[audiobomber]

I have to shoot my son's wedding, so I thought a flash bracket would be useful. I like the look of this one and the price is decent. What do you think?

Custom Brackets - CB Digital-T Flash Rotating - CB-DIGITAL-T -

Are the anti-twist plates worth the extra expense?

Which shoe cord should I get?

[Vern]

Congratulations. I have a similar model bracket that I like very much:

Custom Brackets - CB Junior Flash Rotating Bracket - CBJUNIOR -

I think the model you point out is more recent and a simplified a little. My adjust both the height above the camera and the length of the overhang so the flash head can always be centered over the lens. Frankly, it's over kill for me. I'd save a few bucks if I were doing it again. The Custom Bracket stuff is very well made.

I've never used an anti-twist plate. Just screwed things down as best I could. I suspect they would help depending on the application.

Vern

[Internetpilot]

I have and love the Stroboframe CameraFlip flash bracket:

Stroboframe - Camera Flip Bracket - 310-900 - B&H Photo Video

What's nice about the CameraFlip is that it does just that -- the camera mount (not the flash mount) rotates from landscape to portrait. I don't know about other flash brackets, but even with rotating the camera on this one frequently I've never felt the need for an anti-twist plate. Your experience may vary.

I think the off-camera cord decision is more important. I purchased a cheaper no-namebrand one and it has sometimes proven unreliable and I had to work at the connection a bit when initially setting up my system. It's never failed or surprised me mid-session, so I guess I'd have to say it's reliable as long as you test the setup (and when would you ever not, right?).

Good luck with your son's wedding and congratulations!

-- Chris

[audiobomber]

Congratulations. I have a similar model bracket that I like very much:
I've never used an anti-twist plate. Just screwed things down as best I could. I suspect they would help depending on the application.

Vern

Good to know. I passed on the extra brackets for now. I ordered the Digital-T and a 3' coiled shoe cord.

[audiobomber]

I think the off-camera cord decision is more important.

I ordered the gear on priority delivery so I can get some practice in before the big day and adjust to any quirks. I went for this shoe cord because it looks weildy and says Pentax PTTL compatible.
Dot Line - HD PTTL Off-Camera TTL Shoe Cord - RS-0447 - B&H

Good luck with your son's wedding and congratulations!

Thanks Chris.

[Ratmagiclady]

Good to know. I passed on the extra brackets for now. I ordered the Digital-T and a 3' coiled shoe cord.

If you're strong enough to one-hand your camera, a handheld flash on a coiley cord is a wonderful alternative to a bracket. The last time I did much of this was in days of manual focus, but if you've heard of 'Zoom with your feet,' you can also *focus* with your feet.

Those T-brackets interest me, now, just the same, and I like the idea of the coming-forward on the right hand side design.

There's a really teeny version by Demb which has captured my interest, now that I think of it. I'd kind of prefer there was more of an attachment plate, there, but I think it's a viable option. (Sorry I didn't think to mention them before, really, but the price is more than what you're looking at, anyway. You're kind of paying for the clever idea, there, more than materials, too.)

The kind of brackets that flip the camera have their advantages, especially with bigger/fancier flash setups, but they add weight and bulk. I once took over a shoot for someone with a big old Bronica and a setup like that, and Lady, that was a lot for me to handle. Works, though.

[audiobomber]

The kind of brackets that flip the camera have their advantages, especially with bigger/fancier flash setups, but they add weight and bulk.

Yes, I am a little concerned about weight. I'll be slugging my main rig (K20D, grip, zoom lens, bracket and flash), a Pentax sling bag with lenses and accessories, and a K-x in a small shoulder bag (for ambient light shooting). I was intending to carry the K20 setup around my neck, but I suspect the bracket will make it too big and heavy, so I'll need a shoulder strap for the camera. Oh well, that was on my list anyway.

I canned my first order and went with this folding bracket instead. Custom Brackets - Folding-T Bracket - CB-FOLDING-T - B&H Photo
It's pricier, but it has a built-in bracket to hold the flash in place, besides being more portable. On the advice of a B&H technical advisor, I also added the bracket that locks the camera in place ($15). I intend to use this rig to shoot sports too, so I may as well do it right.

What's the concensus, is it better to use bare flash with the bracket, or use my Omni-Bounce? I read an article online where the author preferred bare flash, because diffused lighting is too flat. Of course I'll do some tests on my own, but I'm curious if you think whether bare flash may be better. The nice thing about bare flash is that it avoids the significant light loss of the diffuser.

[Vern]

I've look (briefly) at the Stroboframe. It didn't seem to work as smoothly as the Custom Bracket devices.

What's nice about the CameraFlip is that it does just that -- the camera mount (not the flash mount) rotates from landscape to portrait.

I don't know if flipping the camera is a benefit or a problem. Flipped, it puts the flash head off by 90 degrees from the picture orientation. Some of the other flash brackets do this too. If the flash angle is wider that the lens, then there is no problem. However, if the lens is wider than the flash (or nearly the same as the flash) you risk vignetting on the edges. It's probably not a problem, but that's why I chose a bracket that keeps the flash and the image in similar alignment.

Vern

[Ratmagiclady]

Yes, I am a little concerned about weight. I'll be slugging my main rig (K20D, grip, zoom lens, bracket and flash), a Pentax sling bag with lenses and accessories, and a K-x in a small shoulder bag (for ambient light shooting). I was intending to carry the K20 setup around my neck, but I suspect the bracket will make it too big and heavy, so I'll need a shoulder strap for the camera. Oh well, that was on my list anyway.

I canned my first order and went with this folding bracket instead. Custom Brackets - Folding-T Bracket - CB-FOLDING-T - B&H Photo
It's pricier, but it has a built-in bracket to hold the flash in place, besides being more portable. On the advice of a B&H technical advisor, I also added the bracket that locks the camera in place ($15). I intend to use this rig to shoot sports too, so I may as well do it right.

What's the concensus, is it better to use bare flash with the bracket, or use my Omni-Bounce? I read an article online where the author preferred bare flash, because diffused lighting is too flat. Of course I'll do some tests on my own, but I'm curious if you think whether bare flash may be better. The nice thing about bare flash is that it avoids the significant light loss of the diffuser.

Direct flash, well-balanced with ambient light can be OK: my school of thought on these things is to use as little flash power as practicable, anyway. With direct flash, you'll want to pay much more attention to where shadows might fall on anyone's face and the like, I think, so don't worry about the light being too flat if you aren't doing something specific with the not-flatness.

I also wouldn't be too worried about the bounce eating power: I tend to advise against trying to light up the whole room, anyway. If you really need the power, you'll know it.

[Internetpilot]

I've look (briefly) at the Stroboframe. It didn't seem to work as smoothly as the Custom Bracket devices.

I don't know if flipping the camera is a benefit or a problem. Flipped, it puts the flash head off by 90 degrees from the picture orientation. Some of the other flash brackets do this too. If the flash angle is wider that the lens, then there is no problem. However, if the lens is wider than the flash (or nearly the same as the flash) you risk vignetting on the edges. It's probably not a problem, but that's why I chose a bracket that keeps the flash and the image in similar alignment.

Vern

Hmmm...never heard of this before. Don't all flash brackets that flip (either the camera or the lens) do so with the specific purpose of keeping the flash on top even when shooting portrait? That seems to be the purpose/design of most modern flash brackets. Having a bracket that ends up with the flash on the side of the camera when shooting portrait kind of defeats the purpose of a flash bracket, no?

I've never encountered vignetting before with the CameraFlip bracket, but I guess that also has a lot to do with the lens, focal length, etc.

I just checked to see what I was missing with the Custom Brackets, and OUCH. Their camera rotation brackets are $100-200 more than the Stroboframe ones. Their non-rotational flash brackets are a nice deal though and look like good brackets.

I always find it amusing (more like audacious) when something as simple as a flash bracket costs as much as 1/2 my entire 2-lens camera kit. It better be gold plated with mahogany handle grips cut from George Washington's presidential desk!

[Internetpilot]

I ordered the gear on priority delivery so I can get some practice in before the big day and adjust to any quirks. I went for this shoe cord because it looks weildy and says Pentax PTTL compatible.
Dot Line - HD PTTL Off-Camera TTL Shoe Cord - RS-0447 - B&H

That looks a like a good one. I bought one a little cheaper than that, but it provides TTL to about 4 or 5 different cameras. I think that's what the problem is with the random bad connection -- there's too many contacts and it's easy to align them improperly when installing the flash on there. I might pick up the same cord you did for future use!

-- Chris

[woof]

One of the best brackets I've tried (and I have now settled on it) is this:

Demb Flash Products - Demb Flash Bracket - Camera Bracket

It is not perfect, but none of them are. The worst thing about it is that the in portrait orientation it gets slightly in the way of using the vertical grip release. I've found myself often not really using the grip and simply using the camera shutter release.

Either way it is compact, light, very quick to adjust, well made and inexpensive.

The modifiers Demb produces are also arguably among the best.

The Best Flash Diffuser @ PHOTO-TIPS-ONLINE.com

woof!

[mel]

Because I'm a cheapskate I bought a stroboframe flash flipper knockoff from ebay for about $25 and a 3ft coily cord (thanks RML!) that was an off brand Pentax-compatible for about $30. I've gotten plenty of use out of it shooting indoor events and such and although I would like to upgrade to something less cheapskatey, I really haven't felt the need. Maybe someday when I have everything else I want

[audiobomber]

It's here, my Custom Brackets Digital Folding-T:



Portrait orientation:



The Dot-Line shoe cord from B&H didn't work. Amazingly, a local shop had a P-TTL cord on the shelf. An unexpected bonus, it has a swivel that is great for macro shooting:



Folded up for packing:



This system should be nice for weddings, sports and macro shooting.

[Internetpilot]

Thanks for reporting back. I'm tempted by this bracket if for no other reason than it's more portable than my non-folding Stroboframe. I'm currently shopping for an off-camera cord, but can't find one that anyone can confirm works. I have a JYC generic cord that works, but it supports all the major camera names so getting a solid connection from all those pins can be an issue. I bought a Vivitar P-TTL cord, but it doesn't work properly with shorter zooms (the flash autozoom head zooms in and out repeatedly and can't figure out if it's at 50mm or 70mm.

Is the cord you ended up with have a namebrand/model number? Have you verified if it works on the KX?