Strobe Arm Length For Macro...

I have read the pinned topic re arm length for WA, but nothing is stated for Macro work....

I plan to buy UL arms with twin Inon 240s to fit an Aquatica 7d housing. I will mostly shoot macro with a Canon 100mm but will do some WA angle work too prob Tok 10-17 when i get round to buying it.

It seems that for WA the prefered sizing is an 8" and a 5" arm for each side. For macro is it still best to use 2 arm sections for greater control or would the 5" on its own work while also keeping the camera a little more compact? Id like it to be as compact a set up as possible without losing positioning control of the strobes. Should i buy another set of 5" ? a set of little 3"? or is one section enough?

What does everyone else here use?

Olly

I have been using 8"+5" ULCS arms on both sides for Macro and it is a bit overkill in my opinion. 5"+5" on both sides could be a good idea, would offer you a lot of positioning options.

Lately I have been using 1 8" on each side. I can mount them very close to the center of the housing rather than out on the arms and they seem to give a good mix of low profile and flexible positioning, so I am sticking with that.

I think Alex Mustard shoots macro sometimes with this position and I think there is a photo of a Nauticam D700 rig floating around with this config.

I've been using just the 5" with Macro lately and I've been surprised how versatile it is. As long as you have a seperate ball on the strobe(s) it works very well.

Have fun,

Steve

Hi,

I'm using a single 6" Inon float arm.

Sorry its a bit off topic here, but I took a pic with my phone to illustrate my setup, but can't get pic to appear with text? what do I do??

Probably simple I know, but would appreciate help.

Andy.

i started with 2 8" arms each side giving me the versatility to rest the strobes either side of the port, now I have an d 8 and a 5 each side but I struggle more now to acheive this position even tho it is still possible as there is a lot a flexibility in the clamps/joints...saying all that, Messeurs Edge recommended I should just use 1 flash on a 5" arm, tried it once was surprised with the results! But if you want to go "above and behind" its not possible with this set up

I'd say just get some 5s and 8s and just experiment for your self, to see what effect you prefer, I'm still undecided! I am just a young pup in the UWP world after all

Hi,

I'm using a single 6" Inon float arm.

 

Sorry its a bit off topic here, but I took a pic with my phone to illustrate my setup, but can't get pic to appear with text? what do I do??

Probably simple I know, but would appreciate help.

 

Andy.

I think you need to upload it to some photo sharing service (picassa, flickr, etc) and then link it here.

/Björn

Hi Andy,

I guess the answer is that...there is no definitive answer!

It depends on the type of image, and effect you want from your lighting.

As a very general guideline though, macro lighting tends to be more direct-you don't need to take advantage of your strobes coverage, just to light the subject effectively. this can sometimes mean lighting the subject with the edge of the strobes light etc.

This often means that you can put the strobes in very tight to the housing. I either mount them directly onto the housing itself, or use very short 4" arms. The Inon Z adapters are actually quite long themselves! To be honest, I tend to use the arms to get the strobes up closer to the end on the 105mm port, rather than out to the sides, although for some shots/subjects, I might push one or other strobe out a bit!

Sorry to try and answer a question with more questions!

Adam

Hi,

I'm using a single 6" Inon float arm.

 

Sorry its a bit off topic here, but I took a pic with my phone to illustrate my setup, but can't get pic to appear with text? what do I do??

Probably simple I know, but would appreciate help.

 

Andy.

Figured it out!

This is the image I meant to attach to the post above showing my macro configuration.

Andy.

Figured it out!

 

This is the image I meant to attach to the post above showing my macro configuration.

 

Andy.

Er!! don't know why theres two images though

Guessing you hit attach twice. Damn things keep doing what we tell them to do.

Which arm is that Andy? I don't recognize it.

Steve

Guessing you hit attach twice. Damn things keep doing what we tell them to do.

 

Which arm is that Andy? I don't recognize it.

 

Steve

Hi Steve,

Your right, I just realised my mistake!

Its a Inon buoyancy arm, size medium (6") it offsets about 5oz of negative buoyancy.

Andy.