A First Look at the New Retra Pro Max II

I’ve long been a Retra Pro strobe user—specifically the original Retra Pro—and I’ve been using them for many years. Over that time, Retra has released several new models that have since replaced mine. But in all honesty, most of these “upgrades” focused on things that weren’t essential to me: improved battery performance, better ergonomics, and so on. The strobe output and light quality remained the same. While I welcomed the changes and appreciated the innovation for new buyers, these “upgrades” didn’t make financial sense for me—as ultimately, it was the same light.

But a few months ago, Retra announced the new Pro Max II, and for me, this was an instant, no-hesitation upgrade. The light output jumped from 140Ws to 190Ws—representing a 65% increase—and it also addressed some of the issues I had with my older-generation strobes, such as battery performance, the ergonomics of the battery booster, and recycle times.

I immediately ordered a set and awaited delivery. True to their word, Retra shipped on July 1, and the strobes arrived a few days later. I haven’t had the chance to dive with them much yet, but this is a first impressions review. I’ll follow up with a more detailed evaluation in the coming months after more real-world testing.

Design and Ergonomics

Often, manufacturers change things when they release new models and drop compatibility with existing accessories. Now, Retra is a premium product—and they come at a serious price—so I was incredibly pleased to see that they’ve retained the original strobe housing. This means all your existing Retra accessories will work seamlessly. My bumpers, diffusers, neoprene covers, reduction rings, and snoot all continue to function flawlessly, which makes the upgrade far more appealing. The thought of spending another $300 per strobe on accessories would definitely have put me off upgrading, so this is excellent from Retra and really shows their commitment to the customer.

As for the general handling, it’s the same familiar Retra feel. The dials are easy to operate—even with dry gloves—and work seamlessly. They click into place with a satisfying tactile response, so you don’t need to look to see the setting; you can feel it as you turn. I do like the new digital display—it’s definitely nicer than the older one and gives a clear digital readout of the power setting—but for me, it doesn’t make much of a difference since I’m already very familiar with the knob positions. I’m genuinely grateful that Retra didn’t try to fix things that weren’t broken when it comes to design and ergonomics.

The Power

So let’s get to the main crux of it: the power increase. This is the key reason to upgrade, and I decided to run some controlled tests against the existing Pro Max to see if there’s actually any difference in output at full power.

Both photos were taken using the same camera settings, at the same distance from the wall, with both strobes set to full power—the new strobe on the right and the old one on the left. You can clearly see the difference in output. The light from the new strobe (right) is significantly stronger, yet both still produce soft, even illumination.

I’ll test this further in real-world conditions. But living in Iceland, we don’t often get bright, sunny underwater environments that require full-power strobes. Still, it’s great to see that in a controlled setting, the new power increase is plainly visible.

As you can see in the image on the right, the beam appears slightly narrower than that of the older strobes. This is the first time Retra has changed the actual beam pattern since the original Retra Pro was released. With the added power, the light may now throw a bit farther—but it also seems a bit more focused. One of the reasons I’ve always liked Retra strobes is their soft, even, and wide light, which makes them incredibly forgiving to use. We’ll see in the real world whether this narrower beam makes them less forgiving or more dependent on a diffuser than before. I almost always shot the old model without diffusers.

Low Power settings

Most people only talk about maximum power—and yes, max power is awesome. But it often comes with a downside: the lowest power setting can still be too bright. I decided to test both strobes on their minimum output to see whether the new model offers a truly “lower” low power setting, which is particularly important for macro shooting.

From these tests, it appears that the lowest power setting on the new strobe (right) emits less light than the old strobe did at its minimum. This is great news, especially for macro work and shooting in very dark environments. The combination of a lower low and a higher high gives the new strobe much greater range and makes it a significantly more versatile tool.

Battery Life

Here we come to my biggest frustration with the original Retra Pro: battery life. The main reason Retra had to introduce the original Battery Booster—adding an extra four batteries—was because the battery performance of the early strobes was poor. This has improved with each iteration, but for me, coming from the original strobes, it remained the single biggest issue.

I’ll be doing real-world testing with the new strobes to see how they perform in practical use, but based on my initial tests, things already seem much improved over the original Pro. That said, I don’t expect much of a difference for those who’ve been using the more recent Pro Max model, which I previously tested (The Power of Strobes: A Deep Dive into Retra Pro Max Features) against my original Pros and found to be a big step forward in battery performance.

With the new 190 Ws output, it’s reasonable to expect reduced battery life when running at full power. Even so, I appreciate that Retra hasn’t changed the battery configuration. I can continue using the Eneloop AA batteries I already own, which is both convenient and cost-effective.

Summary

It’s fantastic news that Retra has retained the existing housing for their new strobes. This lets us keep the features we already love and continue using all our accessories. The housing is tried and tested—well-known for its reliability—so these new strobes should carry forward all those historical benefits.

The tests suggest that not only does the new strobe deliver more power, as claimed, but it also offers less power at the low end, making it an even more versatile all-rounder for shooting in a wide range of environments.