As the Winder Turns
(or John Shoots His First Wedding)
---=== Part IV, The Bracket Racket ===---
(or: Operating Cameras Inside Large Aluminum Pretzels.)
In the previous episode, our hapless hero sees the light with tandem
T-32's. They will suffice for M645 formals using ISO 400 film and with
35mm using ISO 160 for reception shots; all without waiting until the
"Second Coming" for flash recharge.
But, he has saw The Dark Side too: "Ring around the subject, ring around
the subject, oh those ugly, unsightly rings" (shadows). As good as a BG-2
and the hand grip for the M645 are, they can leave shadows on the sides of
subjects when the camera is turned vertical.
[John begins pondering what to do]
[John continues pondering what to do]
[John continues cogitating]
[John takes action]
It is inescapable. The only solution to shadow reduction is to use a flash
bracket that will elevate the flash more and keep it above the lens at all
times.
A little surfing through the web to the B&H site finds the "Brackets 'R Us"
section. "Brackets, brackets everywhere, yet not an accessory that's
cheap." The basic price on some is good, but the accessories is where the
profit must be.
OK, a trek to Muncie is in order. Jack's, one of the largest camera stores
in Indiana is there, with a huge used section. This is a very dangerous
place for a Zuikoholic. One must wear blinders when entering, exit quickly
with exactly what the purpose of the visit was, or be broke when leaving.
Too many toys, too much temptation, and being within Muncie's city limits
unsupervised is normally not allowed.
Brackets, yes, they have brackets, many brackets. All manner of
Stroboframes, accessories for them, and another brand made in Ohio that is
a mechanical marvel. The original thought was to have something that would
allow turning the camera body and flip the flash back over the lens. They
are the least expensive solution. Ooooops! These are designed for tall
flashes (like the F-280), or heads on grips, not a squatty body "T" series.
Nice stuff, all of them were, but the prices for models that allow turning
the camera inside it instead of flipping the flash required rethinking.
Something like that would require a hand grip with a cable release in it to
make it easy to use. An escape from Jack's was made before the wallet was
opened (a real first).
[John surfs the web.]
[John searches the web.]
[John searches the web thoroughly.]
Aha! There is a closeout on a Newton bracket that might just work! Call,
and yep they still have some, pull out credit card, and order the bracket.
Bracket arrives. Yep, as advertised. Wow, Newton brackets are a
machinest's dream. Slick mechanicals and precision fit of the splines that
allow rotation! Mount camera, now mount flash. What????? The T-32 shoe
will not fit into the flash shoe on the bracket! Huh????? Yep, that's
right, the clearance between the foot and the knurled nut is less than the
thickness of the flange it must fit. Funny thing, the Sunpak 383 and a
friend's Vivitar 285 do fit, so it's not Newton's design. It's Olympus
designing the flash to fit a thinner, stamped/bent sheet metal hot shoe
flange. Bracket goes back into box, and goes back to store. Nice bracket,
great design, incredible price, unusable with "T" series flashes.
[John scours the web leaving no stones unturned; or half-rotted logs
either, eeeeyewwww what you find under them.]
Wellll, B&H has a new Newton model that will work, priced very well, it
flips the camera inside the bracket, and comes with a hand grip with cable
release built into it.
[John goes to Newton site; reads everything there about the current brackets]
[John goes to B&H site; looks at every bracket there]
[John goes back to Newton site; rereads everything there about the current
brackets.]
[John searches every known camera dealer site on the web, new and used.]
OK, log into B&H, put Newton N7000 into shopping cart, pull out credit
card, type everything in and hit the "Yes I'm sure" button. Log out of
B&H. Geez, that was simple, and fast. Could have done that in the
beginning. (Ahhhh, but where's the adventure then?)
In the meantime, a trip is made to Lowe's (a massive home improvement
store) for 1/8th inch aluminum angle stock and 1/4-20 hardware. A twin
flash bar must be fabricated to go on this bracket to hold the pair of
T-32's. Fortunately, in the "odds and ends" box is a T-20 TTL connector,
and a generic hot shoe with PC connection and 1/4-20 socket under it. A
little time on the hack saw and drill press and it's done. Made it for
less than half the cost of the accessory twin flash bars, the bracket
makers sell. Run cord to T-20 TTL connector, and run cord between the
T-32's. Time to Rock 'n Roll.
Bracket arrives, twin flash bar gets mounted to frame, camera goes on,
flashes get mounted and cables are hooked up. Wow, this really works.
Cool. The N7000, just like the other one, would make a machinest drool.
Precision milled parts, not bent or stamped ones, and it's strong. The
bracket is light by itself, but with body and flashes on it, the complete
assemblage is heavy.
Hand grip is nice, but there's this feeling it needs a death grip on it to
keep from dropping it without a strap around the back of the hand. Maybe
it's just a security blanket, but the Winder, BG-2 and M645 grip all have
them, and it does give a more secure feeling when holding them.
Hmmmmm, does the plug come out of the hand grip tube? Yep. Tape measure.
Yep the O.D. is 7/8ths. Hey, that's a common O.D. for metal folding chair
legs. Back to Lowe's for a set of folding chair vinyl leg caps, and swing
by the pet store on the way home for a dog collar. Yep, a dog collar.
That, and the small shoulder pad from the shoulder strap of a brief case
ready for the trash heap, will make an adjustable strap. Cut slots in
heavy vinyl caps, run dog collar through one, thread it through tube, put
it through the other, and put the caps on the tube. Put on the shoulder
pad, cinch it up, and voila, it now has a strap. Better, much better;
feels secure now. [sigh]
[John goes to next wedding with the pro.]
Wow; worked well. The balance of it all has completely changed, but it's
very manageable. Inside a bracket that flips the camera on its side
though, it's much like operating it inside a large aluminum pretzel. A
real mechanical marvel, and smooth operating with both the OM-4 and M645.
Recabling the shoes switching between the OM-4 and M645 is still a mess.
It requires too many cables, some of which must be swapped out along with
the camera bodies. It needs to be cleaned up to make changing from one
body to the other on the bracket easier.
Stay tuned for Part V: Two Live Shoe
-- John
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