Camera Bracket

[scott_williams5]

Hello. I have been looking at the various flash brackets and would

like some thoughts from the other members. What specific wedding

situations do you fell that these brackets really earn their keep?

Also, does anyone have any experience with using these brackets with

manual focus camera's? Does the backet interfere with apeture and

focus controls on the lens? thanks.

[ben_squire]

Hey Scott,

I've been reading up about brackets today. A lot of people recommend stroboframe, but to be fair there's a lot of choice and I'm a bit confused myself. I'll be interested to see what the rest of the people in the forum say!

 

Cheers

Ben

[william_au]

I've used a Stroboframe Pro-T with MF/AF cameras. I find its biggest benefit is avoiding distracting side-shadows when shooting in portrait orientation. Plus, I use a Quantum T2 flash which needs to be mounted on a bracket, so the bracket is a necessity for this. I tend to use available light as much as possible, so I mainly use the bracket during the ceremony and the reception. Absolutely necessary? No, but I find incremental improvements with flash shots vs. direct on-camera.

 

With the Press/Pro-T, you hold the camera instead of the bracket, and rotate the flash arm whenever you need to. I find this intuitively easier for me than holding the bracket with one hand. Using smaller, older manual cameras (like my Pentax MX/KX), the Pro-T isn't ideal, as you have to hold the whole assembly steady at this little point - I find with a tall/heavy flash on top, the whole thing is too top heavy to be comfortable (like trying to lift a shovel using the handle only). A more substantial camera gives you something meatier to hold, and I find this is easier to handle. If you use a battery grip, the torsion when using the bracket can sometimes cause the contacts of some grips (like my MZ-5n grip) to pull away and cause your camera to lose power (not good during ceremony). For this reason, I tend to use only my non-battery grip cameras with my bracket.

 

The bracket doesn't really interfere with focusing or changing the aperture ring, but again for me, it's having to keep the whole thing steady with one hand while using the other to focus/change aperture. This is where a bracket where you hold the bracket may be steadier, but then I'd hate to use one hand to do everything, or use a cable release with the bracket hand. It really comes down to personal preference to brackets. I would rather not have to use one at all, but find it does make for better lighting with vertical flash shots.

[pazellisphoto]

I have a Stroboframe pro-rl. And I love it because its really sturdy, has a built in stand, and some other neat features. Most of all, I like that I can really get my flash up high above the lens. And they do earn their keep, take care of shadows, red-eye, and that washed out flashy look. I think its great for weddings. Oh, and the pro-rl had a grip by which you hold the frame and then your right hand hold the battery grip (in my case) via hand strap. I feel very comfortable with it. However...... check out Really Right Stuff... they have some really great brackets... but for me, the stroboframe was just right (no pun intended)!

[russ_butner___portland__or]

I have the Stroboframe "camera-flip" model. It's great. I wouldn't even consider shooting a wedding without a good flash bracket that centers my flash well above my lens.

 

Russ

[todd1664878707]

Scott,

 

I posted a similar message a couple days ago. I am looking for a camera bracket and I think I have narrowed it down to the Stroboframe Pro-T or the the Stroboframe Pro-RL. The Pro-Rl rotates the camera and the Pro-T rotates the flash. From what I gather, both give great results, but it's a matter of personal preference. I like the idea that the RL gives a higher flash height, but no one has been able to tell me if this matters. I am planning on going to a camera shop that carries both and just trying each one of them out. Everyone that I have talked to that own the brackets say they wouldn't shoot a wedding without it and they love it. Either one would be a fine choice.

[neil_browne1]

I use a stroboframe pro rl with my 10d & metz 60 set-up. I like it because when

I'm shooting formals on a tripod, the camera rotates within the bracket. I find

this great when you are using a tripod since you can position the rig once and

just rotate the camera without messing with your tripod.

[tony_crowley___fort_worth_]

Another vote for the Stroboframe Cameraflip. I spent nearly 2 hours in my local camera store trying out the different brackets with my EOS-3. The flip mechanism takes a little getting used to at first but soon becomes second nature. I really didn't like many of the ones that flipped the flash because of the strain continual flipping of the flash would put on the (plastic) hot shoe of my 550EX. Many of the others also ended up with the shutter button in the "bottom right" position which I really disliked when shooting in portrait orientation. Note that most cameras with booster will not fit in the bracket and you need to be careful with where your tripod mount is on the bottom of the camera. My EOS-3 + Tamron 28-75 fits perfectly but my Elan IIE and the same lens almost foul (lens coming into contact with the flip mechanism).

 

This bracket also makes fitting to the tripod very quick and easy. I have a Bogen quick release plate on the bottom and can then go from landscape to portrait without having to rotate the ballhead through 90 degrees.

 

Cost me about $80 but it's probably a bit cheaper at B&H. I was glad to pay a little extra for the 2 hours I spent playing around in the shop.

[picturesque]

Todd--most people put the flash between 8-12 inches from the lens. The higher the better some people say, but it doesn't really make a huge difference, in my opinion, and at some point, flashes placed higher than 12 inches from the lens tend to cast really funny looking shadows if your subject is standing close to a wall. For instance, the shadows from a person's ears may look really strange around the person's neck.

 

I own lots of brackets, since, if you shoot long enough, you'll find that there is always the quest for the perfect bracket, which doesn't exist. The best thing to do is to take your exact gear and try out the ones you are considering. Hang everything you intend to use off the bracket, exactly as you intend to use them and then decide. Different gear balances differently on different brackets--also heavy gear and long lenses as opposed to small camera bodies and short lenses. Some people like the camera flip style, others like the flash flip style. You have to try them out for yourself.

 

I tend to prefer the compact, flash flip ones like the Quickflip, Stratos and the new Stroboframe folding bracket, but I use smaller 35mm camera bodies and lenses without battery packs. When I used manual focus 35mm cameras (which tend to be smaller), these brackets worked just fine, you can use the cameras as if there were no bracket attached, with the left hand under the lens for support and to change controls and the right hand gripping the body and with finger on the shutter button.

 

A bracket earns it's keep whenever you shoot a vertical, since the shadows aren't those ugly side shadows. Whether it's worth it to you is up to you.

[carl_miller]

I use a Stroboframe Pro-T for weddings and I love it except for one thing. (I have it on a

10D w/battery grip and 550EX) My only problem with this set-up and turning the flash is I

liked using a Lumiquest bouncer which is designed for the flash in the horizontal position

so it needs to be used with a "camera rotate" bracket.

(I tried using an Omni-Bounce BTW but got very inconsistent results)

 

Anyway my point was I was thinking of going to the Newton bracket that rotates the

camera but is still very compact and allows you to hold the camera and not the bracket.

It's over $200 but it seems to be the best of both worlds - although I haven't known

anyone personally that has used one, it looks like a very cool bracket to consider.

 

http://www.newtoncamerabrackets.com/new_page_1.htm

[macbug]

I just purchased the Stroboframe Camera Flip. The thing I don't like about it is the tension of the swing arm. It's too loose...so, you have to palm the bottom of the bracket so that you can adjust zoom on your lens, and keep the body from swinging on you in midshot. This is especially true if you have the flash mount centered over the body. The weight of the flash makes it tilt to the right (left if your shooting vertical orientation).

 

If you don't have to zoom, no big deal. Hold the grip. But that's not always practical.

 

I suppose I need to get used to it. It is easy to flip. So, a tighter swing may not be the answer. I could move the flash over to the left a bit.

 

Also, moving the flash across the top bar is done by unscrewing the shoe and mounting in a different hole vs. releasing tension so that the shoe mount can slide across the top bar and be locked down. Not a biggie. You don't need to move your flash that often.

 

I do have an idea for the bottom plate though to make it more comfortable to cradle and zoom with. Perhaps I will create my own and sell to everyone on the board! : )