Who hasn’t forgotten to tighten all the knobs on their light stand before? It’s like having a safety pin on a grenade, or a cover over the nuclear launch button. It is effectively an idiot-proof insurance measure. Most other bracket don’t have a locking button, which is by far my favourite feature of the Varos Pro. You can also mount them on any stand, or on a tripod if you want, or on a super clamp or other grip accessory if you have one. So how do these compare to other brackets I have used in the past? The removable spigots and included cold-shoe adapters let you mount any sort of light on here, from a standard shoe-mount speedlight to a beefy bare-bulb Witstro flash. I might say they are actually a bit heavy, but this is probably more reassuring than cumbersome. This does mean there is a right & wrong way round.Īll three brackets have a lanyard hole, and a carabiner comes in the box, letting you hang battery packs, triggers or ballast securely. Everything seems to work pretty well and these certainly feel like very solid bits of equipment, built to last. The umbrella holder itself is slanted 8 degrees to compensate for the height of your flash. There is also an umbrella clip that doesn’t dent umbrella shafts, because it has a rounded grip that wraps around the shaft instead of a pointy screw that pokes into the middle of it. To unlock, simply press the button with your thumb and it comes free. Having used brackets with this feature in the past, I feel like any studio light or swivel bracket that lacks one is inferior. One of these is a spring-loaded clamp that keeps the bracket from falling off your stand, even if the tightening nut is loose. The knobs are plastic but should be easily replaceable if they wear out.Įverything else seems to be pretty much the same throughout the Varos Pro range. According to Phottix, these latest brackets have a number of patents on parts of the design. They are all made of metal, though, and generally feel a bit over-engineered. The M and BG are a similar height but the BG is a little bit beefier. If you’re using any sort of flash with an umbrella then I can’t see your load reaching anywhere near these levels, though it might come into consideration if you attach an HS Speed Mount or some other accessory adapter with a large softbox and a heavy-duty flash (e.g. The manufacturer specifies 25kg, 28kg and 30kg for the S, M and BG, respectively. The latter can be mounted horizontally to bring the flash closer to the centre of the umbrella. The Varos Pro S has a 1/4-inch tripod mount on top, whereas M and BG models have removable spigots.They look fairly similar too, and the spec sheets don’t really highlight the differences, so it took quite a while to work out their distinguishing features, even with the three of them in my hand. In the UK, they all cost the same at £25 apiece. The Varos Pro comes in S (small), M (medium) and BG (“big”?) models. Phottix’s distributor, Mac Group Europe, were kind enough to send me a set to try for myself. Well, actually three, because there are different sizes. Phottix wants to make your life easier by offering one bracket, the Varos Pro, that does everything properly. Some take spigots and others only mount on tripod threads, some aren’t big enough for all the umbrellas, some aren’t strong enough for heavier flashes. With a mishmash of different adapters I then have to hunt for the right one, and all I wanted to do was stick a flash on a stand. No wonder portable studio lights, with integrated triggers, batteries brackets and accessory mounts, are becoming ever more popular. Some only hold flashes securely with a screw-lock hotshoe or don’t hold anything securely at all. Most of them are designed to do the same sort of thing, so what could a new one have to offer?įrom my experience, every swivel adapter I have bought is a compromise in one way or another. It is not that easy to get excited about flash brackets.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |