The very first lighting tool I ever bought was a Manfrotto Justin Clamp because Joe McNally highly recommended it in his books. I loved it and I’ve used it all around the world. It’s small and light and can place a flash just about anywhere. However, it had some flaws–the rubber pads on the clamp melted off in the sun and the cold shoe couldn’t hold all types of speedlights securely.

Well, this version of the Justin Clamp made by Impact answers all of the flaws my old one had. The only issue I found is the knob to tighten the ball head is slightly too large and, at certain angles, it interferes with the body of the clamp. It can always be repositioned, and it may just be the cost of a more compact unit with enough leverage to get things tight.

I highly recommend it. It’s called the Impact Large Clip Clamp with Ball Head Shoe Mount–but let’s stick with “Justin Clamp.”