Flex arm for video light versus arms, ball joints, & clamps

As a casual UW photographer, I’m will soon be getting the  Divevolk 4 housing for my iPhone 13 Pro camera.  I’d like to add one light and I’m considering the Backscatter MW-4300 video light.  I see Mozaik offers a flex arm for the MW-4300, can someone give me feedback about flex arms?  I was cautioned against them when purchasing an earlier rig, but they look easier to maneuver into position than arm-ball-joint-clamp parts.   Also any opinions on whether a one-arm tray versus a cold mount on top of the Divevolk housing would be appreciated. Thanks in advance for your help!

1 hour ago, Drshrinkwrap said:

As a casual UW photographer, I’m will soon be getting the  Divevolk 4 housing for my iPhone 13 Pro camera.  I’d like to add one light and I’m considering the Backscatter MW-4300 video light.  I see Mozaik offers a flex arm for the MW-4300, can someone give me feedback about flex arms?  I was cautioned against them when purchasing an earlier rig, but they look easier to maneuver into position than arm-ball-joint-clamp parts.   Also any opinions on whether a one-arm tray versus a cold mount on top of the Divevolk housing would be appreciated. Thanks in advance for your help!

Wow those big lights for a phone

On land they weight half a kilo so you need to make sure they don't hang off it

If the loclines are 3/4" it will hold fine

The 3/4" are quite stiff and actually not easier to position the ball arms they are just cheaper

Thanks so much.  I’m just getting one light.  Maybe ball arms would be better...  Any suggestion how long the arms should be and whether a tray is necessary/preferred?

Thanks so much.  I’m just getting one light.  Maybe ball arms would be better...  Any suggestion how long the arms should be and whether a tray is necessary/preferred?

Phone housing is usually very small and with the handles I think the whole thing is very heavy. Then the lights are also negative.
Regardless of whether the locline holds the weight of the lights (they certainly do underwater) I would be concerned that the whole thing is almost neutral and more like perfectly balanced. 
Video is completely different from photography.
In photography you have to stand still for 1/60th of a second while for video you have to stand still for 30 seconds and more. 
If the whole thing is not balanced you will be forced to exert tension on your wrists and this will inevitably be reflected in your footage.
So carefully consider the balance of the whole thing.

One light could be good for macro only.

I use the MW-4300 and it is the limit of what works with a locline for me.  It also depends on how much locline you are using, so if just a bit (<30cm..ish?) it will be fine.  Above water that light is really floppy with locline and so in this case I would probably go with ball and arm setup.  In reality, i like locline better than the ball arm setups for small adjustments - but less so with the MW-4300 if I am carrying it around much above water.

I would also go with a tray for whatever you get - but that is a preference thing.  

How much in arm length?  a 5 and an 8inch section is a good starting point allowing a lot of creativity options.  If you are mounting on top you could probably be content with 5 and 5, but I would go 5 and 8 myself.  I also find the MW-4300 doesn't go low enough for certain situations if you can't get the light farther away from the camera (for example a go pro) so extra length allows the exposure to be where you need it.  

Yes - two lights are usually the right choice.  However, I have taken some of my favorite images with a single light source.  You just have to be really aware of how the light is shining and the shadows it creates.  Easy to use in macro and easier in still imagery than video, but not impossible. 

On 2/23/2023 at 2:49 PM, Drshrinkwrap said:

.  I’m just getting one light.  Maybe ball arms would be better... 

You could get little arms like these, 5 inch ones… That should be fine for using your camera. You can also find a single arm tray. Here’s what I plan to use with the backscatter mf2 (macro only)… a single arm tray that I picked up on AliExpress for $20 or so. That’s where I got the arms and clamps as well, for around 5 bucks a pop plus shipping. I don’t think you’re going to have anywhere near as much trouble with arms and joints than you think. It’s super intuitive and easy to change their position during a diet, especially if you’re using something relatively light weight like the macro wide like they have.