A while back I decided I wanted a good custom-fit L bracket for my Canon 5D Mark IV. The generic L brackets work fine, I guess... but they don't fit the exact ergonomic grip of your camera body. They are not designed with the battery compartment, and the little doors for the flash sync cable, microphone, etc. in mind. I contacted Ari at FLM (I'm a HUGE fan of FLM tripods!) and he pointed out that FLM doesn't make an L bracket, but he pointed me toward Sunway Foto as another great company. He was so right!
I did a quick video review of each item, and the nuts & bolts of that information is right here in the article.
The L-bracket is an absolutely perfect fit for the 5D Mark IV.
Right above the Sunwayfoto logo, there is a little tiny fitted lip, which holds the camera exactly in place on the camera body. As you can see, the bottom of the L bracket only extends about 2/3 of the way across the bottom of the camera. That leaves the battery compartment completely unimpeded.
On the side view, you can see that there is a cut-away leaving access for the silicon side doors.
I have pretty large hands/fingers, and I still found it completely manageable to get my hand in there, and open the connection doors:
This is an absolutely fantastic value at only $59.95! Currently this L bracket isn't listed on Adorama (but their others are.) For now, if you are interested in purchasing the 5D Mark IV version of their L bracket, just use this link, or you can go to the sunwayfoto.us website, and when you click on the 'purchase' button, it will take you to their Amazon store.
The second item they sent me was a really cool little LED fill light. The model number is the FL-96, and it's roughly the size of an early generation cell phone (before they went to big screens.). The fill light works beautifully! You have control of the brightness and also the white balance. It ranges from 5% power up to 100% power, and from 3000 kelvin up to 5500 kelvin.
The rectangular window on the right side is an LCD display, which is very easy to read. There is a single button on the top of the unit to power on and off, and then on the right side, there is a jog wheel that will adjust either brightness or color balance, and you switch between those by simply pushing the button in, and selecting the control you want to access.
The unit has 96 LED lights on the front - 48 are tungsten-colored, and 48 are fluorescent-colored. The white balance is adjusted by controlling the relative brightness of those two banks of LEDs.
At full power, the light will run for more than an hour. At half power it's over 2-hours, and at 5% the onboard monitor said it should run in excess of 1000 minutes!
There is a 1/4 inch adapter to plug this into a light stand or onto a tripod. I actually use the MeFoto purple tripod, which comes with a cell phone holder, which is PERFECT for holding this light!
The great thing about this light is the portability. It's so tiny, you could easily pop it into a corner of your camera bag, and not worry about it at all, and then it's there when you need it. The price point is also terrific, and only $68.00. Here is the link to purchase it on Adorama.
Mark is a professional photographer working in the eastern United States. He is based in suburban Philadelphia, but shoots regularly in New York and eastern North Carolina, as well. Specializing in wedding & portrait photography, he is particularly a obsessed with capturing special events, moments and emotions.
In July, 2018, he is teaming up with Connor Hibbs to offer a special 3-day workshop in portraiture at the 155th annual Gettysburg re-enactments. If you are interested in Portrait Lighting, and action portraiture, you can learn more about that opportunity here.
In Fall of 2018, he will be presenting a hands-on gear show through the Pennsylvania Center for Photography. Details about that opportunity will be available as the date gets closer!