Which flash bracket should I get???

I want to buy a flash bracket for my macro work in the coming spring/summer, but don't know where to start. Any suggestion will be appreciated. Thanks.

Might be worth asking this question in the macro photo sharing forum too.

Manual flash or Canon E-TTL?
One shoe mounted flash or two?
Connecting one with off camera shoe cord, then 2nd fired as slave?
Long lens with TC, tubes, diopter? Or just a macro lens?
Arca Swiss tripod plate?
More details......
In the old days, people just made their own with flat stock, like this:
http://www.rlephoto.co​m/tech/flash_bracket01​.htm

"LordV" on this site made a nice functional simple cheap one. Search him out and PM him for a diagram.
Nikonians site and others have some nice designs.
Better heeled folks with A/S plates buy the the Kirk dual flash macro bracket.
Really well-heeled buy the Really Right Stuff macro rotating bracket. You can pet and fondle it, it's so beautifully crafted.

At some price point, it pays to just buy the Canon 24EX for serious handheld work.

Jack

LeoRooster, I have modsified an old Hakuba folding L-style bracket. The L-H1 model is simply a development.

The metal flash clip was replaced with a small ball joint and a better-quality clip (the current version now has these in so-so quality). This works well for casual portraits, etc. No more red-eye (almost). I prefer the flash slightly to one side - it provides a slight shaping to the face, without casting a shadow under the eyebrows. It places the flash head at about 5 inches to the left and 10 inches above the lens axis.

Then I added the Lumiquest Promax reflector/diffuser for portrait work. I have yet to test that with nature work.

For macro work with insects and fungi, I made a "J" shaped bracket which can be attached to the ball joint so that the flash could be swung any which way to clear the lens and hood, and not fry the subject.

Recently, I added the ST-E2 to the gear. I was delighted to find that the remote controller will still trigger the flash while it is mounted on the bracket handle, even though the flash is slightly behind the transmitter. It is only 3 inches away from the controller.

To speed up using the flash off-camera/off-bracket, I then punched out the pin in the folding portion of the bracket. Combined with the hinge metals still in place, the thumb screw holds the bracket firmly. To move the flash to arm's length, or to an assistant, the handle and flash is simply unscrewed and moved, providing a useful pistol-grip.

One problem remains - portrait shots. I recently discovered Really Right Stuff gear, and am working towards buying the 20D L-Bracket and two clamp heads. One head for the tripod, and the other for the flash bracket. A flip of the lever, flip the camera and close, and the orientation is changed on the bracket just as on the tripod. But oh! the cost.

The cost of macro ring flashes are too high for the use I would make of them, and I am not macro shooting for scientific or educational purposes. I do not particularly like the flat light they give to bugs.

Thanks all for the input!

Clive - do you have a pic of the setup you talked about? Thanks

My cousin is a serious macro shooter, she uses a ringlight.