DEMA 2025 Report: Backscatter's Latest Products

Inside Scuba (IS) spoke with Thomas Anderson (TA) from Backscatter Underwater Photo and Video at DEMA 2025 to discuss the exciting new lighting products being released for underwater photographers and videographers.

IS: Thomas, thanks for speaking with us. Let's start with your new strobe, the MF-3. What can you tell us about the latest evolution in the Mini Flash series?

TA: Sure thing. The MF-3 is the latest evolution of the Mini Flash series of strobes. It keeps all the incredible macro-oriented features that made the Mini Flash 2 so popular, like the narrow flash beam, the 1,000 lumen focus light, and compatibility with the OS-1 snoot.

The biggest new features are the added Sony TTL compatibility. Sony users who are using the Backscatter TTL trigger can now take advantage of automatic exposures. The other cool thing it can do is disable our "learning mode" pre-flash cancellation. That’s super helpful for manual-only shooters or for anyone doing a lot of rapid-firing, as it skips that initial step that teaches the strobe about the camera's pre-flash.

IS: And it uses the same accessories and battery as the previous version?

TA: Exactly. It retains all the same accessories—the OS-1 snoot, color filters, and all those other mini bits and pieces. It also uses the same 21700 battery and offers the same runtime.

IS: Moving on, you've introduced another new strobe—the Atom Flash (AF-1)—and a dedicated snoot for it, the OS-2. How does this fit into the lineup?

TA: The Atom Flash is a new, powerful, compact strobe that we’re releasing. It's got a Guide Number of ƒ28, which is really great for its size, and it features a wide, even beam, making it good for both wide-angle and macro shooting. It also has a built-in 1,000 lumen focus light, which is twice as bright as the Mini Flash 2; however it does not have a video light built in. It has a super-fast recycle time of one second at full power. We also have an LCD screen on the back. That screen will tell you your mode, your power level, battery life, and how many flashes remaining on your charge per power level. It also rotates according to how you've situated your flash, so you'll never lose track of what's going on. When using the Atom, it feels like the HF-1 except the maximum output on the Atom is two clicks below the HF-1’s maximum power. The Optical Snoot OS-2 is a big, bright optical snoot designed to go with the Atom Flash. The combination of the Atom and the OS-2 creates a small, powerful, and very travel-friendly kit. The Atom runs on two 18650 batteries.

IS: Very nice. It’s much lighter than the HF-1. And is the Atom Flash available now, and what is the retail price?

TA: It is ready to order now, and it will be shipping in a couple of weeks. Right now, we have an introductory price of $749. That introductory price will eventually go up to $799.

IS: Sticking with snoots for a moment, you also mentioned the OS-3.

TA: Yes, the Optical Snoot OS-3 is the Hybrid Snoot designed for our Hybrid Flash (HF-1). This one is a little different from our other snoots. It has a longer working distance—about 200 millimeters—which lets you light bigger subjects. It's great for fish portraiture or even a wide angle scene, while still taking advantage of the Hybrid's powerful ƒ40 Guide Number. The aperture card is super cool; it’s insertable, just like the other ones, but you can roll it with a single finger to adjust the size. And just like our other snoots, it has circular and oval shapes depending on what shape subject you're shooting. Plus, it has a filter holder right here so you can insert the Backscatter color filters for effects like backlighting.

IS: Finally, you mentioned a new video light designed specifically for action cameras. Can you tell us about that?

TA: Absolutely. This is our Octo 3500. It's a small, travel-friendly light. It puts out 3,500 lumens with a 100-degree wide beam. The nice, even beam is wide enough to keep up with the super wide-lens coverages that action cameras use, and it's powered by two 18650 batteries.

It’s also really cool because it can use the Backscatter color filters and the excitation fluoro filter. So even if you're not using an action camera, you can use it as a powerful sidelight, or for fluorescence photography. It retails for $349 with an introductory price of $299.

IS: And how does that compare to your Macro Wide 4300?

TA: The Macro Wide 4300 is a little more versatile; it has a wide, a spot, and a red beam. It’s also compatible with the OS-1 optical snoot, which makes it the best option for macro video. However, the 4300's wide beam is less wide, at 85 degrees. Even though the 4300 is brighter at 4,300 lumens, the Octo 3500 is wider at 100 degrees. That wider beam is going to pair a lot nicer with the wide-angle lenses on action cameras, so you won’t get any gaps in your video. It has a 5000K color temperature and a CRI of 90.

IS: Thanks for your time, Thomas.

TA: You’re welcome

If you are interested in any of these items, you can find the direct links to the products below. These are affiliate links which means that if you purchase something from Backscatter, Inside Scuba will receive a small commission. It costs you nothing and it helps us continue running the newsletter without ads.

• Backscatter Miniflash 3

• Backscatter Atom Flash (AF-1)

• Backscatter Optical Snoot OS-2 for Atom Flash

• Backscatter Optical Snoot OS-3 for Hybrid Flash

• Backscatter Octo 3500 Wide Underwater Video Light