flash bracket

joshhuntnm

Anyone have any recommendations on a flash bracket?

Danspage

My Bracket
http://www.alzodigital.com/online_store/digital_camera_flip_flash_bracket_umbrella_kit.htm


Take a look at this post http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=155035

I still use a bracket in a dark church, but am starting to convert to available light. The available light photos catch my eye and just look great.

Take a look at this artist's web site http://http://www.meninenuotrauka.lt
He uses a 50mm 1.4 85mm1.4 for most of his photos.

Art Scott

I have 2 and only use 1......due to the weight of the camera and lenses I now have I only use my STROBOFRAME R4B ........ I have a perfectly good STROBOFRAME RL2000 .... that will be hitting the flea market real soon......it is really good unless used with huge bodies and fast zooms that weight a ton.........it was my first wedding flash bracket and worked fantastic until I went medium format....then I gotthe R4B..............

Scott_Quier

I have two of these and use them very frequently: Di100FR2 Flash Rotator

What you want to be sure to understand is that the camera has to rotate under the flash. The name of the above referenced bracket not withstanding, that's the way this bracket works. There are others that do this as well but none of them are as small or compact. The only reason I can think to get a large/tall bracket is to put some distance between the flash and the lens - to avoid red-eye. That's not a problem if you are bouncing the flash off some surface - then the distance between the flash and the lens is not an important consideration.

Another thing to know about brackets - the hotshoe foot of the 580 EX is somewhat fragile so you have to find a way to do the rotation that puts minimal stress on that part and use the technique every time you do a rotation. I know of quite a few folks who have failed to do one or the other and and have broken that part.

Matthew Saville

joshhuntnm wrote:

Anyone have any recommendations on a flash bracket?

What on earth would you want to use a flash bracket for?

...Yes, there is a right answer, but 99% of the time, as I stated in the previous discussion, flash brackets just make you look like an idiot. I honestly don't take flash-bracket users seriously, or at least I haven't met (in person) one yet whose work I truly admired. Like I said, yes there is certainly a small niche of reasons a flash bracket CAN be useful, but personally I just can't get past how cumbersome they feel and how dumb they look, and lastly I don't think the techniques a bracket is used for are very conducive to natural, let alone dramatic and emotive, light / pictures...

My opinionated opinion! *ducks flying rotten tomatoes*

=Matt=

joshhuntnm

Matthew Saville wrote:

What on earth would you want to use a flash bracket for?

...Yes, there is a right answer, but 99% of the time, as I stated in the previous discussion, flash brackets just make you look like an idiot. I honestly don't take flash-bracket users seriously, or at least I haven't met (in person) one yet whose work I truly admired. Like I said, yes there is certainly a small niche of reasons a flash bracket CAN be useful, but personally I just can't get past how cumbersome they feel and how dumb they look, and lastly I don't think the techniques a bracket is used for are very conducive to natural, let alone dramatic and emotive, light / pictures...

My opinionated opinion! *ducks flying rotten tomatoes*

=Matt=

My reason is this. I have use a 580EXII with a Gary Fong clone diffuser. it is quite heavy and long. the combination of the weight and length/ levarage. . . I have my camera in for repair for the second time in 6 months. the thing that holds the flash has gotten lose. I am considering using a bracket instead of attaching the flash to the camera sense it keeps stressing it and causing it to become loose and fire intermittently.

I have not decided what I want to do.

tenoverthenose

For a flash bracket, the Newton Di100FR2 Flash Rotator is my favorite, however I tend to agree with Matthew on this matter. To take another step, I've never been too pleased with the results from a fong dong, and as you have found that sucker has some weight to it. (as a side note, have you tried simply retightening the screws holding the hot shoe on your camera?) I'd say dump the plastic, learn more about lighting and start expressing yourself. More often than not, a bare bounced flash with an index card will get you the same look as the plastic without wasting so much battery power.

joshhuntnm wrote:

My reason is this. I have use a 580EXII with a Gary Fong clone diffuser. it is quite heavy and long. the combination of the weight and length/ levarage. . . I have my camera in for repair for the second time in 6 months. the thing that holds the flash has gotten lose. I am considering using a bracket instead of attaching the flash to the camera sense it keeps stressing it and causing it to become loose and fire intermittently.

I have not decided what I want to do.

Matthew Saville

joshhuntnm wrote:

My reason is this. I have use a 580EXII with a Gary Fong clone diffuser. it is quite heavy and long. the combination of the weight and length/ levarage. . . I have my camera in for repair for the second time in 6 months. the thing that holds the flash has gotten lose. I am considering using a bracket instead of attaching the flash to the camera sense it keeps stressing it and causing it to become loose and fire intermittently.

I have not decided what I want to do.

That is definitely a problem, but what are you trying to do with your light in general? What would you do with a flash bracket to potentially solve the problem? Are you bouncing the light? Pointing it at the subject?

I do use a lightsphere from time to time, but I guess my SB800 is built sturdily enough to put up with usage about once a month.

My point is, 99% of the time I can get away with bare, on-camera flash bounced. (And remember, I avoid flash in the first place and mostly shoot ambient...)

=Matt=

joshhuntnm

Matthew Saville wrote:

That is definitely a problem, but what are you trying to do with your light in general? What would you do with a flash bracket to potentially solve the problem? Are you bouncing the light? Pointing it at the subject?

I do use a lightsphere from time to time, but I guess my SB800 is built sturdily enough to put up with usage about once a month.

My point is, 99% of the time I can get away with bare, on-camera flash bounced. (And remember, I avoid flash in the first place and mostly shoot ambient...)

=Matt=

I nearly always shoot bounced. I find the Gary Fong Clone diffuser pushes a little light directly into the faces/eyes of the subject.

looks like I am solving this problem with a 50d instead.

tenoverthenose

joshhuntnm wrote:

looks like I am solving this problem with a 50d instead.

I think you will end up having the same problem with the 50D in a while. When I used the fong dong on my 40D, the hot shoe on the 40D came loose and the flash contacts failed to work (all I had to do was use a screw driver to retightening the hotshoe). I believe that having a the fong on your flash bouncing around at wedding after wedding is going to cause a problem, it's too much leverage for a hot shoe IMHO.

dangin

I've been an advocate of the Stroboframe Pro-RL for years but switched to the Custom Brackets Pro-M mid last year. They're both great brackets; the Stroboframe is heavy duty and it offers more flash height options. The Custom Brackets is very well constructed with well machined parts and has an edge as far as ergonomics go. Either would make a fine investment!