Wimberley versus Kirk macro flash brackets in Nature Posted November 15, 2002 <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> <html> <head> <title>Untitled Document</title> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> </head> <body> Hello Stephen, <p>This is Clay Wimberley. I designed the Wimberley Flash bracket system, so i certainly have some insight into this particular issue (of course i'm also a bit biased). You may have already made your decision, but i thought i'd go ahead and put my two cents in. </p> <p>First i'll go over the pros of the Wimberley Macro Bracket (<a href="http://www.tripodhead.com/brackets4.html">Click here for a picture of the bracket on our web site (it's called "Combo 2")</a>)</p> <p> Our macro bracket offers unparalled poistionability of the flash. It does this through a series of 4 ball and socket joints which are tightened by a total of 2 knobs. the balls are made of a dense rubber which temporarily deforms when pressure is applied. This deformation allows them to hold more weight. If you bump the bracket hard, the flash could move, but the deformed rubber balls insure that it will never come crashing down or flop around. The extreme positionability of our bracket means that you can position the flash almost anywhere you need it no matter if you are shooting in the horizontal or vertical position. You can also use our bracket with collared and non collared leses (provided that you are using the Arca-Swiss style quick release system). The bracket attaches to an arca-swiss style quick release with a very narrow clamp. This clamp is very quick and very secure. Though the clamp is quite small, it exerts as much frictional resistance as a much larger clamp. Our Bracket is also more compact than others on the market. You can actually fold it up and put it in a loose pants pocket (do not try this with tight jeans). This was an important design feature for me since i'm often packing light when doing macro photography. The components of the bracket are part of a modular system, so you can add items to create other useful brackets (e.g. more rigid brackets for telephoto use). </p> <p>O.k. so there's the sales pitch. Now i'll cover some of the cons of our bracket. </p> <p>First, price: Our bracket costs $169.00 which is comparable to others on the market, but still not cheap. Also, if you want to use 2 flashes, you must buy 2 brackets this brings the price of our bracket above other dual flash brackets on the market. <br> <br> Second, Complexity: If you generaly always have the flash in one position and do not need to reposition it very often, our bracket may be more complex than you need. You may be better off making a custom bracket that is lighter and less complex. <br> <br> Third, Weight: if you can get by with a simple telephoto bracket that postitons the flash directly above the lens (for collared lenses), it will most likely be lighter than our bracket. </p> <p>So there you have it. If you are interested in trying out our bracket, we have a loaner program which allows you to try out any of our products for 60 days free of charge. Give us a call if you are interesed: (540) 665-2744. Also, i'll include some links which may help you in your decision.</p> <p>good luck!</p> <p>-Clay Wimberley</p> <p> </p> <p>Our Website: <a href="http://www.tripodhead.com/">www.tripodhead.com</a> (find out more about our brackets and our loaner products) </p> <p><a href="http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=000oWO">Click here for another Photo.net string which deals with this same issue.</a></p> <p><a href="http://www.hoothollow.com/Tip-April%202002.html">Click here for a review of our bracket system by Joe MacDonald</a> (Joe is a flash photography expert and a prominent professional Nature Photographer)</p> <p>Other prominent flash bracket Manufacturers:</p> <p><a href="http://www.kirkphoto.com/brackets.html">Kirk Enterprises</a></p> <p><a href="http://reallyrightstuff.com/flash_arms/index.html">Really Right Stuff</a></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> </body> </html>
Wimberley versus Kirk macro flash brackets
in Nature
Posted
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">
<html>
<head>
<title>Untitled Document</title>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
</head>
<body>
Hello Stephen,
<p>This is Clay Wimberley. I designed the Wimberley Flash bracket system, so i
certainly have some insight into this particular issue (of course i'm also a
bit biased). You may have already made your decision, but i thought i'd go ahead
and put my two cents in. </p>
<p>First i'll go over the pros of the Wimberley Macro Bracket (<a href="http://www.tripodhead.com/brackets4.html">Click
here for a picture of the bracket on our web site (it's called "Combo 2")</a>)</p>
<p> Our macro bracket offers unparalled poistionability of the flash. It does
this through a series of 4 ball and socket joints which are tightened by a total
of 2 knobs. the balls are made of a dense rubber which temporarily deforms when
pressure is applied. This deformation allows them to hold more weight. If you
bump the bracket hard, the flash could move, but the deformed rubber balls insure
that it will never come crashing down or flop around. The extreme positionability
of our bracket means that you can position the flash almost anywhere you need
it no matter if you are shooting in the horizontal or vertical position. You
can also use our bracket with collared and non collared leses (provided that
you are using the Arca-Swiss style quick release system). The bracket attaches
to an arca-swiss style quick release with a very narrow clamp. This clamp is
very quick and very secure. Though the clamp is quite small, it exerts as much
frictional resistance as a much larger clamp. Our Bracket is also more compact
than others on the market. You can actually fold it up and put it in a loose
pants pocket (do not try this with tight jeans). This was an important design
feature for me since i'm often packing light when doing macro photography. The
components of the bracket are part of a modular system, so you can add items
to create other useful brackets (e.g. more rigid brackets for telephoto use).
</p>
<p>O.k. so there's the sales pitch. Now i'll cover some of the cons of our bracket.
</p>
<p>First, price: Our bracket costs $169.00 which is comparable to others on the
market, but still not cheap. Also, if you want to use 2 flashes, you must buy
2 brackets this brings the price of our bracket above other dual flash brackets
on the market. <br>
<br>
Second, Complexity: If you generaly always have the flash in one position and
do not need to reposition it very often, our bracket may be more complex than
you need. You may be better off making a custom bracket that is lighter and
less complex. <br>
<br>
Third, Weight: if you can get by with a simple telephoto bracket that postitons
the flash directly above the lens (for collared lenses), it will most likely
be lighter than our bracket. </p>
<p>So there you have it. If you are interested in trying out our bracket, we have
a loaner program which allows you to try out any of our products for 60 days
free of charge. Give us a call if you are interesed: (540) 665-2744. Also, i'll
include some links which may help you in your decision.</p>
<p>good luck!</p>
<p>-Clay Wimberley</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Our Website: <a href="http://www.tripodhead.com/">www.tripodhead.com</a> (find
out more about our brackets and our loaner products) </p>
<p><a href="http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=000oWO">Click
here for another Photo.net string which deals with this same issue.</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.hoothollow.com/Tip-April%202002.html">Click here for a
review of our bracket system by Joe MacDonald</a> (Joe is a flash photography
expert and a prominent professional Nature Photographer)</p>
<p>Other prominent flash bracket Manufacturers:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.kirkphoto.com/brackets.html">Kirk Enterprises</a></p>
<p><a href="http://reallyrightstuff.com/flash_arms/index.html">Really Right Stuff</a></p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
</body>
</html>