Customer Reviews

Manfrotto 175F-1 Spring Clamp with Flash Shoe (Black)

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Bought these clamps a month ago and have worked very well in most applications. The shoe mount on the ball head is quite snug and sometimes a challenge to insert or take out the flash unit. DO NOT over tighten the lock mechanism on your flash unit! I broke the shoe mount on the ball head this weekend after snugging up the lock on my 580 II. Mostly, the shoe mount is tight enough to not even need to tighten the locking mechanism. Over all, a great product that has been VERY handy for this strobist.

This is a great multi-use clamp. I love that I can put my nikon sb-800 flash unit on it (or canon if you have a canon speed lite), or use it to clamp things down. It can also be used on a light stand which helps when you need an "extra hand" for off camera shooting. It's versatility gives it a five stars in my book!

This Justin Clamp is very handy for mounting my Nikon Sb-800 strobes in places where I can't get a light stand into. It clamps very well and it's secure. The plastic coldshoe fits the strobe nice and snug so you don't have to worry about the strobe falling out. The clamp end is strong and grips things very well. It also has a standard light stand stud on it as well as a clamp to accept a stud from a light stand. I highly recommend this clamp!

The Justin Clamp is a great product and should be a part of any strobist's basic lighting kit. It provides a great amount of versatility in that it can be attached to a light stand or clamped to...basically anything! The ball head socket allows you to position your flash in ANY position, allowing you to create your shot however you envision it!

Manfrotto products are always high quality (I own a number of their light stands, as well), and this product proves it. The made-in-Italy build is extremely strong and can certainly withstand quite a beating. Sure, it's a lot more expensive than your run-of-the-mill flash mount, but you get what you pay for: versatility and build strength. Just suck it up and get your money's worth. It will pay off in your photographs.

I was looking to DIY some clamps and ball heads and saw this product. Although more expensive than DIY it allows much more than a DIY clamp. You can use it clamped, or use it a couple of different ways on a lightstand. The ballhead lets you quickly position a strobe. Mostly metal made, the hotshoe is plastic which removes the worry of shorting out the flash. Rugged construction. I highly recommend this product.

I just received and tried my new Manfrotto Justin Clamp. I was sorry I bought something similar as well. This little piece is just what I needed to put into my camera backpack and use my Nikon SB-900 or SB-800 in location.

I did read all the reviews on the 175F, before going ahead with purchasing this one that comes with the ball head and cold-shoe. I hoist my Nikon SB-26 on the cold shoe which hold my SB-26 pretty tight and securely. I did not feel that the plastic cold shoe was cheaply made or that if could be better as some people have mentioned. That said, the clamp part has nice rubber tacks that prevent any damage to whatever the clamp is clamping. The ball head locking knob feel nice and chunky and locks perfectly with just one twist. I tend to overtighten it although I don't need to.
Given that my bedroom serves as my current studio, the clamp/strobe combo typically finds itself on top the door. I have even had the clamp plus strobe get banged three times when my wife or son would accidentally (or willfully!!!) close the door without seeing the thing on the top of the door...guess what..the clamp and the strobe have survived the onslaught. Definitely not an overpriced product in my opinion.

Great device for mounting a speedlight almost anywhere. The bonus is the ballhead which gives you a wide range of adjustment options. Much more convenient (and a lot lighter) than a superclamp; the only downside is a slightly smaller clamp opening.

If you use off-camera lighting then you may occasionally find yourself in a situation in which a traditional lighting stand is impractical or inconvenient. If you don't have the options of having an assistant hold your remote flash in just the right spot then a clamp may be the way to go. The Manfrotto 175F-1 spring-loaded clamp is a sturdy and versatile way to park your light pretty much wherever you like.

When I stopped by my parent's house yesterday, my cousin asked me to take a few pictures of her beloved chihuahua, Winston. We situated him by a window so there was lots of nice, even, natural light falling on one side of him. However, the light rapidly dropped off making his profile a little stark. A lighting stand would have worked just fine in this situation but it takes a bit more time to set up. The Manfrotto clamp was a much easier choice. Along with a Canon Speedlite 430 EX II flash and Pocket Wizard FlexTTL5 attached to the clamp, I was able to put together an impromptu fill-light arrangement without much hassle.

The light from the window and the flash were both falling on Winston at about equal but opposite angles and I was positioned between the two. Could I have gotten by without off-camera lighting? Sure. But, a little fill helped things out a lot. As you can see from the pictures here you can configure the 175F-1 to accommodate a diffusor umbrella as well provided you attach a standard umbrella mount to the additional spigot on the side of the clamp. It comes standard with a swivel mounted cold-shoe to attach your flash directly to the clamp.

You can also see that I was using a Stofen OM-EW Omni Bounce Diffusor on the Speedlite 430 EX II. I am going to do some experiments with this little hunk of plastic and see how much it actually diffuses or if it just dims the amount of light coming through the flash. Maybe it softens the light rather than diffusing it. I don't really understand how it could diffuse the flash much as it is basically the same size flash's front element. Anyway, more on that later.

The 175F-1 seems to be very well built and the clamp itself has heavy, rubber pads on it to prevent the pressure from marking whatever you happen to clamp it to. You have to be a little careful with how you mount it if you add something like an umbrella to it because the weight can cause the clamp to slip. But, with just a flash and remote trigger, it grips just fine. I have not played around enough with it to know, but I think that, with the proper armature, you could mount an umbrella-based softbox like the Westcott 28" Apollo or something similar. All in all, a great addition to the lighting kit.

I own two of these clamps and use them frequently to place Nikon Speedlights onto various stands on a photo set. I just recently purchased a Manfrotto adaptor spigot that fits into the silver-colored stud that sticks out of the side of the clamp. Now, I have purchased a Manfrotto Flex Arm that will attach to that 3/8's adaptor spigot. With this set-up, I can attach two speedlights to the one clamp. The Flex-Arm allows me to position that second Speedlight in a limitless position. It's very cool.

My only complaint is that for $50+ the clamp should include the 3/8's adaptor spigot. I had to pay $6.00 plus another $4.00 in shipping cost from Manfrotto for this little tiny piece of metal that cost pennies to produce (has 3/8's thread on two sides).