16 October 2021

a new way to mount a pocket torch on a camera

When spotting animals at night it can be hard to hold the flashlight and hold the camera at the same time. Yapok catcher and PhD candidate Jose Gabriel Martinez Fonseca has an idea for a new way to mount a small torch parallel to a camera lens. The link to the instructions (which includes a sample sequence of Arizona shots) will be here soon …

Here is the PDF.

Charles Hood

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9 Comments

  • 16 October 2021
    JoEllen Arnold

    Looking forward to the PDF!

  • 16 October 2021
    Fern Wilcox

    Don’t we love clever problem solvers! looking forward to it.

  • 16 October 2021
    Charles Hood

    Sorry for the delay, I was having tech issues. The instruction page is ready now.

  • 16 October 2021
    Andy Murch

    If you don’t want to put a cage around your camera, there are some more basic flashlight mounting techniques at this link: https://www.bigfishexpeditions.com/2019/02/12/how-to-photograph-nocturnal-animals/

  • 18 October 2021
    J

    I have made something similar years ago. But I simply attached it to the hotshoe (on top of the camera where you can slide your extra flashlight in). I made a diffuser myself too, to even the spread of light more. That heigth adjustable thingy is smart!

  • 18 October 2021
    Vladimir Dinets

    By the way, the flashlight Jose apparently uses, Nitecore, is really good. I’ve been using it for 4 years now. The only downside is that it uses larger batteries so you have to carry an extra charger.

  • 18 October 2021
    Charles Hood

    Photos are actually of my nightcore, but yes, quite good product. Paul Carter has discovered something called Ace Beam L18 that may be even brighter; I have one now, but other than annoying the dog in the backyard, I have not used it yet.

  • 6 March 2023
    rnd4

    I realize I’m rather late to the party here, but I’ve been using a slightly different system to solve this problem that uses fewer parts.

    if you have a SmallRig for your camera, you can attach a SmallRig Super Clamp 2220 to the side instead of using an ArcaSwiss plate. This clamp is capable of holding a Fenix TK20R or a Fenix TK20Rv2.0 flashlight. I’m able to adjust the flashlight up/down or side-to-side in the clamp to adjust my aiming as needed.

    I’ve found this setup to be workable without a flash, but it also allows me to throw a flash on top of the camera as needed.

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