The LISST-VSF and LISST-200X are commercial instruments made available in recent years, enabling underwater measurements of the volume scattering function, which has not been routinely measured in situ due to lack of instrumentation and difficulty of measurement. Bench-top and in situ measurements have enabled absolute calibration of the instruments and evaluation of instrument validity ranges, even at environmental extremes such as the clear waters at the North Pole and turbid glacial meltwaters. Key considerations for instrument validity ranges are ring detector noise levels and multiple scattering. In addition, Schlieren effects can be significant in stratified waters.