Best solution for a balanced macro rig

Weighed my macro rig (d800 s&s housing, port, 2 x 5" ike arms, 2 x 8" ul float arms, focus light, 2 z240s and nauticam smc) last night - 1700g in fresh water.

W/a set up with sigma 15mm and 10" s&s dome is about -650g

Decided to go for a Stix float ring and 2 x nauticam carbon fibre 150 x 90mm. Went with the nauticam arms as I can replace the 5" ike arms for w/a as they can handle the depths of up to 100m.

As the title suggests I am wondering what solutions people are using for balancing/bouyancy control of their rig when shooting macro. I have been shooting u/w slr for about the last 8 years, but typically shoot w/a. When shooting wide angle I have used to date a 4" ikelite arm, in conjunction with an 8" ultralight bounacy arm for each strobe (z240s). I've used this set up over the last 8 years for w/a on the d70, d300 and now d800 and it works for me for w/a.

When shooting macro in the past it was with the 60mm and sea and sea standard port. Now on FX I have moved to the 105VR, with a more compact port (less bouyancy) and have started to use the nautical smc. Wooooww, it is negative in the water when I used the 4" ikelite arm, in conjunction with an 8" ultralight bounacy arm for each strobe, and very front heavy. I see that there are solutions that fit foam on the port 9 (which I guess would solve the front heady issue) and other floatation arm systems.

What are you using? How well does the floats on thye port work?

 

cheers

 

Darragh

Hello Darragh,

My problem with floatation for macro set-up was that floats on the strobe arms interfered with strobe positioning. That led me to make floats that suspended the rig from above. I spent a lot of time, and used a lot of Divinycell foam, to get the buoyancy just right for different set-ups. Now I have a better version of above-the-housing floatation that allows me to vary buoyancy much more efficiently. By adding or subtracting floats on a string, I can easily get close to neutral buoyancy. If I want to make it perfect, I stick a few quarter ounce (7 gm) tire weights to the bottom plate.

The Flickr link below describes this solution.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/pointymccracken/sets/72157634002354975

John

I haven't had any issues with the floats being in the way of putting the strobes where I want them. Just put them on so that the fat sides of the blocks face away from the other arm. The standard clamps are long enough that the arms can be nearly side by side.

I haven't had any issues with the floats being in the way of putting the strobes where I want them. Just put them on so that the fat sides of the blocks face away from the other arm. The standard clamps are long enough that the arms can be nearly side by side.

Hello CamelToad,

I can see why arm floats work better for you than they do for me. You have longer strobe arms, with an extra section, compared to my set-up. That allows you to keep the floats above the housing, even when you bring the strobes in towards the camera. If you take a look at the first picture in my Flickr link, you will see why that doesn't apply to my set-up. Sometimes I have to pull the clamp up or down to direct the strobes as I like. Even if arm floats didn't bump into each other, I could never pack enough floatation on them to make my rig as buoyant as I want it to be.

https://www.flickr.c...157634002354975

Should I convert to longer strobe arms, or should I be glad to have floatation that lets me get by with short strobe arms? What are the advantages of using long strobe arms versus short ones?

My Ikelite strobes, with NiCad batteries, are really heavy, and my plastic dome is very light. Without floatation, my rig has a tendency to turn upside down, so any floatation on the port would be counter-productive for me. Floatation on your port though, might be a good thing. Good floatation options are different depending on the equipment you are using.

I looked at your Flickr link - very nice pictures you got in Socorro. You did much better than I did when was there. However, I don't think longer strobe arms are the thing that would have improved my results.

John Mccracken

First, thanks for the compliment, I appreciate it.

Okay, personally, I think having two arms on each side is a huge advantage vs one like in your image-- especially shooting wide angle. For Socorro I used even longer arms than the image above, usually keeping the strobes wide, behind the port, and facing out a bit.

For macro the above arms work fine. Having two on each side allowed me to put the strobes anywhere I wanted them. FWIW the arms pictured above are 9" and 7" in length. Adding one more arm and clamp per side of your rig wouldn't cost much and, I think anyway, would help you.

Best,