Rangefinder Magazine
July 2002

First Exposure: Custom Brackets QRS & QS Systems by Bob Shell

I WOULD GUESS that the quest for the perfect bracket to hold both camera and flash gun must have started at about the time when flash bulbs replaced flash powder. When cameras were tripod bound it really wasn’t such a big deal to hold up the flash powder holder for a shot, and I understand that photographers were readily recognized by the scars on their hands and burned spots on their sleeves in those days. Today we have it much easier in producing light on demand, with powerful, lightweight, battery-powered electronic flash units, but we still seek a comfortable solution to holding both flash and camera in one hand.

The non-rotating Custom Brackets QS bracket makes the most sense if your camera back is square or can be rotated like the 645 magazine on my Rollei 6008i.

Since almost all portable cameras today have hot-shoes on them you may think the problem no longer exists, but if you look at where the hot-shoes are located you will realize that they produce light from a high angle, as you would desire for most images, only when the camera is held in one orientation. Turn the camera the other way and the light comes unnaturally from the side and in either axis is often too close to the lens to provide full red-eye elimination and proper shadow placement. Most of us want the light over top of the lens and relatively high up.

I’ve just been testing some brackets from Custom Brackets which solve all of these problems in an elegant and convenient way. Basically Custom Brackets come in two varieties, the QS and QRS versions. The QS version is designed for square format cameras and does not rotate. Of course it also works great with cameras with revolving backs like the Mamiya RB/RZ series, or like my Rollei 6008i with the revolving 645 film magazine. The QRS version has a semi-circular track with a camera platform which slides quickly to switch from horizontal to vertical, and vice versa. Spring detents lock the platform securely in either position, but just a good nudge lets you switch camera orientation. These work great with 35mm and 645 cameras with non-revolving backs. For studio use you can buy just this camera rotation system without the flash holder. It is hard to describe in words just how quick and easy this operation is, or the silky smoothness of the movement.

Up top where you mount the flash you have the option of a flash shoe for shoe-mount flash units or a 1⁄4-20 threaded screw for mounting other types of flash units, or eight other flash holders designed for specific flash brands. I doubt you are likely to own a flash they can’t supply a mount for. The flash can be placed higher or lower on the bracket by just moving the support to a new one of the multiple holes in the vertical bar.

This is the unusual quick release base made by Custom Brackets. The spring-loaded brass stud you can see moves in a slot in the quick release plate to lock and release it.

On the bottom of the bracket is a plate for mounting onto Custom Brackets’ own proprietary quick-release system. This would be great if you use the system on a tripod part of the time and hand-held part of the time, since it would make the switch very fast. The Custom Brackets quick release is an unusual design which slides on and locks by means of a stud on the base which rides in a slot on the quick release plate under spring tension. It took me a while to take to this, but once I got the hang of attaching and removing the plate from the base I could do it quickly enough. A similar system is used to attach most cameras to the brackets.

The brackets are machined from aluminum, for light weight and strength, and then anodized black for a professional look. Although the samples I worked with were all fitted with the molded plastic grip handle, the brackets are available without this if you prefer yours that way. I was very impressed with the quality of the machining on the brackets, and with the smooth operation of all parts. I was particularly impressed that these are the only brackets I have seen which will stand up on their own without taking your equipment for a tumble.

Obviously, these are high quality products which have had a lot of thought put into their design. In addition to the brackets Custom Brackets also manufacture a number of useful and unusual accessories. You can get more information by contacting them at Custom Brackets, 29 Alpha Park, Cleveland, OH 44143, or on their web site at www.custombrackets.com .

Bob Shell is well-known worldwide as a photographer and writer on photography. He is the author of more than a dozen books on photography and thousands of magazine articles. He is the “Photo Guru” for BestStuff.com and is recently retired as editor of Shutterbug after more than 20 years on staff.