Manfrotto 143S Flash Shoe for Magic Arm

Comments about Manfrotto 143S Flash Shoe for Magic Arm:

justin clamp,a wonderfull tool but it fell off the cupboard and shattered the flash shoe rendering the wonderfull justin clamp completely useless!!! to replace the shoe costs [$] but shipping to South-Africa $60.00 (R540.00) made no sense whatsoever. A few should be popped in an envelope and send no charge by the Manfrotto agent I'd say and expect.Nice evening to you all, Louwrens

Comments about Manfrotto 143S Flash Shoe for Magic Arm:

Does the job. Screws into my DSLR metal rig and then allows me to attach various cold shoe accessories i.e. light, mic receiver, shotgun mic, monitor. Not overly confident the plastic will hold up for the long haul but this will get me started. I needed a solution for my rig & this is it...any problems with the plastic & I'll then purchase the more durable metal adapters.

Comments about Manfrotto 143S Flash Shoe for Magic Arm:

Nice light weight does the job.

Comments about Manfrotto 143S Flash Shoe for Magic Arm:

Works great for mounting a hot shoe flash to magic arms

Comments about Manfrotto 143S Flash Shoe for Magic Arm:

I have a DSLR rig that has a lot of 1/4-20 holes for mounting accessories but it looks like there are not a lot of options out there for male to shoe mount, at least not as many as female to shoe mount and the ones that are out there are at least twice as expensive as these. so i picked up 3 of them to throw in my bag. so far they have been fine. something metal and with a lower profile would be better. I felt no fear of breaking them like so many people have posted about.

Comments about Manfrotto 143S Flash Shoe for Magic Arm:

nikon sb900 will fit but is tight

Comments about Manfrotto 143S Flash Shoe for Magic Arm:

It screws a hot shoe to a 1/4-20 female port . The bolt part of this thing is a bit short and doesn't leave enough to turn the foot to the direction you may want . It seams solid built and strong enough though . I use it to hang the battery part of my ring flash off the bottom of my camera body for a better balance but end up having the battery thing face in off directions . Needs another turn of thread in length on the screw !

Comments about Manfrotto 143S Flash Shoe for Magic Arm:

I use this to mount flashes when I just need something to hold the flash in place. This has no electronics or connections and can't by itself trigger a flash or other shoe-mounted device. It's very well made, durable, and serves its intended purpose perfectly.

Comments about Manfrotto 143S Flash Shoe for Magic Arm:

People complaining about this shoe breaking to easily. What you have to do is to thighten it with the lower part seen on the picture, not the shoe itself.

Comments about Manfrotto 143S Flash Shoe for Magic Arm:

I love the entire device, VERY convenient - the flash shoe however I would like to see the top lip be a little more sturdy, flash dropped and that lip broke. BUT as I am typing this, I realize it may be designed to break away vs the flash breaking.......So if that is the case than Kuddo's to the product as my flash received no damage! Love the entire device.

Comments about Manfrotto 143S Flash Shoe for Magic Arm:

Great product, but will not last more than one shoot... I've had 2 of these and they both came apart with minimal weight.

Comments about Manfrotto 143S Flash Shoe for Magic Arm:

These things work. I am fairly gentle with my gear, and I've never broken one - but with other reviewers comments I do carry an extra in my bag. Personally, I do wish they were a tad looser so that I could work faster in the field, but in truth I'm worried more about damaging the flash unit than the flash shoe.

Comments about Manfrotto 143S Flash Shoe for Magic Arm:

I carry one of these for every strobe I've got, plus a couple in case I break one. Paired with spring clamps, super clamps and or magic arms and stands, they really expand your lighting options.

Comments about Manfrotto 143S Flash Shoe for Magic Arm:

All the comments so far on this product are true. You can break it easily with enough force, especially when you are turning the wrong piece (an easy mistake to make). And because it is made of plastic, you can avoid any flash misfire. Another advantage that I found is that a flash can easily be put on or taken off, which a lot to be said compared to a similar product made of aluminum (I've had several close calls of smacking myself on the face trying to pry a flash off of those).

In summary, you get what you paid for.

Comments about Manfrotto 143S Flash Shoe for Magic Arm:

If screwed on properly, meaning using the knurled thumb wheel on the lower half, it will hold up well for light equipment. Otherwise if screwed in as a unit, as pictured on B+H, the screw will eventually pull out.
I epoxied mine together between the two halves after learning this, so now it will never come apart again... Which is fine by me. After my fix I'll rate it (5 stars)

Comments about Manfrotto 143S Flash Shoe for Magic Arm:

It's nice that it's plastic to prevent misfires, but mine came apart during a shoot. The top part that holds the flash (sb800) came off the part that screws into the umbrella bracket.

Comments about Manfrotto 143S Flash Shoe for Magic Arm:

Needed these for my Strobist setup. They work well. Not much more I can say - they hold my flashes as they should, are lightweight and cheap. Not being metal is an advantage since you will not get accidental flash discharges.