jmartel
Registered
Get multiple arms. Single arms are too limiting.
Arm lengths for very wide angle cave-floor pictures?
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KeithG
Guest
Agreed. And it us not all about the arm combo being too long. You can (will) fold the arms back on themselves.
I have been happy with two 9 inch arms anchored to my tray (no posts) but then I shoot mostly macro.
I rarely use them fully extended away from the camera. I do extend them fully for wide angle.
OP
Aotus
Contributor
OK - sticking with the plan of getting two arms, and using them with my 8" float arms (though need to test for buoyancy). I think I will get 12" arms, but may give it a couple more days to see if I can get any more ideas or suggestions for things to think about. Thanks very much for the comments so far.
OP
Aotus
Contributor
Not an expert in this area but how about a cave helmet mounted video light? more manageable than longish arms ... with a good clearance over and above your lenses plane if you place the camera lower than the head ...
OP
Aotus
Contributor
Generally, my setup is a different league from helmet-mounted cameras, and if you do take an interest and move into that realm you will learn fast what the differences are. I do use a helmet cam to collect footage for review later if i have any concerns about what happened during the dive, e.g., to check where i was when i started shooting or if there was something i might want to look at on the next dive.
I do have lights on my helmet, for working hands free and a backup. helmet lights (and cameras) aren't good for taking stills for a few reasons. Among them, 1) head is narrow, creating too much backscatter and uneven coverage for a camera, wide arms help with these issues, 2) camera is hand-held, far too large for my helmet, and i need to see the screen to manage the shots, and so a light coming from my head would cast a shadow in the shot, 3) because I'm working with a team, having video lights on my head means I don't see light signals from my buddies - washed out by my lights - and i can't look at them without blinding them, and 4) I'm using strobes
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What kind of data are you collecting? That is the first question. Most recommendations for lighting are for aesthetically pleasing images, which might not be at all what you want. Do you need to have lighting totally even across the image, or can you tolerate slight hot spots and some dropping off of light toward the corners?
If you need even lighting, the width between your strobes will be determined by how wide the beam pattern is and how powerful your strobes are. Also keep in mind that at 5 feet away from your subject, you have pretty much lost all of the reds regardless of strobe power or water clarity (if that matters).
Best advice I ever heard for strobe placement (from Berkeley White at AAUS a few years ago) was to have... actually a picture is worth a thousand words:
So in your case, you would want your strobes 5 feet away from your camera. I say go with as long as possible! Or more likely, get closer to the bottom.
-Chris
If you need even lighting, the width between your strobes will be determined by how wide the beam pattern is and how powerful your strobes are. Also keep in mind that at 5 feet away from your subject, you have pretty much lost all of the reds regardless of strobe power or water clarity (if that matters).
Best advice I ever heard for strobe placement (from Berkeley White at AAUS a few years ago) was to have... actually a picture is worth a thousand words:
So in your case, you would want your strobes 5 feet away from your camera
. I say go with as long as possible! Or more likely, get closer to the bottom.-Chris
OP
Aotus
Contributor
Thanks, Chris. That's very interesting, but yeah, 5' in each direction won't work. But, tilting the strobes out will accomplish the same effect with shorter arms, with other issues coming up as they get too close, I think.
XD {fish}
I
I
/_@_\ {camera with tilted lights}
At 5' reds are fine (ALL the light is my own, little/no ambient), the water is clear and my strobes and lights are pretty powerful. Color doesn't really matter much, however.
I am collecting images for use in photogrammetric modeling - making 3d models of the surface by collecting overlapping images. It's becoming popular among GUE citizen science projects, I've just learned. Anyway, even lighting is key to a quality model.
XD {fish}
I
I
/_@_\ {camera with tilted lights}
At 5' reds are fine (ALL the light is my own, little/no ambient), the water is clear and my strobes and lights are pretty powerful. Color doesn't really matter much, however.
I am collecting images for use in photogrammetric modeling - making 3d models of the surface by collecting overlapping images. It's becoming popular among GUE citizen science projects, I've just learned. Anyway, even lighting is key to a quality model.
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