Photography Equipment Review—Custom Brackets’ Digital Pro-M Rotating Bracket
Camera companies manufacture their cameras with a built-in flash unit (mostly compacts) and/or a hot shoe to which an independent flash unit can be attached. Either option serves the purpose of most hobbyists and enthusiasts, but serious amateurs, semi-pros and professionals tend to need more versatility and functionality in how a flash unit is affixed to a camera. The popular and advantageous choice has been a bracket, so the flash can be typically located to the side of the camera or much higher above it than a hot shoe connection allows.
Read real customer reviews of the Digital Pro-M Rotating Bracket here.
Brackets continue to evolve, and the company Custom Brackets has been one of the significant drivers of that evolution. One of its newest products is the Digital Pro-M Rotating Bracket, which, by all indications, is also its best. The primary benefit of a flash bracket is to prevent the side-ways shadow effect. This occurs with the camera in a vertical position and the flash unit attached to the camera. Not only does the Digital Pro-M remove this dreadful problem, but also red-eye and vignetting, which means less editing time.
In designing the Digital Pro-M, Custom Brackets recognized (and its loyal customers commented) that the previous model was a bit cumbersome during real-world use, due to its size. Some photographers reportedly had taken the extreme step to grind some of the metal parts of the older model just to reduce its bulk. The first noticeable improvement in the Digital Pro-M is that it is smaller, lighter and conveniently compact. This has been achieved with the use of aircraft-quality aluminum and a redesign that allows the stem to slide within the handle. The company also modified the handle, making it a component of the stem instead of the hefty handle-grip on previous models. The various knobs and adjusting mechanisms have been significantly upgraded and reconfigured too.
For many photographers, the biggest change is that it is no longer necessary to purchase a specific attachment plate to match their camera model, and then purchase another plate when they acquire a different camera or an upgraded model. Custom Brackets has created a new plate with a connector screw that can be repositioned to accommodate most camera bodies. For larger cameras, it’s simply a matter of turning the plate to the other side, and then attaching them.
Advantages of the Digital Pro-M Rotating Bracket
According to Custom Brackets, the Digital Pro-M provides the following advantages:
· “This professionally designed bracket is made of a black-anodized, aircraft quality aluminum to maximize strength and minimize weight.
· The camera rotates on a roller bearing system to achieve the best and smoothest rotation from horizontal to vertical possible.
· Maintenance-free and requires no lubrication.
· Eliminates red-eye, vignetting, and side shadows from your images, creating professional looking images and saving computer editing time.
· A flash lock allows the flash to be tilted and locked in any position. An additional hole next to the flash allows for adding a radio slave or additional flash to your setup.
· Ergonomically designed, the bracket features a foam handle and foam palm grip, which allows you to hold your setup in many different ways to suit your shooting style and the balance you desire.
· The legs on the bracket allow your setup to stand without leaning or laying it on a surface, saving possible damage to your equipment.
· Easily stores in a camera bag with retractable, upright and fold-in legs.”
Specifications
· Weight: 23 oz. (652 g).
· Bracket Dimensions: 7-7/8” high, 10” wide, 2-3/8” deep (storage position).
· Metric Dimensions: 22.5 cm high, 25.4 cm wide, 6.0 cm deep.
· Nominal lens-to-flash distance: 11” (27.9 cm).
Required
· Camera Plate (CMP, QRM-C, or QRA-C).
· Flash Plate.
· QR (Tripod Quick Release).
For wedding photographers or other semi-pros and professionals with similar flash needs, Custom Brackets’ Digital Pro-M Rotating Bracket is an excellent choice. It’s built for constant use, but compact and light enough to take little room or add much weight to a camera bag. Its rotating configuration allows for more versatility and a greater variety of lighting uses and effects. The company sells the Digital Pro-M for $285, but it is also available at various other price points in the marketplace.
Photo from www.custombrackets.com © 2011 Custom Brackets.