Dptips :. Digital Photography Tips, Tricks, and Techniques

It’s quite an open ended question as there are many viable options. However, the two most common ways is to purchase either:

1. Hot-shoe mount with ¼ -20 socket (also sometimes the pc-hotshoe adapter has a reverse side with the ¼ -20 threads)

2. Swivel-Bracket –with Mount for Umbrella, Light and Shoe Flash (that’s how they call it at B&H) - Comes with Male and Female Spigots, Swivel Bracket, and hot-shoe mount with 1/4″ threads.

I personally recommend option #2 as it’s far superior in functionality and cost and you have the option of mounting an umbrella. The swivel bracket comes with both a ¼” and 3/8” threaded spigot which is reversible depending if you need to mount it on a tripod or light stand which usually uses the 3/8” standard.

Tightening Screw on Shoe Mount

The swivel brackets hot-shoe mount that holds that flash uses a tightening screw to the side which helps hold the flash a lot better than the standard hot shoe mount which relies on a flimsy metal spring. Moreover, this hot-shot mount piece is removable and is ¼” threaded. In conclusion, there is almost no point to buy a separate hot-shoe mount when you can get a Swivel Bracket that already comes with a hot-shoe mount and often only a couple dollars more.

The two common “Swivel-Bracket –with Mount for Umbrella, Light and Shoe Flash” are the Impact and SP-Systems which are essentially the same just re-branded. Bogen, Photoflex, Delta, Norman, Hama also carry Umbrella light stands, but for the purpose of mounting the flash to a stand the basic $13.95 brackets will work more than adequate.

Example: Vivitar 285HV Flash Mounted on a Swivel Bracket which is attached on a Bogen Table Top Tripod

Best of Luck,

Ivan
ibwphoto.com

PS. For those who are DIY in nature and want to build one, here are the thread sizes:

1/4″ - 20
3/8″ - 16

Both are common threads and can be found at just about any hardware store.