Umbrellas

[KevinBarrett]

I am looking for a sturdy and versatile umbrella for on-location work--I know nothing about them, so any insights or experiences you want to share will be greatly appreciated. Basically, I want to use my F56 flashgun off camera with an umbrella to get controlled and diffused lighting outdoors. I have a generic tripod w/ built-in head and 1/4" thread, and all the precious cables to put the flash about ten feet away from the camera. Has anyone any experience or recommendations?

[David Kilpatrick]

Most of them are now made in Korea (etc). If you want sturdy - the best possible quality - buy an umbrella made by Multiblitz, Broncolor. Avoid all the made-in-USA models; they are sturdy, but clunky and vicious with quite crude engineering for the stalk and struts unlike the German/Swiss ones which are based on very high grade umbrella mechanisms. That includes models from Apollo, Saunders, Chimera and several names I have long forgotten which used to be very well known.

For low cost and a reasonably lightweight product, a standard Elinchrom or Bogen (Bowens) brolly will do well enough. But you can get much the same item (SE Asian made) under the Lastolite or Interfit brand names for less - and even less still from some of the minor studio flash brands.

I would suggest a small Lastolite white/silver fabric brolly would be the best choice.

David

[KevinBarrett]

Thanks, David!

And for attaching my new umbrella to the flash or tripod head?

[David Kilpatrick]

Lastolite do a kit. So do Saunders I think. So do Jessop in the UK and Europe - their brand may be available in the US as well. Manfrotto (Bogen) also make a tiltable brolly attachment with flash shoe or tripod thread on top. Tristar (Thailand) also make one, I think theirs is the Jessop product.

David

[KevinBarrett]

I just ordered the Adorama Studio Pro Swivel Bracket and 40" White Interior Umbrella with Removable Black Cover, the total of which was about $41 including shipping. The umbrella gets good reviews, particularly for durability and ease of use, but I won't be disappointed if it's junk since it cost only $17. With it I can determine how I use it the most and get a collapsible one for that use. The swivel bracket is a generic piece that seems to make it into many different packages for different stores, and a virtual plastic clone of a Bogen unit. It is highly flexible, having male and female reversible 1/4" and 3/8" threads on the ends. The shoe mount is removable, letting a Minolta/Sony user thread their flash stand in its place. It can mount on any tripod or flash stand, or any old stick you care to clamp down in place of the threaded brass lugs.

[Mike]

Kevin,

You may want to invest in a Sigma Flash Stand FS-11 to interface with the swivel bracket. There's a picture of one in the Flash Shoe Adaptor thread below.

The Sony version seemed like the weak link and my $500 flash hanging from a $5 piece of plastic made me nervous.

For whatever it's worth, I ended up with Wescott 45" Optical White Satin umbrellas that I'm happy with.

Mike

[KevinBarrett]

Thanks for the tip! I found some Sigma flash stands on ebay in the neighborhood of $6-10, shipping included, with metal tripod thread... looks pretty good.

I have a feeling I'll be going with a larger collapsible umbrella in the neighborhood of 45 inches, but not before I get to play with the non-collapsible 40-incher with the convertible back that's already on its way. I sure am glad these things aren't a huge investment!

[KevinBarrett]

Turns out the Adorama 40" White Interior Umbrella with Removable Black Cover is collapsible, despite a disappointed buyer's review on the Amazon page exclaiming that it isn't. I guess you take your chances with such an inexpensive item.

Despite that surprise, the umbrella is very sturdy. The end of the shaft is solid, though I'm not certain how much of it is because my first dent in the shaft came at 9 3/4", and I am not going to experiment to find the limits. When the experience was forced upon me, I discovered that the spokes can withstand a fall without any deformation when a gust of wind takes your well-ballasted rig to the ground (whew!).

The convertible cover (black on the outside, silver on the inside) removes and replaces very easily--just don't try to do the spokes in a tricky pattern like tightening lug-nuts on a wheel. Go one at a time and it'll be easy.

[David Kilpatrick]

I guess it will actually be a Tristar or similar Far Eastern brand originally - they are nearly all outsourced to Thailand, China, Korea or Taiwan. And they are not difficult to get right. Be careful if you ever need to wash it, I have a very nice light green one as a result of trying.

David