Moving C.G. to improve stability: I use my tripods for holding umbrella flashes as well as cameras with heavy lenses. Often, the tripod becomes unstable because of the off-center...

aphelps Loc: Central Ohio

I use my tripods for holding umbrella flashes as well as cameras with heavy lenses. Often, the tripod becomes unstable because of the off-center loading. Simply shifting the center of gravity back to the tripod's vertical center dramatically improves stability and reduces the risk of a tip-over. See the photos for the device I made. Simple, cheap, effective. The heavier object (speedlight and mounting) is closer to the tripod center and offsets the umbrella which is farther away, cancelling the tipping moments.

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Vietnam Vet

You can also put the weight of your umbrella over one of the legs of the tripod to stabilize it

rgrenaderphoto Loc: Hollywood, CA

aphelps wrote:

I use my tripods for holding umbrella flashes as w... (show quote)

Looks like it was a fun project. How many prototypes before you arrived at the final product?

aphelps Loc: Central Ohio

rgrenaderphoto wrote:

Looks like it was a fun project. How many prototypes before you arrived at the final product?

I made the first few out of 1/4" plywood to get the offset correct. The ply was too flexible so I made the final out of maple..very ridgid. The 1/4 versions make great speedlight stands. Much more stable than the little plastic ones that come with speedlights. The tripod version uses a 3/8-16 blind nut for the tripod screw and a 3/8 × 1/4 spigot for the umbrella mount. Makes a well balanced set-up.

chrissybabe Loc: New Zealand

You could also get a long block of aluminium, mount a arca swiss plate under it, say 200mm, and shift its position to wherever you want the CG to be. If you used a 100mm clamp underneath you could have quite an adjustment range to allow for different lengths reflector to flash. It would even take little effort to design a counter-weight that would allow even more adjustment.

Manglesphoto Loc: 70 miles south of St.Louis

aphelps wrote:

I made the first few out of 1/4" plywood to get the offset correct. The ply was too flexible so I made the final out of maple..very ridgid. The 1/4 versions make great speedlight stands. Much more stable than the little plastic ones that come with speedlights. The tripod version uses a 3/8-16 blind nut for the tripod screw and a 3/8 × 1/4 spigot for the umbrella mount. Makes a well balanced set-up.

WTH is a 3/8x1/4 spigot ?
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spigot

tommy2 Loc: Fort Worth, Texas

Manglesphoto wrote:

WTH is a 3/8x1/4 spigot ?

Being a tinkerer I'd like to know too.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

tommy2 wrote:

Being a tinkerer I'd like to know too.

It sounds like a typo - probably a bolt.

aphelps Loc: Central Ohio

Manglesphoto wrote:

WTH is a 3/8x1/4 spigot ?
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spigot

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=spigot&N=0&InitialSearch=yes&sts=ma&Top+Nav-Search=
A spigot is a device with 1/4-20 thread on one end and 3/8-16 threads on the other end. Can me male or female. In this case I used female. The spigot body fits inside the umbrella/speedlight bracket to allow for rotation.

aphelps Loc: Central Ohio

jerryc41 wrote:

It sounds like a typo - probably a bolt.

See my response to manglesphoto above.

aphelps Loc: Central Ohio

tommy2 wrote:

Being a tinkerer I'd like to know too.

See manglesphoto above.

dgilliam

Thanks. Never knew the name "spigot" applied to these until this discussion.

Manglesphoto Loc: 70 miles south of St.Louis

aphelps wrote:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=spigot&N=0&InitialSearch=yes&sts=ma&Top+Nav-Search=
A spigot is a device with 1/4-20 thread on one end and 3/8-16 threads on the other end. Can me male or female. In this case I used female. The spigot body fits inside the umbrella/speedlight bracket to allow for rotation.

Thats a stud!!

FTn

Manglesphoto wrote:

Thats a stud!!

Agree. Always thought that a spigot is the outside faucet that you attached a hose to.

- FTn

chrissybabe Loc: New Zealand

It is a misuse of a term usually used to describe something that fluid flows through.
It should more likely be called a stud or even more accurately an adapter.
I would suspect that a younger person has used this term either at the manufacturers premises or at B&H. Or even a mis-translation from a foreign language into English.
It is NOT a spigot !

My favourite way of describing something misused like this is 'a term misused by a 24 year old recent university graduate with little life experience'.

This is NOT a spigot. Continual misuse of this term also reflects badly on those doing so. DO NOT take as gospel everything you read because in this day and age it has most likely been corrupted by Trump as misinformation.