mini Flash wouldn't be a serious tool for high-quality wide-angle shots, and the HF1s can be too bulky for macro and don't turn down enough, often being too bright even at low ISO and a reasonably open aperture.

  • We've seen this trend with other companies as well, including some of the Chinese brands and Kraken, which have made both big and small lithium strobes in recent years.

• Bulk and Maneuverability for Macro: Macro-centric strobes are often significantly smaller, taking up less space and potentially being easier to maneuver.

• Strobe Shape and Light Quality:

  • Strobes that are shaped like cake tins (shorter) rather than beer cans (longer) are easier to maneuver, especially when you want to front-light subjects in macro or super macro situations by sliding them next to the port.

  • Many macro strobes have straight flash tubes, which makes it easier to shape the light or achieve harsher light for more contrast and textures, compared to the big round flash tubes on most powerful strobes.

• Convenience and Optimization: If you can afford it (both monetarily and in terms of travel space), having both types of strobes allows you to really optimize your gear around what you are doing—just as you would change lenses and ports when switching to wide-angle.

The Argument for a Single, Versatile Strobe Set

If I were buying a single set of strobes, I would try to find one that allows for high-quality macro and wide-angle shooting.

Making a Single Strobe Work for Both:

• Tools for Macro: If you have a powerful strobe geared towards wide-angle (like the Backscatter HF1s or Retra Promax), you need tools to make it effective for macro. These tools include snoots, reduction rings, and the ability to turn the power down enough.

• Low Power Settings: It's important for powerful strobes to be able to turn down adequately.

  • The Retra strobes, for instance, have a low power mode that can be activated on the dial.

  • Retra's forthcoming Maxi strobe is being made with a ridiculous number of power settings (16 clicks, for example) because the manufacturer was aware that a powerful strobe must also be able to turn down. If a strobe isn't all that powerful, you have less need for many power settings.

• Convertible Design: The Retra Promax series is a great example of versatility. You can lengthen the strobe with extra battery capacity for wide-angle or keep it at a relatively short size for macro. With four batteries, they last all day for macro; with eight batteries, they last all day for wide-angle and provide tons of power.

• Battery Standardization: If the big and small strobes you choose (whether you take one set or two) take the same batteries, that can significantly reduce your luggage capacity and overall complexity. Getting both from the same manufacturer ("stable") also increases the chance of having parts redundancy.

Hands-on: Kraken's New KRS40 Macro Strobe

Matthew recently had a chance to try Kraken's new KRS40 strobe, and here are the details:

• Size and Power: It is really small—about the size of a little can of Coke. The "40" stands for 40 watt seconds at full power, though it seems a little stronger.

• Features:

  • It has a very narrow beam.

  • It includes a red and white focusing light. The red light is helpful because it shuts off during exposure.

  • It is fiber optic only.

  • It has five power settings (full, half, quarter, and a couple of standby modes). A few more power settings would be nice (e.g., one between 40 and 20), but at its price point, it's very reasonable.

• Battery: It runs on a single 21700 battery. This is the same battery used by the Backscatter HF1.

• Snoot Compatibility: It fits perfectly in the Backscatter Optical Snoot without any adapter (just their standard one). Kraken is also coming out with their own snoot.

• Guide Light: The guide light output is not as strong as the Backscatter Mini Flash 2 or 3, but it's strong enough for night shooting; during the day, it might be hard to see.

• Performance for Macro: It's really enjoyable for macro shooting due to its small size, which allows you to put it almost anywhere.

• Color Temperature: It has a really cool color temperature. While this doesn't matter much for straight macro, you can see how cold it is if you try to shoot with ambient light in the background (resulting in very greeny water or overly blue water if you try to correct Kelvin in the camera).

• Beam Quality (Without Accessories): It has a relatively narrow beam even without accessories, so you can still control the light well because it lacks a big round flash tube.

• Price and Availability: It retails at $359, which is very reasonable for underwater photography gear. It will also be available in pink and seafoam colors.

• Diffusers: Right now, there is only a white diffuser, but warming ones and dome ones are on the way. They will bayonet over the top of the strobe head.

The Kraken KRS40 could be a popular alternative to the Mini Flash, both in price point and design, for people who like a more classically designed strobe with a big dial. Its small size is very attractive for macro shooting.

Ultimately, both approaches have their merits, so a big factor in this debate becomes the sort of diving that you do. For example, if you mainly dive close to home, your concerns over baggage allowances are small. Or if you specialize in big animal photography, you probably have no need for macro focused strobes. But if you mainly do dive trips that provide a mix of macro and wide angle, then having separate strobes sets for each might be an expensive choice, both in terms of initial purchase price and on-going baggage allowance requirements, especially when you factor in spares. Different strobes definitely allow you to optimize your gear. But a high quality, versatile strobe that can be accessorized for macro and has a very good range of power settings and quality of light for wide angle, could deliver just as much flexibility and quality. We’re lucky to have the choice.

Matthew has a full written review of the Kraken KRS40 on DPG. 

To check out the full show, click below.