Just as photography is a continual process of discovery, so is finding new equipment.  A new piece of gear lets you do something in a new way, fixes a shortcoming, or just makes life easier and your work more productive.  In short, getting new equipment is really about solving problems.

Every photographer eventually realizes that camera mounted flash, while convenient for horizontal format, doesn’t work so well in vertical format.  As soon as you tilt the camera vertical, the flash creates harsh sidelight.  To solve this problem, I visited my local shop and they suggested the Stroboframe Pro-T with its QRC system quick release bracket and plate.  The Pro-T is made out of anodized aluminum and allows the flash to swing to the side so it remains above the camera in vertical format.  A plate attaches to the bottom of the camera body with a separate, model specific, anti-twist plate.  This snaps into a spring loaded clamp attached to the bracket, to provide quick on/off functionality.  My flash attached via a Nikon SC-17 to the top of the bracket with another anti-twist plate.

It took a little time to adjust the length of the arms to the size and shape of my F5, and the screws would loosen from use and have to be retightened.  (Eventually this settled down and didn’t happen any more.)  It produced good results, without adding too much additional weight.  All in all, it worked well, and I was pleased. 

But there was a problem.  In order to permit using the bracket on a tripod, I would need another proprietary Stroboframe quick release clamp for my tripod head.  And the clamp is only rated to support 6.5 pounds.  Holding the bracket onto the camera was one thing, but the idea of trusting my beloved F5, an 80-200 f2.8 (or more), and SB-28 flash, to a spring loaded clamp when tilted to vertical format, was frankly terrifying.  All that expensive weight would be just hanging out there waiting for that spring to “spontaneously unload.”

A little research revealed that the best, strongest, most reliable quick release is the venerable Arca Swiss system.  This much copied design uses a vise like, screw tightened clamp to lock down on a plate with considerable strength.  So much so, that it will support 70 pounds or so, which is way more than I need with a 35mm system.  I really like the products from Really Right Stuff.  Their custom plates that perfectly conform to each piece of equipment, are in my view what transformed Arca Swiss from just another obscure mounting system to the best that money can buy.  Prior to RRS, all that was available was a few clunky, generic plates that had to be tightened down severely in order to keep them from twisting during use.  RRS designed a whole series of elegantly machined, custom contoured plates for specific applications.  They made the whole thing work.  And if you’re going to go with an Arca Swiss clamping system, you need an Arca Swiss B1 Ballhead.  The decision was made to switch everything over to Arca Swiss.  But the Pro-T has a dovetail shape on the bottom that is just too large to fit an Arca Swiss clamp.  It won’t work.  In order to make everything work, I was going to need to dump the Pro-T.

RRS sells a series of beautifully machined flash arms that attach to the tripod mount on lenses with a collar, but this didn’t work for me.  I wanted to be able to switch lenses without removing the flash arm, and not all of the lenses I use even have a collar.  That meant I needed a rotating flash bracket that would attach to the camera body AND be Arca Swiss compatible.  RRS doesn’t sell anything like that, so they recommended Newton Camera Brackets and gave me the phone number.

Calling Newton Brackets is as good a shopping experience as one can have.  Owner Bob Newton is the designer, machinist, and salesman.  Over an hour long conversation, he asked many questions about my needs and exactly what equipment I was using so I would get the right thing and it would all be setup correctly.  His N8200 bracket includes an A-S style clamp of his own manufacture.  While he does manufacture generic style plates, he quickly and unhesitatingly recommended that I would probably be happier with the custom plates from RRS.  Classy.  Each unit is hand assembled to order by Bob, so he said it would take a few weeks to fill my order.  The finished unit is practically a work of art.  Lovingly machined and anodized, the bracket cleverly swings over to the right with an elegant economy of motion.  No adjustment was necessary, as Bob had already set everything to the dimensions of my F5.  It works flawlessly and was exactly what I needed.  It works as well on a tripod as off.

My system now is a combination of RRS plates, the legendary Arca Swiss B1 Ballhead, and Bob Newton’s terrific flash bracket.  This stuff definitely isn’t cheap, so it took a few months to complete switching everything over while I gathered the necessary bits and pieces.  But two years later I am still completely satisfied.

I realized fairly quickly on that all of this was just too much mass for my old, rickety tripod to support.  I wound up getting a Gitzo 1410 aluminum tripod with an adjustable center column to complete my camera support system.  It works great and is steady as a rock.  It also weighs as much as a rock.  A really large rock.  It is superb for studio and macro work, but too heavy for travel and to tote around the field.  I see a carbon fiber Gitzo in my future…

Now if someone could just invent a solution to the problem of perpetually needing “just one more thing”, I’d be all set!

 

*Oh, and sorry about the goofy title.  I'm not sure what came over me!

 

Really Right Stuff

Newton Camera Brackets