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- Joined
- May 20, 2004
- Messages
- 12,838
- Reaction score
- 661
- Location
- Austin, TX
- First Name
- Rusty
- Last Name
- Myers
I bought a cheap set of umbrellas and stands from Amazon. It had two stands, two shoot through white umbrellas, two metallic reflective umbrellas and two flash holders. [ame="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JXQ78CA?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00"]Amazon.com : LimoStudio Photography Photo Video Studio Umbrella Flash Mount Hot Shoe Kit - 2xWhite Umbrella Lighting, 2xBlack/Silver Umbrella Lighting, AGG1307 : Camera & Photo[/ame]
The flash stand has a long place for mounting the flash. One side moves in and out to capture the base of the flash. My new flashes have a rubber boot on the shoe to keep water out of the connection. This works fine for a normal hot shoe on the camera and a similar sized cold shoe mount, but with the longer slot on these mounts, it can only go in the end. So as you tighten the side bar of the mount, it racks slightly and doesn't hold the flash as securely as I'd like. Plus the flash sticks up pretty high. Not so bad on the umbrellas, but the softbox I bought it ends up high and very close to the reflective surface. Here's a shot of the umbrella set up.
I saw online where someone had made a bracket to mount the flash more horizontally. I found some aluminum bar stock in my garage that was the correct width. Add in these: [ame="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00YD3T1SC?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00"]Amazon.com : Limostudio 5Pcs Hot Shoe Flash to Bracket/ stand Mount Adapter Trigger, AGG1624 : Camera & Photo[/ame] which are normal hot shoe sized, and I could make a new bracket. Here's one:
On the long edge, I beveled the upper part on a grinder so the mount grabs is better. The beveled section is about four inches long and lets me slide the flash around in the mount. I made the bend so that the sensors on the downside of the flash aren't blocked. The new, small, cold shoes hold the flash foot very solidly.
Wide shot:
And some closer looks:
As you can see, it gets the flash aimed at the middle of the umbrella. Does the same for the softbox, plus on that, it is not up close to the reflective part.
I made three because I was on a roll. M38A1 says he has similar mounts so I plan on giving him one.
The flash stand has a long place for mounting the flash. One side moves in and out to capture the base of the flash. My new flashes have a rubber boot on the shoe to keep water out of the connection. This works fine for a normal hot shoe on the camera and a similar sized cold shoe mount, but with the longer slot on these mounts, it can only go in the end. So as you tighten the side bar of the mount, it racks slightly and doesn't hold the flash as securely as I'd like. Plus the flash sticks up pretty high. Not so bad on the umbrellas, but the softbox I bought it ends up high and very close to the reflective surface. Here's a shot of the umbrella set up.
I saw online where someone had made a bracket to mount the flash more horizontally. I found some aluminum bar stock in my garage that was the correct width. Add in these: [ame="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00YD3T1SC?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00"]Amazon.com : Limostudio 5Pcs Hot Shoe Flash to Bracket/ stand Mount Adapter Trigger, AGG1624 : Camera & Photo[/ame] which are normal hot shoe sized, and I could make a new bracket. Here's one:
On the long edge, I beveled the upper part on a grinder so the mount grabs is better. The beveled section is about four inches long and lets me slide the flash around in the mount. I made the bend so that the sensors on the downside of the flash aren't blocked. The new, small, cold shoes hold the flash foot very solidly.
Wide shot:
And some closer looks:
As you can see, it gets the flash aimed at the middle of the umbrella. Does the same for the softbox, plus on that, it is not up close to the reflective part.
I made three because I was on a roll. M38A1 says he has similar mounts so I plan on giving him one.
