Portable solutions for attaching flash and mic to DSLR?

Paul Amyes said:

Paul Amyes wrote:

Vello Triple Shoe V-Bracket

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AOKH said:

AOKH wrote:

AOKH said:

Paul Amyes wrote:

Vello Triple Shoe V-Bracket

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Looks great but looks like it takes away the one hot shoe on the camera. IOW., I guess I couldn't use this with a flash?

--
Regards. Anders

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AOKH said:

AOKH wrote:

Fellow forum members, I am using my DSLR (5DII) for both stills and video (mainly with my family). I almost always have a flash mounted (580 II) when taking stills and an external microphone (Rhode SVM) when doing video. Both are typically mounted on the camera's hot shoe, so I am forced to switch back and forth. This is rather inconvenient as I often go from stills to video back and forth all the time. I have a Zacuto baseplate permanently connected to the bottom of my battery grip (for my Z-Finder viewfinder) as well as the BlackRapid fastener, so it would be impractical to attach another bracket on the bottom.

Anyone who have both a flash and a mic attached to the camera in a 'portable' solution (not a big rig). If so, I'd be interested in hearing from you. Thanks

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dodgebaena said:

dodgebaena wrote:

dodgebaena said:

AOKH wrote:

Fellow forum members, I am using my DSLR (5DII) for both stills and video (mainly with my family). I almost always have a flash mounted (580 II) when taking stills and an external microphone (Rhode SVM) when doing video. Both are typically mounted on the camera's hot shoe, so I am forced to switch back and forth. This is rather inconvenient as I often go from stills to video back and forth all the time. I have a Zacuto baseplate permanently connected to the bottom of my battery grip (for my Z-Finder viewfinder) as well as the BlackRapid fastener, so it would be impractical to attach another bracket on the bottom.

Anyone who have both a flash and a mic attached to the camera in a 'portable' solution (not a big rig). If so, I'd be interested in hearing from you. Thanks

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AOKH said:

AOKH wrote:

AOKH said:

dodgebaena wrote:

AOKH said:

AOKH wrote:

Fellow forum members, I am using my DSLR (5DII) for both stills and video (mainly with my family). I almost always have a flash mounted (580 II) when taking stills and an external microphone (Rhode SVM) when doing video. Both are typically mounted on the camera's hot shoe, so I am forced to switch back and forth. This is rather inconvenient as I often go from stills to video back and forth all the time. I have a Zacuto baseplate permanently connected to the bottom of my battery grip (for my Z-Finder viewfinder) as well as the BlackRapid fastener, so it would be impractical to attach another bracket on the bottom.

Anyone who have both a flash and a mic attached to the camera in a 'portable' solution (not a big rig). If so, I'd be interested in hearing from you. Thanks

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Overcranky said:

Overcranky wrote:

Overcranky said:

AOKH wrote:

Overcranky said:

Paul Amyes wrote:

Vello Triple Shoe V-Bracket

Click to expand...

Looks great but looks like it takes away the one hot shoe on the camera. IOW., I guess I couldn't use this with a flash?

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

dodgebaena said:

dodgebaena wrote:

dodgebaena said:

AOKH wrote:

dodgebaena said:

dodgebaena wrote:

dodgebaena said:

AOKH wrote:

Fellow forum members, I am using my DSLR (5DII) for both stills and video (mainly with my family). I almost always have a flash mounted (580 II) when taking stills and an external microphone (Rhode SVM) when doing video. Both are typically mounted on the camera's hot shoe, so I am forced to switch back and forth. This is rather inconvenient as I often go from stills to video back and forth all the time. I have a Zacuto baseplate permanently connected to the bottom of my battery grip (for my Z-Finder viewfinder) as well as the BlackRapid fastener, so it would be impractical to attach another bracket on the bottom.

Anyone who have both a flash and a mic attached to the camera in a 'portable' solution (not a big rig). If so, I'd be interested in hearing from you. Thanks

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dodgebaena said:

dodgebaena wrote:

Glad I could be of help! Yes you can move the camera body forward and back about 1" total. the nice thing about the Custom Bracket is that it is very well-machined and once you have finger-tightened it, things don't get jiggly and move shortly thereafter . As a matter of fact, the only time I have to do anything is when I have to change the battery on the base of the camera. I have also another setup for when I am just shooting video and I don't need a flash. I can put a 144-light LED, a Beachtek, a RodePro mic, a lav receiver, and a Beachtek bracket on the custom bracket and it works like a charm. The custom bracket has the best styrofoam handle I have ever seen; I don't have any need for any other rig. Necessity is indeed the mother of invention (I can't afford anything else).

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AOKH said:

AOKH wrote:

AOKH said:

dodgebaena wrote:

Glad I could be of help! Yes you can move the camera body forward and back about 1" total. the nice thing about the Custom Bracket is that it is very well-machined and once you have finger-tightened it, things don't get jiggly and move shortly thereafter . As a matter of fact, the only time I have to do anything is when I have to change the battery on the base of the camera. I have also another setup for when I am just shooting video and I don't need a flash. I can put a 144-light LED, a Beachtek, a RodePro mic, a lav receiver, and a Beachtek bracket on the custom bracket and it works like a charm. The custom bracket has the best styrofoam handle I have ever seen; I don't have any need for any other rig. Necessity is indeed the mother of invention (I can't afford anything else).

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I got the bracket today and it looks great! Unfortunately, it did not come with a cold shoe, so I ordered a couple directly from the manufacturer today (part: WFM-1). The bracket can only move up or down, so I might need to put both the flash and the microphone on the bracket itself. The customer service rep. I called claimed that it could attach two cold shoe accessories. Can you confirm this? Thanks again.

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dodgebaena said:

dodgebaena wrote:

you can put two cold shoes on the bracket. i put the flash on my right side, closer to the handle so that the weight is closer to the handle. This setup can become too top heavy and the weakest link will be the base of the flash so use a smaller flash. I had two Canon flashes (430and 580) and I always used the smaller one (with the increased sensitivity of sensors these days, I could never understand why people insist on using big flashes... on TTL, at ISO400, I was only limited by the camera's buffer capacity). With this setup, I found that I only had to raise the bracket just far enough to clear the camera prism head and the whole setup didn't get too top heavy. You need the accessory cord to attached the flash to your hot shoe. Get the shortest one available that still maintains TTL, even if its not OEM, so that you don't have too much cord to wrap around the handle.

The bracket swings out for vertical shots (Stills) so attaching the flash close to the handle minimizes flash movement (esp "whiplash"). I was always careful doing this and I never had a problem in 5 years of shooting weddings. I got used to periodically checking that the cold shoe was still tight enough.

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AOKH said:

Thanks! I ordered two cold shoes so I should be all set when I get them on Tuesday next week. I'll probably put the microphone (Rode SVM) closer to the handle. I might try to leave the 580 II on the camera with the bracket lowered enough that it doesn't cover the flash head. That way, it won't be very top heavy either (and I won't have to buy the off camera flash cord). Do you feel it is a big advantage to have the flash on the bracket? If so, I'll give it a try.

As regards 580 vs 430, I feel I need all the power the 580 can provide at times, especially when shooting outdoors. I have a habit of using it regularly for fill flash and on sunny days; I need to use Hi-speed synch due to the faster shutter-speeds (reducing the power by an order of three). When coupled with a sto-fen diffuser as well, I often push the limits of the flash. For regular indoor and close-up photography, it's definitely overkill.

Again, thanks for all the kind and valuable input.

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dodgebaena said:

dodgebaena wrote:

dodgebaena said:

Thanks! I ordered two cold shoes so I should be all set when I get them on Tuesday next week. I'll probably put the microphone (Rode SVM) closer to the handle. I might try to leave the 580 II on the camera with the bracket lowered enough that it doesn't cover the flash head. That way, it won't be very top heavy either (and I won't have to buy the off camera flash cord). Do you feel it is a big advantage to have the flash on the bracket? If so, I'll give it a try.

As regards 580 vs 430, I feel I need all the power the 580 can provide at times, especially when shooting outdoors. I have a habit of using it regularly for fill flash and on sunny days; I need to use Hi-speed synch due to the faster shutter-speeds (reducing the power by an order of three). When coupled with a sto-fen diffuser as well, I often push the limits of the flash. For regular indoor and close-up photography, it's definitely overkill.

Again, thanks for all the kind and valuable input.

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AOKH said:

AOKH said:

As a general rule, the higher the flash is, the better to avoid red eye. Also, having the flash on the bracket allows it to be above the camera for vertical shots (when you swing the bracket). This applies esp to weddings where half the shots may be vertical shots and dark venues leave people's pupils wide open for red eyes! But if you're shooting mostly horizontal, it's not an issue. As for cold shoes, a lot of manufacturers sell them for a few dollars. I still have to find one that locks on as if it had locking washers. Ive tried the rubber gaskets for water taps but Im not completely satisfied with them. All in all, the think tank ones are pretty good.

The other issue with leaving the flash on the camera's hot shoe is that when the flash is swiveled up for bounce shots, the horizontal bracket may cast a shadow.

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Thanks, I hadn't thought about the issue with vertical and bounced shots. That may be reason enough by itself, thanks (I do both horizontal and vertical shots, although less of the latter)! Looking forward to trying it out next week and see what works. I might go down to my local Penn Camera/Calumet tomorrow and pick up an off flash cord. They have a 2m. length Calumet brand cord for $29.95, which seems reasonable.

Thanks again!

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dodgebaena said:

dodgebaena wrote:

dodgebaena said:

dodgebaena said:

As a general rule, the higher the flash is, the better to avoid red eye. Also, having the flash on the bracket allows it to be above the camera for vertical shots (when you swing the bracket). This applies esp to weddings where half the shots may be vertical shots and dark venues leave people's pupils wide open for red eyes! But if you're shooting mostly horizontal, it's not an issue. As for cold shoes, a lot of manufacturers sell them for a few dollars. I still have to find one that locks on as if it had locking washers. Ive tried the rubber gaskets for water taps but Im not completely satisfied with them. All in all, the think tank ones are pretty good.

The other issue with leaving the flash on the camera's hot shoe is that when the flash is swiveled up for bounce shots, the horizontal bracket may cast a shadow.

Click to expand...

Thanks, I hadn't thought about the issue with vertical and bounced shots. That may be reason enough by itself, thanks (I do both horizontal and vertical shots, although less of the latter)! Looking forward to trying it out next week and see what works. I might go down to my local Penn Camera/Calumet tomorrow and pick up an off flash cord. They have a 2m. length Calumet brand cord for $29.95, which seems reasonable.

Thanks again!

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dodgebaena said:

dodgebaena wrote:

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dodgebaena said:

For me, half the fun is figuring out workarounds and being fortunate to have the opportunity to test them in real world situations (and be paid for it!). Let me know how i works out for you. When I get a decent photo of it (I just have iPhone photos), I'll post my rig with light, Beacjtek pre amp, shotgun mic, and a lav mic.

BTW, 2 m is too long. You'll spend all day fighting it. Ask for a Nissin one (or anything that has a short cord).

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AOKH said:

Got the cold shoes for the bracket today. For some reason, they did not come with 1/4 screws needed to attach them to the bracket, but I had one at hand. Works really great! I put on the microphone on the bracket in the high position and the flash on the camera. Super sturdy and light weight. Since I had to order a second screw for the other cold shoe, I wasn't able to try both the flash and the mic on the bracket at the same time, but see no reason that should not work fine as well. I tried the flash off camera on the bracket as well, and it worked much better than I had expected. Especially, I loved how the rod can be flipped for vertical shots. Really neat. I'll have a chance to try it all out next weekend as we're having a mini-vacation then. Looking forward to it!

Thanks again for recommending the CB Jr. bracket

--
Regards. Anders

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