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A friend of mine is in Dahab currently and found an interesting colony. Can somebody identify it? I suspect some sponge or colonial ascidia.

The cheapest solution : Some plumbing pipe form local dealer (castorama for me in France). I cut the right pipe length to have buoyancy adapted to my setup, and its perfectly neutral. In addition I 3d printed a support so it doesn't move on the arms with a hole for the fiber I have 2 sets, one for fresh water and one for salt water. Total cost for both is around 30€ (The black wrapping is only cosmetic...) I use them since 4 years, with many dives up to 40m with no issues.

Another option if you want to DIY is Divinycell, which you can get in sheets: https://www.amazon.com/Divinycell-Foam-Core-Plain-Density/dp/B0CLSF9PG9/ref=sr_1_2?crid=JY47IS3E3HKB&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.b_JwoVsc8pqY8WO7MD4kCYHUfHofjvgIpfGABfyOVHvGjHj071QN20LucGBJIEps.hxRbQIWOVRjcgI_4TK3xtFpaW5RcxFWf9OddIVgo_LI&dib_tag=se&keywords=divinycell+h80&qid=1767376994&sprefix=divinycell+h80%2Caps%2C214&sr=8-2 You can either make your own belt, or otherwise cut it to shape and attach it where it's out of the way.

Price 140€ dont seems bad.

The float belt is very commonly used in macro photography, assuming you need so much flotation. It can get in the way of strobe placement if you like to put your strobes next to and parallel to the port, but moving them out or tilting them gets around that. I often use two Nauticam or Inon float arms off the camera housing and next are two arms with Stix floats and that is sometimes enough or gets me close. You may wish to get a couple longer clams to give you full articulation with the fat floats. If you do not mount a focus light or other accessory on top if the housing, another option some people like is to use triple clamps off the housing and then run a smaller diameter float arm across the top of the housing. I have never been fond of that, but some like it. It sounds like this would not work for you, though. The belt should not be much of a problem as far as placement on the sand for a low angle, I would think, although I don't think I have ever done that, so I could be wrong. I am pretty sure if I was THAT low, my reg would be in the sand as well.

First, I thank you all for your highly valued input...👍 From what I read here the Inon float arms seem to be an excellent solution (good quality at approx. 30% of the price of Nauticam arms plus additional fixture for a lensholder)... When using a single strobe, I just do not have enough space to attach all the floats (to the non-float arms) to compensate the buoyancy of the rig as I do now with a two strobe macro setup (Nauticam A7R5 with 90mm macro plus SMC-1 on flip holder; I do not know the exact down-force without strobes, but with two HF-1s I need 2000g buoyancy and the rig is still slightly negative). => I am thinking of mounting two Inon float arms (650g buoyancy each) "naked" to the sides of the housing and mount the single flash to the middle. Plus a Stix float belt to the macroport (583g buyoancy; https://www.uwcamerastore.com/stix-float-belt-sx-fb10) and compensate the rest with detachable floats to the arm on the middle flash. Is this a good idea (the dilemma is, as Caolla wrote, that one has FIRST to buy everything and only THEN can test out...)? => Is a float belt on the macroport a good idea or is the belt an obstacle, e.g. when putting the rig on the seafloor to get a nice perspective? Has someone here experience with using a float belt on a macroport?

have you looked into the new Backscatter Octo 3500 Wide video lights? They're listed as $300 USD here: https://www.backscatter.com/Backscatter-Octo-3500-Wide-Underwater-Video-Light 3500 Lumen Brightness 100º Wide Even Beam - Light Scenes with Wide Angle Lenses Three Power Levels Compact Size - Perfect for Travel Backscatter Color Filter System Compatible Enjoy the vivid colors of fluorescence with the optional Backscatter Video Light Excitation Filter Powered by two interchangeable protected 18650 batteries Simple Single Button Control 5000K Color Temperature CRI 90 Triple O-ring Seal

Not exorbitant pricing indeed, slowly finding some real competitors around: second hand Sealife 4500 pro (about the £300 mark with old battery): top color (CRI96!) but proprietary battery, not huge lumen figure Nitescuba SEA60 (on sales now) or NVS60 - these are only CRI 90, yet probably the best of the "cheap" lights: I could get a pair for the price of the Sealife. Other great plus is that it uses standard batteries! Second hand weefine smartfocus 6000: I am finding VERY conflicting CRI's here though. This is an older model, manual says CRI 80 (no-go), seller says from whatever datasheet: CRI 96... Probably skipping that and look at the new 4000v2. Need to research other practical parameters like shutter-free dimming, reliability, weight etc as it seems I am looking northwards of £500 for a pair, definitely not a "don't like it, throw it in the bin" purchase.

These INON Float Arms serve me for several years now: https://www.hydronalin.eu/inon-mega-float-arm-s-mit-390-gramm-auftrieb_2058 They come in various shapes. Very lightweight, durable and have two M5 threads on which you can connect accessories such as LensHolders, Actioncams etc.

I got some of the cheap ones (BGNing) to try out and they seemed ok to me - not that I had anything to compare to! I think I used 2 x 5 inch and 2 x 8 inch, with those long clamps with the hole for a shackle to keep them far enough apart to fold up together. I haven't used them all that much so can't really comment on the long term usage, or quality - but they did the job and didn't leak in the week that I used them (20 something dives in Dumaguete). They look to have a threaded rod all the way through to stop the end popping off.....but I haven't taken them apart to confirm! https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003127674881.html I do think I might need even more lift though so might need to reconfigure things a bit! The stix collars look good for the 90mm port 🤔 The clamps I used were these but nauticam do ones with shackle holes too (handy for lanyards): https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006060100346.html The required bow shackles were quite small, I think an m3 or m4 shaft from what I can remember.

Another vote for Stixx.

Focus ring now available separately for $200, and port and lens available for $1100.

Nice product

I just ordered a set of these: UltramaxdiveHELIUM Variable Buoyancy Arm SystemInnovative design HELIUM VBA (Variable Buoyancy Arm) System from ULTRAMAX allows you to create your BuoyFloat Arm’s lifting force from 0.5 lb (227g)~1.0 lb (453 g) using modular segments design to fitMy instructor has a set and seems to like them for travel as they break down (he also uses Ultralight style arms and Stixx floats). They have the added benefit of being a waterproof stash for keys, etc. They are about the same price as arms+floats, but seem to be less than the Nauticam carbon fiber float arms (they supposedly don't leak, or at least are less likely to fail than the Aliexpress variety).

Generally it needs some contaminant to draw in the moisture if humidity is high but not an actual fog that deposits liquid water . Salts draw in water and the deposit becomes conductive. A day to day example is salt shakers that salt clumps up in and stop working. Regularly cleaning contacts should be a good prevention measure.

I would suggest as it's mostly used for macro with a dark BG , colour temperature probably doesn't matter, just adjust white balance to taste, you are not trying to balance ambient light against strobe light generally. Agree it doesn't seem published anywhere and as it's a small linear flash tube, kelvin value is probably high.

The 30mm macro is limited to about 0.5x for practical purposes, min focus of 1:1 is close to right on the port glass and hard to achieve and light. The 60mm macro is the best option IMO, the Pany 45mm is also a possibility, but the lens will probably cost more. If you want only one macro lens for me 60mm > 45mm > 30mm. The only downside of the 60mm is you have to backup quite a bit for bigger subjects.

So you are saying you don't have enough arm to mount stix floats I assume? I've had good experience with the INON Mega float arms : https://underwater.com.au/shop/inon-mega-float-arms.html?srsltid=AfmBOor-N9Og_rOsVktINaj5kcBjeHfFdAxIgvWnuYQp-zD7ocxAZywL available in either 390 or 650 gram buoyancy, I've had mine quite a few years, they seem quite durable and price is not crazy. I also have a couple of Isotta float arms, basically an aluminium shell, they cost a little more, I have two of 670 gr arms for my wide angle setup, quite a bit cheaper than Nauticam but seem like they should be durable., about 40% cheaper than Nauticam. The Isotta are limited to 70mm dia so are quite long if you need a lot of buoyancy, the INON are big diameter and shorter. a long clamp between the two arms of each side to the M helps to get them to fold flat against each other.

Might be good light quality, but 1200 lumens seems a little weak, probably be OK with macro where you can get in really close. The thing with video lights is you are trying to add reds and yellows into the ambient light and this one will do that a little but will be over powered by the ambient light in shallow water. I see they have a 4000 lumen model which would probably do better - it's $549. Of course look for reviews, need to confirm that paying the extra $$$ will actually deliver good CRI. Don't know if you saw Blue water photo has a comparison table: https://www.bluewaterphotostore.com/best-underwater-video-lights/?srsltid=AfmBOopHlreMa-kGVb6def7NBCwtFGPY3ti-JcEd7TUrNuAfK3Cvptcn

I just came across Sea and Sea's 1200 lumen video light. Not cheap, but not outrageous at $385. It has 5400k color temp and 90 CRI. The Weefine Smartfocus 4000 is more powerful on paper--not sure how accurate any of these numbers are? Backscatter.comSea & Sea LX-1200SW FS Underwater Video LightSea & Sea LX-1200SW FS Underwater Video Light: No looseness in both wide and spot light "single light source/center light distribution" for a clean and beautiful image.

@waterpixel I thought I might as well address your questions for the rest of the community. I suspect that there is very little awareness or information about the Sea & Sea 12mm out there, so I'm happy to help with my extensive experience depending on it exclusively for several years. Do you use focus peaking? One of my biggest reasons for depending on the Sea & Sea 12mm instead of Nikonos 15mm is that critical focus isn't nearly as much a concern, on account of the 12mm being a fisheye while the Nikonos is not. The wider the FOV, the bigger the depth of field in general with lenses. As a freediving and wide angle shooter, as opposed to a SCUBA-equipped macro shooter, it was important to me to not have to worry about critical focus. So I simply shot at smaller apertures, f/8 - 11 mostly, to ensure that my depth of field was so large that everything in my composition was in focus. I could do small aperture with the Nikonos 15mm too, but the fisheye FOV of the 12mm still provided significantly more focus dependability. That said, if you've got the time while underwater (I was on breath-hold), you certainly could take advantage of the focus peaking feature. I would consider it if I had to shoot at larger aperture due to ambient light constraint, or if subject especially close to camera, but I didn't have to worry about it for most everything I shot. Everything was simply in focus all the time. This was also important to me for video, where adjusting focus while filming wouldn't be ideal. How far behind the mount does the lens element extend? The element doesn't extend behind the mount at all. In the first two attached images I have the Nauticam mount on the Sea & Sea 12mm (left; right lens is Nikonos 15mm; wanted to show how comparable in size they are; identical height, 12mm just 0.5" wider). The only thing extending behind the mount is the built-in silicone flange that sits perfectly in front of the camera lens opening. The Sea & Sea 12mm is identical to the Nikonos 15mm (and other Nikonos lenses) as far as the mount and compatibility. The godfather of Nikonos lenses, Pawel Achtel (who devised the 3D UW filming solution for Avatar 2), lists those here (https://achtel.com/3deep/, https://www.facebook.com/share/p/17fZ8A5vKT/). With the Nauticam adapter you can use any of these lenses. Achtel is just as much a fan of the Sea & Sea 12mm as the Nikonos 15mm (https://www.facebook.com/share/17afUA2CPd/, https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1XT3qT2zG3/, https://www.facebook.com/share/p/17FSRFEyWL/). Want to add the Sea & Sea 12mm to your wet lens quiver, and see why I preferred it over the Nikonos 15mm? I've got one or two for sale! $600. 😃

As already stated, Stix are pretty much the standard if they provide enough flotation. On an 8" arm I can fit 2.5 of them for a total of about 450g of buoyancy. I use Stix, but they often just aren't enough and I need to add something more. If you want/need the serious buoyancy arms, the Inon megas are much less expensive than the Nauticams and I have never heard of them leaking, but they aren't quite as floaty as the same size nauticams. But close. The Nauticam carbon arms provide the most buoyancy but are overpriced. Nevertheless, I use them when I need all the floatyness I can get. In that case I will pair two of the Inon or Nauticam float arms with an arm with Stix on it. I generally use the jumbo ones and have cut some in half for additional flexibility in flotation. There are other brands out there, but I don't know much about them. By the way, if you go much beyond 130' deep, the Stix will compress and they don't regain their shape right away. By about 150' feet, they lose a lot of their buoyancy.

I've had pretty good luck with the DivTek brank on Aliexpress. Only complaint is the anodizing on the balls isn't as strong as ULCS or Nauticam. I also have a set of ULCS float arms but they don't have the lift for my housing. Too bad since they are bomb proof.

Ebay and Amazon are full of inexpensive float arms. Most of them work quite well. Couple of things, unlike some float arms from the camera housing companies they have no internal connection between the end caps. They often leak, usually if they are going to it will be on the first few dives. When you begin to ascend, the arm becomes pressurized and blows the end cap off. Yes, this has happened, to me. I dumped the water out and glued it back together with epoxy adhesive and it is still in use. I have a couple of sets of inexpensive float arms I have used on many dives over several years. One of my dive buddies had the same sort of arms and one of his flooded also but ti did not pop apart, just had water sloshing around inside and loss of some buoyancy. So, I guess it can be hit or miss. For absolute reliability, aside from Nauticam or equal floats, the Stix floats on ULCS arms is possibly the best way to go.

If he wants that port and gear I'm going to sell mine. Was going to package it with a GH4 and housing but I could sell separately. You'd need the 45 port for the shorter macros.