Flash for macro

[winsnick]

Hello,
I'm thinking about working on my macro photography more this coming year and I am aware that light is important.So much so that I want to use flashes better.
I shoot with Nikon D700 and I have a SB900 that I hold in my right hand while my camera body is resting on my right forearm (stretching across my body, it's a bit of a twist). The right hand is on the camera and shutter. It works but it is very tiring!
I found a flash support that attaches to the tripod mount and that can have 2 flashes attached : it is from Jama on a french web site : http://www.jama.fr/boutique/fr/pris.../support-macro-flash-avec-bras-flexibles-1161
If I went down this route, I would get a second flash, maybe an SB600 or 700.
Does anyone have or know this system? Or would it be better to get the standard R1C1 flashes ? (Not much more expensive).
Thanks for any help,
Nicolas.

 

[Snapsh0t]

That's the Novoflex Unimarm. I had one many years ago and it was heavy (1.3kg according to Novoflex's web site). I also suspect the small ball heads would struggle with an SB-900. If you do want the Unimarm you can buy it from Speed Graphic in the UK.

As the D700 has flash commander capabilities you only need the R1 kit rather than the R1C1 and the SB-R200s are as powerful as you need for macro work.

There's also this ebay item , shown with an R1C1 kit, if you want a bit more flexibility (sorry!). Not the same standard as the Unimarm but less than a quarter of the weight and a fraction of the price.

Jonathan

 

[winsnick]

Thanks for the answer, I wonder if the ebay arm is as solid as the Novoflex arm... maybe the R1 is good enough but it is less flexible for lighting the background for instance and the batteries in the SB-R200 are not standard AA.

 

[Snapsh0t]

I have one and it's not as solid but as it costs £20 rather than £170 I can put up with it. The only real downside is that I can't get the ballheads off so I can use my Novoflex ones.

 

[winsnick]

Wimberley make flash brackets to for a dual flash setup ($169x2 + $85 for the M-8 plate). Does anyone here own a set ? The "gorillapod-like" arms seem more flexible, but Wimberley being Wimberley...