Need some help.

[Jaime]

I am looking for a Camera bracket for my Rebel 350, I have a grip on my camera so I do not like the Strobofone (I guess basic unit) because you cant fit the grip on it. I also do not have deep pockets to buy one of the custom units.

I have seen this one and it says that it can raise the flash unit up to 14 inches which would seem like it is enough clearance for the grip. I kind of like it and it is closer to my budget.

http://www.alzodigital.com/online_store/digital_camera_flip_flash_bracket.htm

The last question is that I saw someplace that it required a special off camera cord, and I do not see why. I already have the one for canon specifically for my camera and flash. Any help on this will be greatly appreciated. Thanks guys.

[Proctor]

A friend has one and I used it several times, very cheap bracket. The flip works but it's not real smooth. The camera mount is a PITA to put on the bracket and when you hold the camera by your side it starts to flip open. Honestly I would keep looking.

The Canon off shoe cord will work with it.

[Jaime]

Thanks Proctor and after looking and asking elsewhere about it I also discovered that the way it flips would render the grip useless since it rotates in the wrong direction to make it work properly. Back to the drawing board it is, I swear I am almost tempted to find a machinist to give a hand with a custom built piece.

[Mark]

The Delta Flash Brackets got good write ups in the Macro section on POTN.

[Jaime]

Mark, I have seen those but they sort of do not inspire much confidence. But thank you for reminding me of them. The darn things is that I have seen the Custom ones and really like those but darn 250 plus without the cord starts adding up.

[wingspar]

I got this one (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=313176&is=REG) about 3 years ago. I see it’s really gone up in price. It’s a pain to mount on the camera, but once it’s on, it works smooth. Might be more than you want to spend. By the way, I mount it to a D2H, so plenty of room for your rig.

[Jaime]

What are the pros and cons between a camera rotation and a flash rotation? So far I had been looking at camera rotation ones.

[wingspar]

What are the pros and cons between a camera rotation and a flash rotation? So far I had been looking at camera rotation ones.

I looked at the camera rotation ones, but didn’t get one, and haven’t used one, so with that in mind, here is my opinion.

The first thing that comes to mind is Price. The other would be the extra weight with the camera rotation models, and trust me, you are in for a surprise as to how much weight and bulk the flash rotation model will add to your camera.

Rotating the flash on my bracket is a piece of cake. I can do it in a snap with my eyes closed. You just need to make sure the bracket you choose does not block any important controls on your camera, either in portrait mode or landscape mode, and it sounds like you are aware of that. The better brackets are designed well with that in mind.

[Jaime]

The other would be the extra weight with the camera rotation models, and trust me, you are in for a surprise as to how much weight and bulk the flash rotation model will add to your camera.

Rotating the flash on my bracket is a piece of cake. I can do it in a snap with my eyes closed.
Well that makes sense, and weight would be an issue if it does get that heavy.

I was looking at this model you use and I like the fact that it looks very easy to operate. Now the only thing that is bothering me a bit is the fact that i cant picture the rotation in my head, unless when finally rotated it does not stay upright like when in horizontal (sorry if I am being dense), when you look at camera rotated ones you see the camera change but the flash stays put so I imagine that it does not matter.

After listening to you, I am leaning more towards this unit because of what in essence is the simplicity of use.

[wingspar]

I think I understand what you are saying. When shooting landscape mode, the speedlight is horizontal as in landscape, but when you rotate the frame to shoot in portrait mode, the speedlight becomes vertical as in portrait mode. This does not seem to affect the flash output at all.

You will also need a CN-JR Anti-Twist Plate (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=details_accessories&A=details&Q=&sku=313204&is=REG&addedTroughType=accessory_detail&addedTroughValue=313176_REG), or your speedlight will rotate around freely on the bracket. I feel this item should be included with the bracket. I didn’t find this out till after I received the bracket, and getting info on this little Anti-Twist Plate was not easy. Their web site leaves a lot of questions. Actually, I see their web site now includes (http://www.custombrackets.com/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=36) info on the anti twist plate

[Jaime]

I think I understand what you are saying. When shooting landscape mode, the speedlight is horizontal as in landscape, but when you rotate the frame to shoot in portrait mode, the speedlight becomes vertical as in portrait mode. This does not seem to affect the flash output at all.

You will also need a CN-JR Anti-Twist Plate (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=details_accessories&A=details&Q=&sku=313204&is=REG&addedTroughType=accessory_detail&addedTroughValue=313176_REG), or your speedlight will rotate around freely on the bracket. I feel this item should be included with the bracket. I didn’t find this out till after I received the bracket, and getting info on this little Anti-Twist Plate was not easy. Their web site leaves a lot of questions. Actually, I see their web site now includes (http://www.custombrackets.com/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=36) info on the anti twist plate

Thanks a million I am going to drop the whole idea, this is getting more and more complicated, from reading more I find you also need these items:

Accessories - Sold Separately
AT Camera anti-twist bar
FT-JR Flash shoe mount: required for shoe mounted flash if not using a flash cord
CN-JR Anti-twist for Canon or Nikon flash cords

Some of this is really not worth the aggravation. Then I read that you need an allen wrench to set the camera to the base.

Uncle. I give up on this. I guess it was a fancy, and I will learn to work around the need for it. Thank you all for your answers and suggestions.

[wingspar]

Well, if one is not depending on this kind of setup for their livelihood, it’s a bit of an overkill. I don’t use mine 1/10th of the time I thought I would, but when I do use it, it saves my butt, as I’m flipping between portrait and landscape and back in a flash, and no one stops to wait for me.

As for the accessories, only the CN-JR Anti-twist is really necessary. An allen wrench to set the camera to the base? Cool. Wish that was an option when I bought mine. I have to remember to carry a short screwdriver with me to mount the camera. Kind of a pain. What would be nice is if the mount to the camera was via a twist knob that is part of the frame. Once it’s all set up, and everything mounted, it works very well. A lot of the time a frame isn’t really necessary. If you want to shoot portrait with your speedlight attached to the camera hot shoe, you should be fine, as long as you don’t have a big fat or long lens on the camera.