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The author would like to thank Retra Underwater Technology for providing the pair of Retra Maxi strobes used in this review.
 

In an underwater photography world with countless strobes from an ever-increasing number of brands, it can be hard to discern one flashgun from the next—not to mention figure out which one is right for you. Standing out is key. Back in 2017, when Retra UWT released the original Retra Flash, they made a splash with their sleek silver strobe. I was a very early adopter, and those strobes served me faithfully for seven or so years.

Since then, I’ve been fortunate to spend serious time with nearly every new addition to the lineup. I was able to test the first Retra Flash Pro, and I’ve reviewed, and still use, the Retra Flash Pro Max. The Pro Max has since been replaced by the Pro Max II, and now Retra has launched an entirely new strobe line, with the Retra Maxi. Where the Pro Max line is focused first and foremost on light quality, compact size, and a whole host of pro-level features, the Maxi is about speed and power. I brought the Maxi around Florida and to the Cayman Islands and shot it for both macro and wide angle, giving me a pretty good feel for how this flashgun performs in the field.

While the Maxi boasts a circular flashtube, it’s designed differently than the one found in the Pro Max line. And while it might not deliver the absolute ultimate in light quality that the Pro Max series is known for, it offers a compelling mix of power, speed, and light quality—we’ll get into each of these in detail later. It’s worth noting that the Maxi also slots in at a noticeably lower price point than the Pro Max II and may just fit the bill for a wide range of shooters, without breaking the bank. Read on to find out if you might be one of them.
 

The Retra Maxi is built for speed and power but its light quality is nothing to sneeze at (Nikon Z5II, Nikon Z 24–50mm f/4–6.3, Nauticam housing, Nauticam WWL-C, dual Retra Maxi strobes, f/11, 1/60s, ISO 160)
 

A touch of light on a bed of eel grass. The light from the Maxi is easy to blend with ambient light for very natural-looking images (Nikon D500, Tokina 10–17mm f/3.5–4.5 Fisheye, Nauticam housing, dual Retra Maxi strobes, f/11, 1/160s, ISO 320)

From the very first offering, the ergonomics of Retra’s strobes have been wonderful. If you’ve read my Retra Pro Max review, you’ll know I waxed poetic about them there. With each generation of flashgun, Retra has continued to refine those ergonomics—and the Maxi is no exception. It retains the same bayonet front face found across the entire Retra lineup, along with the large, grippy dials carried over from the Pro Max series. The dials feature hard stops so there is no confusion about whether you have missed a stop. Everything feels familiar in the hand, and if you have used other Retra strobes, there will be almost no learning curve with the Maxi.

That said, the Maxi does break from previous Retra strobes in a few key ways. Most notably, it’s bigger. In large part, this is due to the Maxi being the first Retra flash to move away from AA batteries and adopt lithium power. Li-ion batteries may be a bit controversial these days, but frankly, I love them. They offer phenomenal battery life and deliver the kind of juice needed to push the Maxi to blistering speeds. The Maxi is quoted at 550 shots at full power, and while that may very well be true, I never shot that many pictures at full power. I will say, while I’m not a high volume shooter, I went days without even thinking about changing batteries. This is something I’ve loved about other manufacturer’s strobes, so I’m very happy to see a Retra model going the same way.
 

At a glance, the Maxi looks just like every other Retra flash. In fact, it is somewhat bigger and the back panel departs a little from the company’s more recent strobe offerings
 

Alex Mustard’s picture shows the size comparison between the Pro Max II (top) and the Maxi. Despite its larger size, however, the Maxi is quite lightweight in the water and needs much less flotation than the Pro series strobes
 

The Maxi also departs from the all-aluminum shell of previous generations: The back of the strobe is now marine-grade plastic. You won’t find the LCD screen found on the Pro Max series, however. While that may be a downside for some, the Maxi’s rear panel illuminates, making the entire back of the strobe visible, even in low light or total darkness. A quick glance tells you exactly what setting and power level you’re on.

What you will find in the Maxi that you don’t get in the Pro Max series is a 6,000-lumen video light, adding to its versatility. While I can see this appealing to people who are primarily stills shooters but also want to snag a video clip now and again, I did not actually use the video light in my testing.

Retra Maxi Specifications

• Guide Number (air): 46
• Light coverage (with WA diffuser): 160º
• Color temperature (with Wide Angle Diffuser): ~4500K
• Recycle time: 0.02 to 1.95 seconds
• Flashes per charge (full power): 550+
• Operational modes: M, HSS, TTL, SmartSL, LowSL, SOS and U (user defined)
• Video light output: 6,000 lumens, 110º
• Video light color: CRI 80, 5000K
• Power source: 2x 21700, 6000mAh
• Dimensions: Ø108mm x 174mm (Ø4.25in x 6.8in)
• Weight (with batteries): 1150g/2.5lbs

Clockwise from top left: The front of the Retra Maxi showing the newly designed circular flash tube and the video light LEDs; the rear panel showing the mode dial, power dial, indicator light, and pilot light button; the illuminated back panel in Manual mode; and the back panel in Test mode. Each mode lights up a different color, so even in the dark, you know exactly which mode you are in—and it’s easy to see your settings
 

Retra’s accessories—like the Light Shaping Device (LSD) snoot used here—are fully compatible with the Maxi, as it shares the same bayonet front end as all of the company’s previous models (Nikon Z5II, Nikon Z 105mm f/2.8 Macro, Nauticam housing, single Retra Maxi strobe with Retra LSD, f/6.3, 1/30s, ISO 100)

Retra has always hung its hat on light quality (more on that in the next section), and rightfully so. But the Maxi was designed first and foremost to be blisteringly fast and extremely powerful. Thanks in large part to its Li-ion batteries, it delivers on both fronts.

Interestingly, at the same time, the Maxi retains a circular flashtube, which is typically antithetical to what a speed-and-power-focused strobe is all about. Straight flashtubes are generally more efficient when it comes to recycling and maximizing output, but Retra’s engineers have managed to incorporate a circular flashtube without compromising performance.
 

The quick recycle time on the Maxi allowed me to capture these jack crevalle crashing through a school of baitfish. I saw them coming from a distance and just started hammering down on the shutter in case they came through the school in my direction. Happily, they did! (Nikon Z5II, Nikon Z 24–50mm f/4–6.3, Nauticam WWL-C, Nauticam housing, dual Retra Maxi strobes, f/10, 1/200s, ISO 320)
 

Ironically, one of the biggest benefits that I found with the Maxi is the ability to turn the power down—way down. The Pro Max strobes I shoot are fantastic, but there have been times, especially for shallow depth-of-field macro, when I wished I could reduce the output just a bit more. That limitation has been addressed in the Pro Max II, and I was happy to see the same flexibility built into the Maxi as well.

There are plenty of forum threads dissecting (in extreme detail!) just how fast the Maxi (and other strobes) can fire. For the sake of this review, I’ll keep it simple: I shot it at up to 7fps, which is more than enough for most marine life, and it had zero issues keeping up at half power or below. I rarely needed more power than that, but on the occasions I did, I typically dialed it back to 3fps just to be safe and ensure perfectly even exposures. At higher power levels, the Maxi does drop the exposure a bit after the first image and is consistent after that for the rest of the frames fired. At lower powers, it is consistent from the first shot.
 

Shooting up into the bright tropical sun is a good test of a strobe’s power, as a lot of light is needed to compete with the sun. The Maxi has plenty of power for this type of picture, even when not shot at full power (Nikon Z5II, Nikon Z 24–50mm f/4–6.3, Nauticam housing, Nauticam WWL-C, dual Retra Maxi strobes, f/10, 1/160s, ISO 125)
 

The quick recycle time of the Maxi means you can fire away to *try* to capture the peak of the action. This male jawfish doesn't aerate very aggressively and it is extremely fast so the rapid fire capability of the Maxi was helpful. (Nikon D500, Tokina 10-17mm Fisheye lens, Zen Mini Dome, Nauticam housing, dual Retra Maxi strobes w/Reduction Rings, 1/80s, f/10, ISO 250)

Retra has always prided itself on building flashguns that produce the very best light quality, and there’s no doubt that strobes like the Pro Max and Pro Max II are right at the very front of the pack. They’ve become something of a benchmark for shooters like me who may obsess over subtle gradation, smooth falloff, and that clean, natural-feeling light.

As already mentioned, the Retra Maxi is built primarily for speed and power. It’s clearly aimed at photographers who need fast recycle times and serious punch, whether that be for big animals, fast action, or simply overpowering bright tropical sun, all of which I happily did with the Maxi. Fortunately, that focus on performance doesn’t come at a huge cost to overall light quality. For me, this is a good thing, as at the end of the day, light quality is still the most important aspect of a strobe. In my testing, there were times when that extra diffuse light from a strobe like the Pro Max would have been beneficial, but the Maxi’s beam still delivered.
 

While macro shooting isn’t always the best test for a strobe’s light quality, shallow depth of field shooting with very contrasty fish can reveal less-than-perfect light. The Maxi’s light quality is nice and soft, and the ability to turn the power way down can be very useful for this type of shooting (Nikon Z5II, Nikon Z 105mm f/2.8 Macro, Nauticam housing, Nauticam MFO-1, dual Retra Maxi strobes, f/8, 1/125s, ISO 160)
 

The Maxi’s circular flash tube, though not engineered in quite the same way as those in the Pro Max line, is capable of producing a beautiful, even beam with pleasing falloff and very usable coverage. Without a diffuser, as expected, it has a slightly more direct beam, though one that is easily managed.

With Retra’s Wide Angle Diffuser—which I shot for most of this review—the quality of light is genuinely impressive. I’d wager it gets about 90% of the way to the Pro Max in terms of light quality when diffused—high praise indeed. For many shooters, especially those who value power and recycle speed just as much as subtle nuances of light, that final 10% may be a trade-off well worth making.

The Maxi definitely benefits from Retra’s “warming” Wide Angle Diffuser. The strobe’s native color temperature is noticeably cooler than the Pro Max and does sometimes take some warming up in post. Setting a warmer custom white balance in camera can be useful for reducing post-processing work after the fact.
 

Close-focus wide-angle images are a good test of the evenness and falloff of a strobe’s beam—and the photographer’s lighting technique! (Nikon Z5II, Nikon Z 24–50mm f/4–6.3, Nauticam housing, Nauticam WWL-C, dual Retra Maxi strobes, f/13, 1/125s, ISO 200)

For shooters looking for a solid all-around strobe, the Retra Maxi deserves serious consideration. The Maxi delivers an impressive blend of power, speed, and light quality at a price point that remains relatively reasonable in today’s market.

The Maxi is particularly well-suited for photographers who regularly shoot large subjects, fast action, quick behaviors, or wide-angle scenes where ample power and recycle times are important. The battery life provided by dual lithium-ion 21700s is also a wonderful benefit for those out for long days or who just don’t want to deal with AA batteries.

While it may not quite match the ultra-refined light quality or subtle tonal characteristics of some higher-end strobes, the Maxi still produces a great light output that will satisfy the majority of shooters. The Retra Maxi strikes a nice balance between performance and value, making it an excellent choice for serious photographers wanting to avoid the very top price tier. The Maxi deservedly earns a place in my pantheon of favorite strobes.
 

While this polkadot batfish looks relatively unimpressed with the Retra Maxi, I’d have to disagree with him! (Nikon Z5II, Nikon Z 105mm f/2.8 Macro, Nauticam housing, dual Retra Maxi strobes with reduction rings, f/13, 1/250s, ISO 80)
 

About the Reviewer: Matthew Sullivan is a Florida-based wildlife photographer who has been diving since he was 10 years old. He has traveled extensively, visiting well-known dive destinations such as Guadalupe Island, Indonesia and the Philippines, but he also likes to dive closer to home in Florida. When not taking pictures underwater, he can be found trekking mountains, or exploring national parks and rainforests in search of new adventures and wildlife encounters.
 

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Retra Maxi strobe	Retra LSD snoot
Retra Wide Angle Diffuser	Retra White Diffuser