Confused - Umbrellas etc

So - I've been looking at amvona and thinking about getting a couple of umbrellas and light stands - I think I understand all that but it's not clear to me what I need to go with the light stands so allow my 430 and 580 EXII to sit on the stand? I saw one item for a bit over $100 that holds a trigger, battery etc but that seemed a wee bit pricey. Can anyone point me in the right direction?

Thanks

I personally have not used amvona, but looking on resellerratings.com. they don't fair very well with their customers....... http://www.resellerrat​ings.com/store/amvona
Rating : 2.8/10 in six months
I have gotten some lightweight light stands from b&h, and Lon @ http://www.flashzebra.​com sells swivel brackets for flashes for a good price!
here's a link to the light stand I use : http://www.bhphotovide​o.com …Aluminum_Light_​Stand.html
hope I helped.....

Thanks!

Many have had good luck with Amvona but I can't say the same. The one time i ordered from them I was disappointed and getting the return and refund authorized was a huge headache. I had gotten a light stand on wheels with a boom. It was utter crap and some of the aluminum was scratched right out of the box.

I've been selective in ordering from Amvona and have not been disappointed. I am careful what I order from them. I do have some background support stands that work fine. I do understand folks have serious customer support issues with Amvona. I have not.

B&H sells a set ofImpact units for about $100 that are really very nice. I've seen and used two different sets of these and was satisfied.

I've ordered a few things from amvona in the past without issue - umm although I'm not 100% satisfied with the tripod I got from them but figure you get what you pay for. I like the looks of the impact stuff on B&H so thanks for that link!

Impact in a B&H house brand and for the most part the Impact product line is quite good. I own and use Impact 9.5 ft air cushioned light stands and I've been very happy with them. They're made well and seem pretty durable for location shooting. Good bang for the buck and if you have any problem with broken or defective parts it gets handled easily through B&H.

This one (B&H). There are two brands that do the same thing, the photos on the website are identical.

I recently purchased the cheapy impact umbrella bracket that Tim linked to. Those seem to be adequate for a hobbyist but I kinda wonder about longevity for a heavy pro user. The aluminum cold shoe is nasty and will not allow the 580EXII clip to secure itself properly. Not to worry because I simply use Canon's flash base (comes with flash unit) and screw it onto the stud that is provided by the Impact bracket. So not to worry!!

The 10" impact aircushioned stand that Tetrode suggested to me is well constructed for the price. The finish is well done for the price you pay. If I tried to purchase such stands locally in Canada I'd definitely have to spend alot more compared to B&H pricing.

Did I link to impact? I buy Westcott usually.

i got from bh two impact flash/umbrella brackets year ago. no problem with mounting. with featured threads you can set up flash easily. quite cheap.

tim wrote in post #5966723
Did I link to impact?

yup!

Anyhow the impact ones are probably acceptable for most hobbyists with minimal use.

I walked into a local camera store and they sold the exact same bracket (repackaged)for $39.99!!! Absolutely sick price for what you get. The B&H price is a great deal for people like me that are playing with the strobist stuff.

I'll look into the wescotts down the road for better quality.

That's why I said that most of the product line is of good quality. I don't consider the Impact umbrella adapter's to be anything great. They're not crap but they are all plastic and I don't see them holding up under the rough conditions of location shooting. Sometimes the perspective and review of a piece of gear can be entirely different when used in the studio as opposed to being used on location.

My preference for umbrella adapters has become the Bogen 2905 (old part number) which has been given the new model number 026. Build and materials are of excellent quality.

TMR Design wrote in post #5968369
That's why I said that most of the product line is of good quality. I don't consider the Impact umbrella adapter's to be anything great. They're not crap but they are all plastic and I don't see them holding up under the rough conditions of location shooting. Sometimes the perspective and review of a piece of gear can be entirely different when used in the studio as opposed to being used on location.

My preference for umbrella adapters has become the Bogen 2905 (old part number) which has been given the new model number 026. Build and materials are of excellent quality.

Thanks for the recommendation - I've been looking for something solid to hold my hot-shoe flashes. A couple of questions if you don't mind:

What adaptor do you use to mount a cold-shoe on the 026? also, how do you angle the umbrella upwards/downwards seeing as it is inserted below the central joint?

Hermes wrote in post #5968436
Thanks for the recommendation - I've been looking for something solid to hold my hot-shoe flashes. A couple of questions if you don't mind:

What adaptor do you use to mount a cold-shoe on the 026? also, how do you angle the umbrella upwards/downwards seeing as it is inserted below the central joint?

The umbrella adapter comes with 2 short removable studs. If you use the one with the 1/4"-20 thread sticking out, it will screw right into any generic cold shoe with a 1/4"-20 threaded hole.

Personally, I fabricated some custom brackets to hole a flash and Pocket Wizard or any remote trigger with a foot.

The images of umbrella adapters are often upside down. If you turn the adapter over then lo and behold the umbrella mount is above the joint and moves with the flash