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Great bracket, great price, really does the job of holding the umbrella and flash on top of the stand.
The bracket works great. I bought this to use my flash of camera with a light stand and an umbrella. Very sturdy.
I have since had the opportunity to use another clamp made by another vendor (which also was much more expensive-- $40), and wish I had opted for that clamp in the first place. This item is low cost, made mostly of plastic, and does not hold up to the better built clamps. This clamp is a cheap way to get started with shooting with umbrellas, but if you really want to have something that will hold up over time, I would opt for a better built option. I ordered this umbrella clamp earlier this year, and have been using it rather sparingly (I am a photo hobbiest and don't use umbrella's too often.). After less than 10 uses, the screw which is supposed to lock the umbrella in no longer tightens. I guess you get what you pay for, and that certainly applies here.
IF YOU BUY THIS, PLEASE BE SURE TO REPLACE THE MOUNT WITH A STROBOFRAME SHOE MOUNT, WHICH HOLDS ITS WEIGHT IN GOLD. TWO OF MY FLASHES, WHICH I THOUGHT WERE SECURE, FELL OFF THIS DURING TWO WEDDING RECEPTIONS. IT COST ME OVER $200 TO HAVE MY FLASHES REPAIRED, SO I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND THIS TO A FRIEND, UNLESS THEY DESIRE TO PURCHASE THE $15 STROBOFRAME SHOE MOUNT ALONG WITH IT.
Be careful and you're okay--my umbrella hasn't exactly fallen out of the bracket yet. The longer lever in the product image controls the tilt and can operate like a ratchet in case your lighting rig is in the way somehow.The weakness in the design is the plastic screw and fine, shallow threads for the umbrella holder (all other threads are metal). Considering the cost of most photographic equipment, at this price the build is exceptional. It offers all of the flexibility and adaptability one could hope for at a great price. For a sturdy kit with maximum versatility and minimum expense, I recommend pairing this bracket with the Adorama 40" White Interior Umbrella with Removeable Black Cover. This screw could be over-tightened, stripping the threads in the swivel bracket.
I wonder just how much better a more expensive bracket can be.For Minolta/Sony users, the removable shoe mount covers up what we need, the 1/4" thread, so we can simply remove it and attach whatever we like; the stands that come with our flashes, or the Sony FACS1AM Off-Camera Shoe for Sony Alpha Digital SLR Camera Flashes.I recommend this swivel bracket for anybody getting into off-camera lighting. This is a great little umbrella adapter that makes entry into advanced lighting very painless. The light metal shoe mount is threaded onto the 1/4" male stud, and the male and female studs are reversible with 1/4" and 3/8" threads. The overall build is acceptable.
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