Been shooting Ikelite stuff my whole ‘career’ in diving/shooting (~15 years) and now finally looking to upgrade and/or expand my OG Ikelite arms (the solid bar kind with 1” balls that lack o-rings) to something newer. Among the reasons, I want to go from single segment arm to dual segment. On one end of the arms is an Ikelite housing for an Oly’ EM-5 MK II, and the other end are a pair of DS125’s. I’m seeing a few options:
Option 1: Full blown Ikelite setup (ie twin arm segments) at $270 a set, so $550. https://www.backscatter.com/Ikelite-Wide-Angle-Ball-Arm-for-Quick-Release
Pros: Most straight forward, Ikelite makes good stuff (see: current arms still doing great after 15 years of couple-trips-a-year diving), plays nice with their $70 carry handle that I’ve already treated myself to 
, their handles look really compact for travel, ie would fold away really nicely/not awkwardly shaped like the current ones I have.
Cons: most expensive option, especially considering my current ball-to-strobe hardware is 1” smooth ball (non-Oringed), which I might need to get as well.
Option 2: Same as above but lacking an arm section, and I frankenstien in my current 1” arms $170 for 1, so 340 a set. https://www.backscatter.com/Ikelite-Compact-Ball-Arm-for-Quick-Release-Handle
Pros: Similar quality, cheaper at $170, so less than $400 a set.
cons: not sure how well the smooth ball vs O-ringed ball would play together; frankenstienish hardware.
Option 3: Aquatica package for ikelites, $190 for 1, 380 a set: https://www.backscatter.com/Aquatica-Ikelite-Lower-Post-w-ball-8-middle-8-doub
Pros: clearly the budget winner here. Comes with ALL the hardware.
Cons: Overt Candadian branding (JK ) looks like it’ll maybe be ‘fiddly’ to use a carrying sling/handle on the arms, and the knob hardware looks a bit bulky for ultra compact travel.
So the Aquatica looks like it’s a solid choice, but I can’t really find any reviews of their arms; anyone have any thoughts/input?
