Arm location? Not strobe positioning.

Some mount their arms to their housing and others to their hand grip, why? Personal preference or depends on type of shooting? I have the option of both.

Thanks in advance.

I have the option of both and generally mount long arms for w/a on the housing and shorter arms for macro on the handles. Nauticam handles flex a little with long arms attached but I'll cure that with some stabilising plates. Also, I prefer mounting focus lamps for wide angle 'outboard' and lamps for macro 'inboard'.

HTH, Tim

I have the option of both and generally mount long arms for w/a on the housing and shorter arms for macro on the handles. Nauticam handles flex a little with long arms attached but I'll cure that with some stabilising plates. Also, I prefer mounting focus lamps for wide angle 'outboard' and lamps for macro 'inboard'.

 

HTH, Tim

Tim thanks for that. I have two other questions now. when you refer to "focus lamps for WA" and "lamps for macro" you are referring to the same light right? Also when you say outboard and inboard what exactly do you mean? (please excuse my ignorance completely new to this)

anyone? I'm leaving on Saturday and want to learn as much as possible before then.

anyone? I'm leaving on Saturday and want to learn as much as possible before then.

What kind of rig are you using; Camera, housing? Strobe(s)?

Do you plan to shoot W/A, macro, or both?

Where are you headed? Lots of current or very little?

By the way, Outboard is away from the centerline of the camera and Inboard would be toward the centerline of the camera.

Steve

What kind of rig are you using; Camera, housing? Strobe(s)?

Do you plan to shoot W/A, macro, or both?

Where are you headed? Lots of current or very little?

 

By the way, Outboard is away from the centerline of the camera and Inboard would be toward the centerline of the camera.

 

Steve

Steve,

Nikon D300s, 10.5 fisheye,60mm macro,105mm macro, NA-D300s, Dual Ikelites 161, Ultralight arms 2x5" 2x8" and Fantasea focus light. I currently have both body and grip mounting options. Shooting both WA and Macro. Headed to Bonaire. Thanks =)

Steve,

Nikon D300s, 10.5 fisheye,60mm macro,105mm macro, NA-D300s, Dual Ikelites 161, Ultralight arms 2x5" 2x8" and Fantasea focus light. I currently have both body and grip mounting options. Shooting both WA and Macro. Headed to Bonaire. Thanks =)

I envy you, Bonaire is a great place to try out your rig. Since there will be very little current assuming your diving the lee side of the island, I'd start out with both the 5 & 8's setup on the handles shooting W/A. Find yourself some of the beautiful Purple tube sponges and practice your strobe positions and vary the powers to get just the right balance you like. Be sure to pull the 161's back so they are behind the dome. The Nauticam handles flex a little and that can be an issue in a strong current. If I'm in a high current situation I might move the arms to the housing mount and simplify to only an 8 in. arm.

You can play with the 161's and arms for your macro setup. My baseline with the 100mm is just a 5 inch on each side if I'm planning to shoot 1:1. The arms and clamps still give you plenty of flexibility to move your strobes around. If your going to try some of the more advanced lighting techniques like side lighting you'll want to put the 5 and 8's both on for the length. For optimizing with the 60mm and shooting fish the 5&8 setup will work but you'll want to pull them in closer to the housing (inboard). You can also get away with just the 5 on shooting fish if you pull them all the way outboard and back a touch.

After saying all that my real recommendation is not to sweat it too much. Relax, have fun, and enjoy the diving and the opportunity. You'll have a blast!

Cheers,

Steve

Since I have mounts on the housing already, I use those for main attachment. I also a have down-facing spotter light [for nudis] and shoulder brace attached to the left handle. Handles tend to have more flex, and I consider them less solid for attaching stuff. I mount a high-power focus light [1k lumen] top center on an extension clamp.

As my rig is a bit heavy, I consider it key to attach the float arms to achieve neutral buoyancy such that the camera will naturally position itself in a lens-forward position.

For arms, I use the Inon oversized "M" Mega float arms. Two give 46 oz of buoyancy.

Most people, though, are less extreme.

I suggest that the most important point is to achieve properly balanced near neutral bouyancy. How you do so is less important.

Thank you both for your help. Hopefully I come back with some keepers to show.