Should I buy or rent an underwater strobe setup for my first trip?

Rent or borrow for your first trip to learn what you actually need. Buy once you know your style — a decent two-strobe setup runs $1,200–2,500 and lasts years.

Strobes are the single biggest quality jump in underwater photography and also the easiest thing to buy wrongly. On a first camera trip, renting or borrowing is a sensible way to find out whether you gravitate to wide-angle reef scenes or macro critters, because the ideal setup differs.

Where to rent: specialist retailers such as Backscatter and Reef Photo ship pre-trip rentals, and dive centres in Bali, Manado, Hurghada and Cozumel rent locally. Liveaboards themselves rarely rent strobes because of the flooding and calibration risk. Book four to six weeks ahead for shipped rentals.

What to buy when you are ready: for wide-angle, two strobes with wide beam coverage and fast recycle times, mounted on 8 to 12 inch arms so you can pull the light outward. For macro, one strobe plus a snoot is often better than two, and a focus light is essential. Expect $1,200 to $2,500 for a solid two-strobe kit with arms, clamps, tray and sync cords.

Whatever you use, test it before the trip. Assemble the whole rig at home, fire every strobe, check the o-rings, and run a vacuum test. The dive deck on day one is the worst possible place to discover that a sync cord has corroded.