Question on strobe arm options for Canon G10 OEM housing

[mjm6]

Hi folks,

I did some searching and didn't see an answer to this, but if there is one on the forum, please accept my apology for asking this again.

I'm new to diving (getting my OW certification right now), but I'm very experienced with photography (professional architectural work mostly), so of course, I need to get an UW setup going...

My new bride is an experienced diver, and I bought her a Canon G10 and the Canon OEM housing about two years ago. I want to add a couple of strobes to the kit (thinking about Inon S2000's right now), and I would need a strobe arm to work well with the Canon housing and the strobes.

I'll probably graduate up to an SLR and housing once I become adept in the water, so this strobe kit will be hers after that.

Because of this, I want the kit to be as compact and lightweight as possible and still be capable (hence the S2000's). I'd prefer to not spend a lot on the arms if I can get away with it, but I don't want to compromise capabilities because I'm pretty serious about the quality of the the photography I do.

I figure I'll be getting a macro wet lens or two in time, and of course, the G10 doesn't get too wide (28mm lens at widest, not counting the WAL options, which appear to be pretty poor performers for the most part). So the arms need to be capable of handling the macro part (flexibility of strobe position).

Can anyone recommend an inexpensive strobe arm set that would be the right starting point for the Canon G10 housing?

Finally, I need some advice on a good synch adapter to use.


Thanks,


---Michael

 

[coralcruiser]

I use the same camera and strobe you are looking at.

Two places I would recommend your calling and talking to:
opticaloceansales.com
reefphotovideo.com

Reef photo sells UCLS and Optical Ocean sells generic at quite a savings. However, this way you can talk to buy people, get the pros and cons for both systems and then make a good educated choice.

BTW.... I bought my S2000, FO cable and a few other things from reef photo but also bought a generic arm segment through Jack at optical ocean.

My tray, handle, arms and clamp are generic but look just like the UCLS

 

[mjm6]

Thanks for the input. It seems that the whole arm realm is quite complicated; lots of options, and lots of pieces-parts. I think I am getting a handle on it.

I'll be calling a few shops this week or next, and the two you mention are on the list for sure.

---Michael

 

[Hotpuppy]

Well, the short answer is that there is no easy solution that doesn't involve money. However you are an experienced photographer so you should understand the quality / cost trade.

First, I think that Canon's case is really intended for waterparks and snorkelers. It can handle diving, but that is pushing the case. I shoot a g9 and had a canon case flood on me. The case is tempermental with regards to the o-ring and being twisted.

I used an optical ocean tray, they are good stuff.

I had a Heinrich and Weiskampf TTL adapter. It appeared to work, but the Sea and Sea cable leaked on the first dive and flooded it. I didn't realize it had flooded that connection until I was checking out my gear recently..... so the TTL adapter was a complete loss. ($200 POOF!)

I replaced my canon case with a Ikelite case. Ikelite is expensive, but very solid and very well engineered. It also can be serviced, which I promptly sent my ebay bargain case to be serviced. $100 and they disassemble, replace all the seals, reassemble, and pressure test to 200 FSW. It gives me the assurance that the case is solid and everything works.

I bought a cable to manually trigger my Sea and Sea YS-120DUO TTL, so it will be like working with studio lights where I really don't have TTL.

I also bought a color correcting filter, and I may pick up a wide angle lens. Ikelite really caters to photographers and so all the accessories are there to take great photos.

I have found that diving is a very challenging environment to do photographs in. You have to have a good grip on shutter, aperature, and lighting. Many people do not. The equipment manufacturers know this and so you will hear alot of nonsense. Take everything with a grain of salt and ask yourself if this makes sense from a photography perspective before you take advice as sound. The easiest way to understand ikelite is to go look at it in person somewhere. You'll understand when I say there is a difference after you see it.

OpticalOcean and ReefPhoto are both great outfits. Helix is another good outfit.

If you have a LDS I do recommend trying to support them. My LDS is wanting to be an Ikelite dealer so when I have a big ticket Ikelite item I'll get it through him. Everyone pretty much sells Ikelite at list price, so why not let my LDS have a little gravy?

 

[Gilligan]

You may want to check out an eBay seller located in Hong Kong called nexell. He has a couple of trays with dual arms for under $250. They are a generic brand and no doubt a copy of one of the more expensive brand name products.

I bought my Sea & Sea strobe and single arm/tray from him for use with my Canon G10 and G12 housings. He is reliable.

I have some info posted on my website regarding the mounting of housings on trays relative to flooding and/or leaking.

 

[ozziworld]

With the compact size of the S2000, a 12 or 14 inch flex arm works great especially on Macro. It keeps the rig light and compact as well.

Something like these packages
Backscatter Inon S-2000 Strobe & Flex Arm Package
Backscatter Sea & Sea YS-01 Strobe & Flex arm package
Backscatter Sea & Sea YS-02 Strobe & Flex arm package

When I do Macro only dives, I set up my rig with just the flex arm. I have ULCS arms also and there are more knobs/clams and bits and pieces. Which are more than I want to deal with if I don't have to.

From packing to rinsing, the basic flex arms is th easiest practical solution for a really small strobe like the S2000. This makes for a very light and compact rig and easy to move the single S2000 strobe around. The AD Lens holder goes on my wrist like a big compass.

For General purpose when I have the Fisheye lens along. I move the AD lens holder to the ULCS arms (UFL165AD does not work well on my wrist mounted AD holder). This I set up on ULCS Tray and arms with the Inon dual lens holder.

 

[mjm6]

Thanks for the input folks. I have a good lead on some gear, and I'll probably start with a single D2000 and then move from there as I progress.

I agree that the Canon housing isn't ideal, but as soon as I am ready to graduate up, I'll be going for a proper 35mm SLR and housing. I only wish they made a housing for the Sony a900...

I may have to go back to Canon for the UW camera.

---Michael

 

[Hotpuppy]

Thanks for the input folks. I have a good lead on some gear, and I'll probably start with a single D2000 and then move from there as I progress.

I agree that the Canon housing isn't ideal, but as soon as I am ready to graduate up, I'll be going for a proper 35mm SLR and housing. I only wish they made a housing for the Sony a900...

I may have to go back to Canon for the UW camera.

---Michael

Well, photographs are like opinions...everyone is different....

But.... Canon and Nikon are widely regarded as having the best SLR's on the market. Followed by Sony, Pentax, and Olympus.

Olympus in particular makes a very nice point-and-slr. A few people had them last week and they took great pictures.

The beauty of Canon gear is that you can recover most of your money when you are done with it. It's in such high demand and so well built that it doesn't lose very much money. In some instances if you are a savvy buyer you can make money on it.

 

[Hotpuppy]

I should mention that I did some testing on my trip last week.

Far and away the color correcting filter is the *best* solution to underwater daytime photography. The flash worked, but it was a crap shoot to get the lighting right and you normally had to shoot, check, adjust and shoot again which isn't practical on many dives.

A wide angle lens would be my second recommendation for underwater.

 

[mjm6]

When you say that you used the color correcting filter, do you mean the add-on filter for the housing, or do you mean the 'underwater' setting in the camera?

My wife will probably use the camera without the strobe whenever possible (especially when shooting the coral core sampling work that is upcoming). I was debating getting the add-on filter, but haven't had a chance to really compare these two options yet. The filter I am referring to is this one:

Fantasea Line RedEye Underwater Color Filter for Bluewater 5201

PS: I'm almost OW certified now. Going to the Blue Hole, NM to finish this weekend!
---Michael