Nikon SB 900 and Manfrotto 143S

<p>I'm considering to buy a couple of <strong>Manfrotto 026</strong> Swivel Lite Tite umbrella adapter with the <strong>Manfrotto 143S</strong> flash shoe. However I read that the <strong>Nikon SB900</strong> may have some troubles due to the locking mechanism at the flash and perhaps the SB 900 does not fit very well into the 143S slot because it has a thicker base.</p>

<p>I will appreciate your comments for those to happen to have a SB 900 with Manfrotto 143S</p>

<p>I recently picked up a couple of Impact tilt swivel umbrella adapters which specifically are not adaptable to the SB900... unless you don't use the cold shoe and simply use the 1/4" x 20 thread to mount the little stand that comes with the SB900 to the adapter. Just an idea.</p>

<p>Just don't! Stacking adapters like that is a bad idea because you want the least possible distance between the flash head and the umbrella socket and the least number of threads to tighten or undo. Besides, that coldshoe adapter of Manfrotto's looks like a piece of cr*p, with no way to hold the flash firmly in place. The last thing you want is your expensive SB900 slipping out of an open socket when it's 7 foot off the ground! Or for the entire umbrella and flash assembly to slowly unwind itself under gravity.</p>

<p>Why not get a purpose made tilt umbrella/shoe gripper such as you can get off *Bay for around $15 US. I have 3 of them and they're all perfectly robust enough to do the job, even an all-plastic one, but for preference you want one with a metal gripper part. Just do a search for "Flash shoe umbrella holder swivel light stand metal bracket" and you should get the one I'm looking at that seems ideal. The flash clamp is about as close as possible to the umbrella hole.</p>

<p>Thanks for your comments</p>

<p>The 026 Lite Tite is one of the most useful tools you will own. You can easily attach a SB900 or a metal mount flash shoe using the newer 143S-1 cold shoe. The old shoe 143S works OK but some people find the fitting a little too snug for their liking. I hope this helps. </p>