2017-04-08T05:54:31
Rated 5 out of 5
Well engineered solution for multiple speedlites
If you are thinking about ganging 2, 3 or 4 speedlites together as a single light source, you have dozens and dozens of hardware options to do the job. Some options are better than others. After researching many different brackets, I chose to go with the Manfrotto Lastolite Professional Quad Bracket. The Quad bracket is a well thought out bracket that provides several options for ganging speedlites. The Quad bracket is plastic injection molded with metal threaded nut inserts molded into the unit. The bracket is much cleaner looking than those made from extruded aluminum. There are four holes in the very center of the array for your umbrella shafts. The holes are different diameters so any umbrella should fit one of the holes. The Quad bracket is very solid and will handle a lot of weight with no chance of breakage. Some plastic brackets are two halves glued together that look cheap, feel cheap and are very scary when you have $ worth of speedlites and transceivers ganged together. The Quad bracket is one single piece and is bomb proof. The Quad bracket has four arms for four speedlites. Each arm has an adjustable cold shoe that has two ends capable of mounting the speedlite or transceiver. The cold shoe assembly is nestled in a slot in the bracket for solid positioning. And the cold shoe has detentes that allow it to rotate and lock every 30 degrees for even more positional versatility. Each end of the cold shoe is a different thickness to accommodate different bases as required. After positioning the cold shoe it is firmly locked into place with a threaded knob. My set up includes 4 Pocket Wizard Flex TT5's and 4 Canon 580 EX II'S. The four cold shoes are spaced far enough apart from each other to easily accommodate the Flex TT5's. There is even more room for the speedlites. Everything does fit, but they are still close together. The down side to my setup is that the speedlite's options cannot be set through its on board menu and switches. That all has to be done before the speedlite is attached to the Flex TT5. When the gang setup is complete, it is a bit of a challenge to turn on the speedlites and just a little easier to turn on the Flex TT5's. Once you figure it out, it is not a problem. There is no space problem if you are using a CP-E4 compact battery pack on each speedlite. The connector and chord fit just fine. The downside to having four units placed on the Quad bracket is the added weight. I put the Quad bracket on my Flashpoint swivel post and the swivel clamp could not be tightened enough to prevent the swivel joint from slipping. No problem. The Quad bracket comes with its own swivel post and the swivel joint has multiple notches that mesh with each other. Infinite positioning is reduced to a limited number of positions on the swivel joint, but the notches lock up the swivel joint so there is no chance of slippage. The swivel post is die cast and powder coated, so it looks nice cosmetically. Depending on the legs of your light stand you may need to invest in a sand bag or two to prevent the light stand from tipping over. The bracket puts 4 times more weight on the end of the center pole and if the center of balance approaches the edge of the legs or extends beyond, you may have a risk of dumping a lot of equipment on the ground. Be aware and stay ahead of that problem. I can't use them, but the Quad bracket kit includes two wire harnesses that allow a transceiver to fire four speedlites, if your speedlites allow it. This harness will not work with Flex TT5's and 580 EX II's. Everything I have read cautions against using one TT5 to try and fire four 580 EX II's. Hence I use four transceivers. There are threads out there that question the merits of four speedlites when put against a portable studio flash, in regards to out put and cost. For me the speedlites are the best solution, because I have them. If I were building a lighting system today, I would probably go with the portable studio flash. So, why four speedlites? I have a 5DSr and the CMOS is "slower" enough that I find with one or two speedlites I need to have the camera's ISO turned up to let me use the aperture and shutter speed I want in some locations. Four speedlites have enough punch to let me use ISO 100 with a shutter speed of 125 and aperture of 16. So, if you want to gang four speedlites on a single light stand and you want to use four transceivers you will not go wrong with the Manfrotto Lastolite Professional Quad Bracket. At $ it is more expensive than all the other brackets but it is stronger and has better engineering than the others. These Quad brackets are a sound investment.
RICHARD R.
