You may never need to buy an swivel bracket again, thanks to a new “standard-raising” light stand that has one built in.
Developed by a British company called InspiredPhotoGear, the Faith SpeedLight Stand offers a range of support options that photographers would normally have to buy separately. As well as a built-in tilt bracket, it’ll hold your lighting umbrella and mount a hotshoe flashgun without the need for adapters.
“Let’s face it, light stands are a bit basic and strobists the world over are forced to purchase accessories to even mount their speedlight or umbrella,” said InspiredPhotoGear’s Simon Ellingworth.
“The Faith SpeedLight Stand raises the standards of the humble light stand with its quick erect system, integrated umbrella holder, cold shoe, concealed spike for soft ground & all new water based stabilisation system and carry bag.”
Weighing in at just 540 grammes, the Faith stand can support up to a 2.5kg — enough for your speedlight, triggers and small umbrella, but with a slim chance of handling really big modifiers like aĂ‚Â 7-foot parabolic. Unlike the company’s earlier 4-foot LollipodĂ‚Â tripod, this stand extends up to a lofty height of 180cm, making it much more versatile. It collapses down to 41.5 cm.
The “quick-erect” mechanism in the risers means you can pull the column into position without having to fiddle with tightening knobs. (It’s also a hilarious double entendre for your friends.) There are two choices of tilt bracket: one with a tripod thread and one with a coldshoe, both equipped with umbrella holders.
An extremely lightweight design would normally be a double-edged sword: ultra-portable and ultra-likely to blow over in a gust of wind. Fortunately, there is a spike that extends out of the base of the centre column, allowing you to anchor the stand in soft ground sort of like the LumoPro LP605. A water weight bag is also included to add ballast to the base of the stand and lower its centre of gravity.
Available now, the Faith SpeedLight Stand costs £49.99 from InspiredPhotoGear, who ship worldwide. You can read our hands-on review here.