Strobe Arm Reviews and Opinions

[RTRski]

Starting to scrape together money to house my Oly E-330 and want to go dual Ike DS125s w/ an Ike housing. Primary interest in WA photography, but won't be going as far as the 7-14 lens anytime soon (ka-ching...ouch!).

Anyone have any comparison advice regarding strobe arms?

Ike's own? 1" ball sufficient for DS125, or does size matter and I should graduate to the 1 1/4" balls? (keep the comments on topic folks)

Aquatica TLC arms look pretty spiffy with that "Holey Rebar, Batman!" look to them, and come with Ike fittings and adaptors. Cost a bit more too. Are they better than Ike? I admit I like the look of the elbow wheels but am I just falling for glitzy marketing?

Flex-arms sound nice, but are they strong enough for DS125s and do they keep their position well as they age?

DIY recommendations or ideas, perhaps?

 

[Cacia]

Ultralite in Oxnard or Ventura...whereever it is, my vote.

http://www.ulcs.com/

 

[alcina]

Ike's arms are very good. A bit heavier than the ULCS arms, but they will also not need any extra bits to work with your system and they are a bit cheaper.

Love ULCS arms and if they are in the budget then I'd go for those.

 

[ce4jesus]

I'll vote for my TLC's. Yes I paid handsomely for them but love 'em to death.

 

[AUTiger]

I vote for ULCS over Ikelite. The o-rings in the ULCS joints mean that you don't have to tighten the clamp as much to prevent movement. I also like the wide range of components that you can get from ULCS. I sold my Ikelite arms when I bought the ULCS.

David

 

[Cacia]

they should advertise here.....

 

[philmayer]

I used the Ikelite arms on my housed DSLR last year and I'm using ULCS arms this year.

The Ikelite arms are good, but are a pain every time you want to make a lighting adjustment and I had toruble getting them to hold angles with heavy strobes.

The ULCS arms are much easier to reposition and hold VERY well.

I vote for ULCS if they're in your budget.

 

[RockyHeap]

Another vote for ULCS, buy the best the first time and have an arm system that grows with you and you'll use for life.