My rig is too heavy underwater

[pakman]

Jennifer, my 4th Gen floats for ULCS arms just arrived last week. So far I've only installed them on the arms (Inon arms in my case) and haven't been able to test them out on a dive.

Nice design. The foam has cutouts which allow them to be easily slipped on a ULCS type arm and secured.

Edit: These will replace my "pool noodles", which do a good job in shallow depths, but become useless beyond 10m or so...

 

[Fota]

Have you thought about bouyancy arms? This is one way that you can add some bouyancy to your rig without removing any of the things you have added.

ULCS DB-BL10 10x2 Double Ball Buoyancy Arm [ulc.db.bl10] - $66.95 : Reef Photo & Video!, The Underwater Photo Pros

Thanks for the tips, but I can't use buoyancy arms (I should have written than in my first post) as my macro arms are rather short (single 5", can't see any reason for using longer!). Well, at least I haven's seen any as short and I guess they wont do much good in the length either.
For my new WA rig I have ordered (will order very soon ;-)) buoyancy arms (double 8") from ryan.
I use ULCS arms.


/Fota

 

[pakman]

Fota, check out these floats. You could put two on each of your arms. They slip on to your existing UCLS arms. (note: they need to update there webpage, you actually get 6 of those 2" floats per order, not 4. Also, the photo is of the old one. The new design has the hole offcentered so you can fold your arms better)

4th Generation Designs - Products

 

[Fota]

Fota, check out these floats. You could put two on each of your arms. They slip on to your existing UCLS arms. (note: they need to update there webpage, you actually get 6 of those 2" floats per order, not 4. Also, the photo is of the old one. The new design has the hole offcentered so you can fold your arms better)

4th Generation Designs - Products

Thanks, those look great. I presume you refer to "the Jumbo Float" as the new ones. I will for sure go for the Jumbo.
I just hope 4th Generation ships to Sweden...

BTW, now I'm starting to wonder if I should perhaps order standard ULCS arms for my WA rig and attach Jumbo floats, instead of getting the DB-B08 (I've been told that the DB-BL08 are bulky and makes positioning for CUWA shots hard).
Do you guys have any idea what will lift the most?

Finally, does anyone know if any of the Float versions will fit an Ikelite arm? I have this: Ikelite DS-51 Deluxe Ball Arm Pkg. w/ TTL Sync Cord for Ikelite [ike.3944.51] - $550.00 : Reef Photo & Video!, The Underwater Photo Pros


Thanks,
Fota

 

[pakman]

Fota, they ship overseas. email them as the rates showing on the site and checkout are incorrect.

Here is a review of the Stix arms.
Review of StiX buoyancy arms by Cor Bosman and Julie Edwards :: Wetpixel.com

But is the Ike setup that negative? I thought they were more neutrally buoyant than the aluminum housings.

I just got the regular floats, not the jumbo one's.

 

[bobf]

Finally, does anyone know if any of the Float versions will fit an Ikelite arm?

If you are at all handy and already own strobe arms, it is possible to increase the buoyancy of your rig yourself using a closed cell foam product such as Core Cell. That's what I did with my Ike arms (the fatter, older style). If you can't find Core Cell or facsimile in Sweden, Ryan at Reef Photo occasionally stocks Core Cell (I believe he also uses Core Cell for special projects and other applications).

Attached is an image of my 8" Ike arms. All components combined, I was able to increase lift by over three pounds. Core Cell is easy to cut with a mat knife and can be glued with epoxy. The version I used (5lb) is durable and most importantly will not compress at recreational dive limits.

If desired, Core Cell may be painted for aesthetic reasons (not necessary for function). I painted mine black.

hth,
b

 

[GDI]

couple of ideas here you can use that are effective and not to expensive:

Go to your plumbing section of a local hardware, Home depot or Lowes and get the pipe insulation foam wrap. You can attach this to your curent arms or housing handles and they will provide some extra lift.The foam will however compress with depth.
Another option again from the plumbing section is to take some PVC pipe about 3/4 inch) and cut it to about 6 inch lengths. glue some end caps on it and secure that to you housing. We do this on some scooters and it works fine. Just an idea.

 

[spt29970]

I use lengths of PVC water pipe that are capped off. The nice thing is that it is absolutely incompressible so it doesn't change buoyancy at depth. For my 5" arms, I use two; one on each side. It isn't as streamlined as the foam solutions, but it drys well. I worry that the foam would capture water next to the arms and cause premature corrosion. Here is an image of my rig with the 8" and 5" arms. The black paint isn't holding up too well, but that's okay. It gives my rig that "used" look. Total cost: ~$10.

 

[Fota]

Fota, they ship overseas. email them as the rates showing on the site and checkout are incorrect.

Here is a review of the Stix arms.
Review of StiX buoyancy arms by Cor Bosman and Julie Edwards :: Wetpixel.com

But is the Ike setup that negative? I thought they were more neutrally buoyant than the aluminum housings.

I just got the regular floats, not the jumbo one's.

I emailed them and got a reply within a few hours. Wow, that's impressive and yes they would be happy to ship international and the shipping rate looks very reasonable.

Hmm when thinking about it, why not go for their complete system. I mean for my current macro setup I need the (jumbo) floats, but I as I haven't bought any WA arms as yet maybe I should skip on the planned twin 8" tube ULCS arms and get the 4th Generation system instead. It will be cheaper and lighter but perhaps it will be too weak?

Yeah, my Ikelite setup is really negative. I have a 5" ULCS arm on the right side and slightly longer Ikelite arm on the left side and a 5" ULCS arm for the focus light. But I think it's mainly the DS-125 and the 4 C cell type batteries focus light that makes it heavy. Well the D200 is a heavy camera and I also have a DS-51.


Thanks,
Fota

 

[Web Monkey]

Switch to Lithium batteries.

They're a bunch lighter than Lead-Acid or Ni-Cad.

Terry

Hi,

My D-SLR macro rig (Ikelite system with dual strobes and a rather heavy focus light) is way too heavy underwater. I'm having major problems holding it with one hand (especially with the trigger hand while shooting). I don't want to replace any of the strobes or the focus light.

Anyone have any ideas how to make it lighter in the water?
Adding cork or other materials? etc


Thanks,
Fota