Ultralight arms or similar

[junkyard_dawg]

I'm just getting into underwater photography and wanted to go ahead and grab some arms for a light or strobe.

I know Ultralight is the name brand arm mfg. But I see alot of other mfgs....more so than the ULCS. What is the best place to order/configure the arms? backscatter seems to carry a good bit of arms is that the best bet?

I guess trial and error on length of arms and if you need floats?

Thanks

Should've mentioned....this is for a compact with tray so nothing extreme yet. I'm working my way up.

 

[AZTinman]

The TG-6 is an aperture priority camera and as you've noted, it doesn't have a full manual mode. Most of those I dive with who use TG-6 cameras do really well without having full manual mode. A couple have decided to move to DSLR cameras because they feel that the aperture priority stuff was limiting what they could do.

Two strobes are better than one, but one is better than none. As you're looking at arms, I recommend that you look at pairs of arms to get the flexibility you need to position strobes. Basically, if you're using two strobes, you'll want to use four strobe arms and six clamps. If you're opting for a combo of 6" and 8" arms, this translates to two 6" and two 8". Should you opt to use only 8", this translates to four 8" arms. You really want to think about being able to put light where you want it to go.

The attached photos are from an underwater lighting presentation I did a couple of years ago. I use a couple of models named Bruce and Ariel for underwater lighting workshops. Personally, I think it's important to use enough arms to be able to position strobes in the correct position when you shift your housing into a vertical position. A combination of 6" and 8" arms is barely enough for this large Nauticam DSLR housing.

-AZTinman

 

[junkyard_dawg]

You are going to want four 200mm arms. You may need these to get neutral, one each side:


My Nauticam floats are much nicer of course but the above I used for several trips without issue. You may look at Stix foam floats also.

James

Thank you! I'm going to look into both.

 

[junkyard_dawg]

The TG-6 is an aperture priority camera and as you've noted, it doesn't have a full manual mode. Most of those I dive with who use TG-6 cameras do really well without having full manual mode. A couple have decided to move to DSLR cameras because they feel that the aperture priority stuff was limiting what they could do.

Two strobes are better than one, but one is better than none. As you're looking at arms, I recommend that you look at pairs of arms to get the flexibility you need to position strobes. Basically, if you're using two strobes, you'll want to use four strobe arms and six clamps. If you're opting for a combo of 6" and 8" arms, this translates to two 6" and two 8". Should you opt to use only 8", this translates to four 8" arms. You really want to think about being able to put light where you want it to go.

The attached photos are from an underwater lighting presentation I did a couple of years ago. I use a couple of models named Bruce and Ariel for underwater lighting workshops. Personally, I think it's important to use enough arms to be able to position strobes in the correct position when you shift your housing into a vertical position. A combination of 6" and 8" arms is barely enough for this large Nauticam DSLR housing.

-AZTinman

Makes sense.....I'm not a photographer by any means. I want to learn how to become a better one for sure and then upgrade possibly to a DSLR housing or mirrorless.

I understand what you mean with the arms although l might have to settle for one strobe this trip but eventually get two for sure. The tray I'm looking at will have the flexibility to add another one later. Been reading some and I can see where getting out on top of the subject is beneficial and can't do that with short arms.

Thanks for the advice!