Strobe arms

[paulandersonphoto 1]

Hi everyone I've been shooting landscape and wildlife for years and looking to get my first underwater system. I'm looking to purchase a sony a7ii and a wide angel lens. With this I'd like two get a two strobe setup been reading and trying to decide on which strobes to go with, but my question is what I should be looking for with strobe arms and mounts? Not sure which brand? Type? Length? Any advice would be appreciated.

 

Thanks

Paul

[TimG 62]

Hey Paul

This often comes up and it'd be worth doing a search of the Wetpixel forums.

I think you'll find the general view is that you might as well buy arms and clamps once - and buy well. They are one of the few bits of kit that can move relatively seamlessly from system to system.

As an example, Ive had my ULCS arms, clamps and bits and bobs since around 1998 and they're still in perfect condition after many hundreds of dives. And they've moved across 6 housings in that time. You'll find many people on WP saying a similar thing.

Get a quality brand and you should be good for many years and maybe even get some return if/when you finally sell.

On arm sizes, an 8" plus a 5" arm for each strobe is a fairly popular combination. This gives flexibility in terms of strobe positioning and is good for macro, WA and CFWA.

You then need clamps to join the arms; to join the arms to the strobes; and the arms to the housing. So 3 clamps for each strobe. Then add a fitting to the strobe itself to take the clamp; and a fitting on the housing.

Hope this helps for starters.

[Tom_Kline 62]

Here is a good beginner tutorial:

https://reefphoto.com/blogs/lighting/i-want-to-add-a-strobe-to-my-housing-what-arms-do-i-need

[Vondo 28]

The only issue I'd take with that tutorial is that one arm setups can work pretty well in some cases. I use a single 5" arm on each side for macro work. Considering that my strobes are attached to a ball with another very short arm, I get enough flexibility.

[Weiry 0]

Paul I use the nauticam strobe arms they are great

[leof 0]

Also think about the in on telescopic float arms a bit more but has buoyancy and can use for both macro and wide