ball joint arms and floats

[Darnold9999]

A single arm limits your strobe positioning. You want to be able to get your strobe as far away from the camera as possible. The closer the strobe the more back scatter you will get when shooting wide angle. Two segments allow you to have a large extension and also fold the arms so that the strobe is is any position between full extension and right beside the camera.

 

[ColoDale]

Some arms will be carbon fiber and some aluminum. I prefer carbon fiber but mine a hollow tubes for more bouyancy.
I would not put a light directly on the handle - too close and less options to move it. Floats will be a problem as well.
With one arm and floats on the arm, one side will be more bouyant.
You could also look into a float ring around the port (assuming you have them).
I hardly ever shoot video so I can't tell you what video light positioning is necessary. Positioning strobes is critical. There have to be similiarities.

 

[Danielk]

Please correct me if I'm wrong but, a segmented arm is useful mostly for keeping the light source as far as possible from the camera in a more wide photo.
As I have a single light, it will be mostly above the camera and just the height and the angle of it will change.

What options do I have to level the setup? By leveling the setup I mean the buoyancy obviously but, also prevent the camera from tilting forward and back and keep the edges on the same level.
The only two options I could think of are these two options in the attached image.

I like the second option better for these reasons:
1. I will be able to shift the center float right and left
2. I will be able to move the center float forward and backward (I will use the The three-hole open-hole like this one - 10.19US $ |Upgraded Diving Lights Arm Ball Butterfly Clip Opened Fixture Triple Clamp Mount Adapter for Gopro Camera Underwater Photography|Sports Camcorder Cases| - AliExpress

 

[ColoDale]

Option 1 and 2 are the same except for the 3 hole clamp, length of float arm and float method. My stix floats on my tube arms don't slide well at all. It may slide better on the frame arm.
The issue I see with the arm across the top of the camera that it blocks your view even though I assume you have a viewing screen. It gets crowded on top but you could disconnect the frame arm from the 3 hole clamp though doing that underwater may involve putting the arm and clamp back together. Personally I would not fix it across the top of the camera unless perfect balance is desired (or even needed) and go with option 1.
If you go with option 2, you will have a longer arm for future use. I am judging by the examples above.
Yes if the light source is further away, that's better but if the goal is video, and from what I know of it (which is not alot), video is more forgiving for that sort of thing. Videographers here can let you know more. I shoot stills.
If you are shooting a small camera, it seems the Canon S100 and housing are not that heavy, and not alot of floats, then it should be easy to manage even if not centered well. I would not overthink this too much now. You will probably change what you have anyway once it's been in the water a few times. Just my experience. (Helpful right?)

 

[Darnold9999]

Typically your float is only there to balance the negative weight of the strobe and arms holding the strobe so floats on just the arm closest to the strobe is where I would start.

Agree that you will take a few dives to get the weight and balance right but normally the camera, housing and handles are pretty close to neutral so you just need to offset the additions to that.

Dove for years with a single strobe. Never noticed that it was unbalanced with just floats on the strobe side. May have been, just never noticed it.

 

[Barmaglot]

I am an unrepentant cheap bastard. I bought the arms and clamps on alibaba (aliexpress.com) and am hard-pressed to tell the difference between them and the ultralite products (except for $$).

I did the same thing, and then my luggage containing all my arms and clamps got delayed by several days as I was about to embark on a 10-day liveaboard trip. I had my camera, housing, lenses, ports and strobes, but no way to connect them. I found a local shop carrying some underwater photography gear and bought a single arm and two Ultralight clamps to mount a single strobe on the housing's cold shoe - these were expensive, but I've been using those two clamps for a while now, and I really can tell the difference between them and the various cheap clamps that I got off Aliexpress. The cheap clamps tend to bind when I need them to move, then flop around when I need them to stay still, while the Ultralight clamps are a great deal easier to manipulate underwater, yet they have a solid grip when tightened all the way down. At some point I'm going to get five more Ultralight clamps (two regular and three long) and retire all the cheap stuff. The arms (both regular and carbon fiber floats) that I got through Aliexpress are fine, but with the clamps, the quality stuff really does make a difference.

 

[tursiops]

You really don't want the light centered and above on the camera (your figures) because it is too close to the lens for wide angle (backscatter) and too far away from the lens for macro (you want the light right up against the subject). Two arms let you do this. There is a reason your own arm has an elbow; you can get your hand a long way away or stick it in your mouth. having the light centered is boring shadows....45 deg off is better. Holding a camera and fighting the tendency of it to sink, rise, rotate face down or up, or twist L or R, is not fun. Spend some time with it in a big tub of water getting the weighting right, and even work on the trim that way. A hour in a swimming pool will do wonders. If you let go of the camera, most folks want it to slowly sink without twisting or turning.

Yes, spend the money on good clamps. Wrong place to save money.

 

[Danielk]

Hi,
Sorry, I was sure I added this comment a while ago. Guess better late than never, right?
A few clarifications:
When I say the light will be above the camera I mean just the location of the light. It is obvious the light should be as far away as possible from the camera. and same goes with the angle of the light. I know I should not light the water between and my subject to prevent the backscatter. The images I attached were just to make a point and each image was assembled from various cut outs from other images.
About the equipment, I totally agree that I should get a best quality I can afford. The reason for me to buy from Alixpress is the fact that I'm not sure about the configuration. Aliexpress will allow my to buy and replace items. When a final setup will be ready, I will buy a better equipment.

Since my last comment I tried to order the parts I need (and also had a few dives in the Red sea ). But, then I stumbled upon this problem:
As I want the framed arm (from the reasons mentioned in older comments) it forces me to get foam floats. I found only one place where I can get these - Stix. The problem is, that these are more expensive (mostly the shipping) and I'm still not sure how many and the size for the foam floats. I guess I'll have no choice but to go with the tube arm instead. But, these are bulkier and take a lot of space. Also, I will not be able to attach anything to it.

Do you know of other places I can get foam floats (or maybe some DIY ideas)?
Also, if any of you use/d a single light are rig, can you please share some images or describe how did you balanced it?

 

[Searcaigh]

The cheap clamps tend to bind when I need them to move, then flop around when I need them to stay still, while the Ultralight clamps are a great deal easier to manipulate underwater, yet they have a solid grip when tightened all the way down. At some point I'm going to get five more Ultralight clamps (two regular and three long) and retire all the cheap stuff. The arms (both regular and carbon fiber floats) that I got through Aliexpress are fine, but with the clamps, the quality stuff really does make a difference.

I'm still using six Ultralight clamps that I bought in the mid-90s.

At least three of the cheaper clamps I picked up someplace (I think Singapore) seized up and I had to take one to a garage to be cut in order to remove it from between two arms.

 

[bvanant]

For single strobe stuff take a look at Richard Salas's photos. He is a master photographer and many of his cold water images are shot with a single strobe.
Bill