Davide DB 484 Posted January 7, 2012 Hi all, I ordered a couple of SOLA 2000 lights; in the meantime I need two new arms for my setup. What's the best/preferred lenght for wa video shooting? What do you prefer, rigid arms or locline type? Pro & cons for video? Is there some other thing I have to take in account for my choice? Thank you in advance Davide Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
decostanza 2 Posted January 7, 2012 (edited) After my rant in another thread regarding frustration at L&M for dropping the ball numerous times, I finally received my dual Sola 4000 today. Will be taking them out tomorrow to see how they do as well as the Locline arms I'm using. Not five minutes ago I ran a "security" cable to ensure they stay attached so I will let you know tomorrow night how the arms held up. Edited January 7, 2012 by decostanza Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
textilet 7 Posted January 8, 2012 (edited) My brother and I took three 12 inch lockline arms, broke one in half and made two 18 inch arms. In marginal visibility the 12 inch arms were too close to the lens; you could see two beams of backscatter emanating from the edges of the picture. Also the longer arms allow more placement options when shooting up close up. The lockline arms, even at 18 inches long, had no problem supporting our old nocturnal lights which were 1/2 pound negative each . We also use four ultra-light arms on the bottom of the housing as legs on a poseable quadra-pod. The ultralight arms can support much more weight than the lockline arms can, but they are more complicated to adjust and move. Once locked down however, they dont move. With the weight of the housing resting on them, it takes 3 steps to move the ultralight arms: loosen clamp; move arms; tighten clamp. With the lockline arms I just move the light where I want it. Thats it. We ran cave line from the housing, up the arms to the lights because the lockline do have the potential to pop apart; thats not such a concern with the metal arms. The metal arms are significantly heavier on land and more negative than the lockline arms. They do make floating ultralight arm sections, I've never used them though. Thats about all I can tell you from my limited experience. Hi all, I ordered a couple of SOLA 2000 lights; in the meantime I need two new arms for my setup. What's the best/preferred lenght for wa video shooting? What do you prefer, rigid arms or locline type? Pro & cons for video? Is there some other thing I have to take in account for my choice? Thank you in advance Davide Edited January 8, 2012 by textilet Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Davide DB 484 Posted January 8, 2012 (edited) My brother and I took three 12 inch lockline arms, broke one in half and made two 18 inch arms. In marginal visibility the 12 inch arms were too close to the lens; you could see two beams of backscatter emanating from the edges of the picture. Also the longer arms allow more placement options when shooting up close up. The lockline arms, even at 18 inches long, had no problem supporting our old nocturnal lights which were 1/2 pound negative each . In a cave dive with low viz I had the same problem: a lot of backscatter was clearly visible from the two sides. Did you solve with 18 inch lenght? From the Sola 4000 thread I learnt that Loc Line arms creak But is it true that they becomes loose after some time? (Sometime I use the camera on a scooter) Bye Edited January 8, 2012 by M43user Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
textilet 7 Posted January 9, 2012 In general the localized backscatter problem is solved. the longer length allowed us to position the lights very wide and slightly in front of the lens, so now if there is backscatter it is at least even and not concentrated in two obvious beams. The arms do creak, but any shot that includes a re-positioning of the light looks odd too, so the moments when we move the lights and they creak are moments that usually get cut. In any case the sound of underwater video for us includes the darth vader regulator sounds so usually we detach and delete audio anyway. When we get our rig scooter mounted we will have to use different arms because I think the loc line style would lose their position if subjected to constant flow. They do loosen over time. On a scooter I would be more inclined to use the metal arms or make my own totally rigid arms because we probably wouldn't shoot much macro with a scooter mounted camera and thus wouldn't need to move lights as much. In a cave dive with low viz I had the same problem: a lot of backscatter was clearly visible from the two sides. Did you solve with 18 inch lenght? From the Sola 4000 thread I learnt that Loc Line arms creak But is it true that they becomes loose after some time? (Sometime I use the camera on a scooter) Bye Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
decostanza 2 Posted January 9, 2012 (edited) Textilet, I used my dual 4000's today with Locline arms with revolving mount for an SS-UV26. Pitch was set at 5 and was surprised the arms held position for the entire time. Granted, today was merely the first of many so time will tell if they start to loosen...for what its worth Also, my arms are 12" long...perhaps pushing to 18" will be an issue with position hold and will have to try it out soon. Edited January 9, 2012 by decostanza Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nick Hope 151 Posted January 9, 2012 Personally I won't use Locline again because of the creaking. It can sometimes scare critters away on macro shots, and I've had occasional negative comments about it from other divers, especially other macro photographers trying to get stealthy shots. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Davide DB 484 Posted January 9, 2012 I used my dual 4000's today with Locline arms with revolving mount for an SS-UV26. Pitch was set at 5 and was surprised the arms held position for the entire time. Granted, today was merely the first of many so time will tell if they start to loosen...for what its worthAlso, my arms are 12" long...perhaps pushing to 18" will be an issue with position hold and will have to try it out soon. A friend of mine told me that they start to loosen a bit after some dives. The longer they are the higher is the force on the first ball/socket that become loose with the time. So, locline or "classic arms" what's the best lenght for wide angle shots? Bye Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jonny shaw 16 Posted January 9, 2012 I second the creaking, very annoying but great amount of movement options. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CheungyDiver 53 Posted January 10, 2012 To stop some if not all of the squeaking from the locline arms you could use a flexible Polyolefin shrink tubing. The tube will provide some "stiffening" effect on the arm and holds a little better. I use it on Sola 4000 lights and its ideal for that light's size and weight. Neoprene tubing on the locline has similar effects. Cheers David Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
decostanza 2 Posted January 10, 2012 Great idea David, thanks Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Davide DB 484 Posted January 10, 2012 you could use a flexible Polyolefin shrink tubing. The tube will provide some "stiffening" effect on the arm and holds a little better. I use it on Sola 4000 lights and its ideal for that light's size and weight. What's the size of your locline arms with the 4000? Bye Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CheungyDiver 53 Posted January 10, 2012 What's the size of your locline arms with the 4000? Bye 3/4 inch Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Davide DB 484 Posted January 10, 2012 3/4 inch Sorry, I meant the lenght Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CheungyDiver 53 Posted January 10, 2012 Sorry, I meant the lenght Oh the length is one foot or slightly longer as long as the locline could form a tight arc. Any longer it could flop in strong current. If you need to spread the beam out just tilt the lights away from each other. works for me. Cheers David Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
decostanza 2 Posted January 15, 2012 In regards to continuing this subject I just rigged something up that appears to address the "flop" issue. Attached is a pics of a "before" and then an "after" showing the 2 Sola 4000 spread out. Instead of steel cable to secure the units to the arms and the arms to my housing ...I used cave line. Basically, I used a plastic braided hose for the locline insert (to minimize how much "flop" they had) then used a couple old inflator hoses for the exterior cover as a redundant way to keep everything together. Since most of what I shoot has a scooter attached to it I need to minimize how much movement the arms have yet remain pliable enough to position at various angles. After a quick trip down the hardware aisles this seems to be the most simple solution I could come up with. For what its worth... Don Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nick Hope 151 Posted January 16, 2012 Good idea Don. Does that stop the creaking too? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
decostanza 2 Posted January 16, 2012 Nick, Unfortunately it doesn't address the creaking issue... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Davide DB 484 Posted January 16, 2012 In the end I bought a couple of fantasea flex arms. They works like the loc-line type but they are specifically designed for photo/video use. They already have holes for water purging and a nylon line inside. I tried both and the fantasea seems to hold far better and it's very difficult to separate the segments applying a torsion to them. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/8008..._Arm_14_17.html I'll let you know how they perform as I will receive them. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
decostanza 2 Posted January 16, 2012 I've seen those before and they are a little stiffer than the locline...looking forward to hearing your report with them. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
