How much should I be paying for tray/arms/etc...?

[JoeinLA]

I recently got the G11 + Canon UW housing, and started looking into the next item: strobes.

I settled on the Inon S2000 based on the reviews here, and was hoping to get the tray/arms/cable/etc. for a "good" price. I contacted a store that gets good recommendations here, and was quoted a price of around $450 for all the extras (including fiber optic cable). I was told this was a good setup, and not some cheap crap that will fall apart on me after a week

Anyways, I'm just a little surprised that the tray/arms cost as much as the strobe. Is this right? Should I go with a "good" setup, or will a cheap tray/arm setup work just fine? I don't want to overbuy, but I don't want to spend money on crap that I'll just throw away after a trip.

Thanks in advance.

 

[chadbeck]

I really don't know what fits your camera but I have ulcs for my tray, arms, joints and I am sure I spent close to that. If I recall my arm segments were in the 50.00 range, joints around 30. So it adds up quick once you add the tray. Of course it will depend on how long you want your arms to be that would change the price some. You can just look at reef photos website and piece together what you like. Or people always seem to be selling extra ulcs arms that they have on the boards.

 

[elanarchist]

Go to opticaloceansales.com/trays-arms-handles-clamps/cat_9.html and take a look at the sets available.. I have the Set 1 that I use with my G10/ S&S YS-110a and I've been happy. It's like half the price of other setups and I'd say 90% of the quality, I've got a over a hundred dives on mine and it is just starting to show some wear, of course maintenance is key.

For fiber optic cable I got the Intova one from adorama for less than $20 and the Nano flash adapter for $7, works great for me though I believe the S2000 uses a different adapter.

 

[bvanant]

Another alternative that will work perfectly for you is to use Loc-Line for the arms. Lots cheaper and lighter to pack than the ULCS stuff, but they are not quite as rigid, and make lots of noise when you bend them. For the S2000 they work fine, I use them on my subal housing for local dives with 2 s2000 strobes.
Bill