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TrekSF6

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Decided to pick up a stroboframe 350 for my D200/SB800 and give it a try. What I didn't take into consideration though, is that now I have to rotate my right hand down rather than up top when I want to shoot portrait orientation.

I find this to be terribly uncomfortable and also I can't use my left eye to take in the rest of the scene.

Couple questions... Do many of you really find that having the flash above the lens on portrait shots offers any advantages?

Can anyone recommend a different bracket that will allow me to have my right hand up top?
--
Scott A.

 
This one.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/52728-REG/Stroboframe_310_635_Quick_Flip_350_Bracket.html

I use the CB Junior bracket and when I flip mine to portrait, my right hand will be up top to press the shutter. And by the looking at the Stroboframe, it should be the same as my CB Junior when the bracket is flipped. But the more I look at the bracket, the more I see the problem. If you mount the camera with the handle on the right, as I can with my CB, then the handle will be in the way of the shutter. Is that correct? So you have to mount the camera with the handle on the left, which will put the shutter button at the bottom in the portrait position. Is that correct? The way the handle is made on the CB Junior, you can mount the camera with the handle on the right and this will allow you to flip the camera with shutter up top.

As for the flash being high above the flash, it will do two things. One – will almost eliminate red eye. And two – having the flash high above [not to the side] of the lens will lower the shadow and keep the shadow behind the subject. This will keep shadows to a minimum. That’s why I don’t care for L brackets, this will cause the shadows to be too the left or right of the subject.

The CB brackets is great, I recommend it. Cost more, yes. But better made!

Mark

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/313176-REG/Custom_Brackets_CBJUNIOR_CB_Junior_Flash_Rotating.html
--



Church Event Photographer

Full time auto tech, part time photographer. Mark Thompson/MTT
Louisville, KY. USA

Why do you have to 'put your two cents in'.. but it's only a 'penny for your thoughts'? Where's that extra penny going to?

http://markthompsonphotos.com
 
I think the 350 and the QuikFlip are one and the same. If so, I use a QuikFlip on my D200 with the handle on the right side (viewed from behind the camera). I just mounted the flash end of the SC-29 off-camera cord so it was pointing in the right direction.

The biggest problem with the QuikFlip is the lack of anti-twist plates for the camera & flash, at least out of the box. Not a big deal for the camera if you're using fairly lightweight lenses, but heavier lenses will cause the camera to rotate. And hanging any heavier accessories (like a Fong Lightsphere) on the flash will tend to make the flash cable, and hence the flash, rotate. I've tried a few things, such as a thin piece of rubber between the bracket and cord mount, but none seem to work too well.

All things considered, next time I buy a bracket it will have anti-twist plates for both the camera and the flash.
 
It is available NIB on eBay for under $50.
auction #300117623089
--

'A man will occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of the time he will pick himself up and continue on.'
Winston Churchill
 
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/69327-REG/Stroboframe_310_800_Pro_T_Flash_Bracket.html

Disregard the flash mount accessory that they show on the bracket in the picture. If you put accessories onto the flash unit, you might have to "slightly" tighten the bolt to prevent it from flopping. It works really great. You can handhold the camera in a normal way and the bracket does not get in the way. For verticals you just turn the camera as you normally would and flip the flash. You can buy a quick release accessory to take the flash on and off much faster for hand held flash etc.
 
TrekSF6 said:
Can anyone recommend a different bracket that will allow me to have my right
hand up top?
Click to expand...
Really Right Stuff's flash bracket allows for a flexible setup. It's superbly engineered, light weight, and works like a charm. It's expensive ($300+), but IMO nobody else offers a product that can compete with it for functionality and quality.

-Jeff
 
Thanks all. I have decided to go with the CB junior. Definitely looks like it will allow me to operate the camera as I normally would.
--
Scott A.

 
MTT said:
This one.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/52728-REG/Stroboframe_310_635_Quick_Flip_350_Bracket.html

I use the CB Junior bracket and when I flip mine to portrait, my
right hand will be up top to press the shutter. And by the looking at
the Stroboframe, it should be the same as my CB Junior when the
bracket is flipped. But the more I look at the bracket, the more I
see the problem. If you mount the camera with the handle on the
right, as I can with my CB, then the handle will be in the way of the
shutter. Is that correct? So you have to mount the camera with the
handle on the left, which will put the shutter button at the bottom
in the portrait position. Is that correct? The way the handle is made
on the CB Junior, you can mount the camera with the handle on the
right and this will allow you to flip the camera with shutter up top.
Click to expand...
Yes that is correct. And also, the bottom of the bracket smashes against my hand at the bottom of the grip if I mount it so it is on the right side. I went with the CB Junior. Looks like it will solve my problems. Thanks for the help!
MTT said:
Mark

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/313176-REG/Custom_Brackets_CBJUNIOR_CB_Junior_Flash_Rotating.html
--



Church Event Photographer

Full time auto tech, part time photographer. Mark Thompson/MTT
Louisville, KY. USA

Why do you have to 'put your two cents in'.. but it's only a 'penny
for your thoughts'? Where's that extra penny going to?

http://markthompsonphotos.com
Click to expand...
--
Scott A.

 
--
Scott A.

 
S.A. said:
Thanks all. I have decided to go with the CB junior. Definitely looks
like it will allow me to operate the camera as I normally would.
--
Click to expand...
Just an update. Wanted to let you know that I got the CB junior and it is perfect. EXACTLY what I needed. Thanks.

--
Scott A.

 
Just an update for anyone in the forum who is considering the CB Junior flash bracket for a D200. I did find one issue. And it is kind of a big one. It blocks the battery door from opening. So, this makes it kind of tough to swap batteries. Without a modification, you will need to loosen the screw that attaches the bracket to the camera.

Now I think I actually remember a thread where someone mentioned this before. But at the time, I wasn't looking for a bracket. You will need to grind a small notch out of the bottom of the bracket if you want to be able to quickly change batteries. The door doesn't quite open far enough with the stock bracket.

To me, this is an easy modification and it is worth it for such a high quality piece of equipment. If you do any event photography such as weddings, this will be a necessary modification. You don't want to be using a screwdriver to change batteries and miss an important shot.

Even with this issue, I will say that the CB Junior is just great. I love it. It is a joy to use and the craftsmanship is just awesome.
--
Scott A.

 
After much research the CB junior looks the best to me
 
jgarnold said:
jgarnold said:
Can anyone recommend a different bracket that will allow me to have my right
hand up top?
Click to expand...
Really Right Stuff's flash bracket allows for a flexible setup. It's
superbly engineered, light weight, and works like a charm. It's
expensive ($300+), but IMO nobody else offers a product that can
compete with it for functionality and quality.
Click to expand...
Thats true but in addition to the $300.00+ "Portrait Perfect" brackets they've since released a new "Wedding Pro" bracket that sells for about half the price of the others.

Personally, I think that short of using a Hasselblad so as not to have to worry about this kind of thing, there's no single perfect rotating bracket solution. Of the two types that are most commonly seen, one where the flash is slid back into it's normal orientation over the lens after the camera is rotated and the other where the flash head is flipped horizontally over the camera lens upon camera rotation, it's just a matter of weighing out relative advantages and disadvantages and compromising on what seems best to a given set of tastes.

For those that don't mind placing the flash into a horizontal positon (which can stress the shoe mount) the relatively lower priced RRS WP bracket is a nice solution in that it is smaller and lighter than the PP brackets and also there's nothing blocking the line of site at the cameras hotshoe position which could otherwise interfere with SC-29/SU-800 type devices.

--
'Here, look at the monkey. Look at the silly monkey!'

Tom Young
http://www.pbase.com/tyoung/
 
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