A Microphone Clamp for Your Photo Gear
Review by Fernando Santos
Sometimes useful little things can come from where we least expect them. You probably wouldn’t expect that accessories for your photography would come from a manufacturer of equipment for musicians, right? This MS TM 1 B Microphone Table Clamp from Gravity, while conceived to be used as a microphone clamp, can be very useful for photographers. Let me explain why.
This is a very simple table clamp, made of steel, so it’s strong and sturdy. You can attach it to any tabletop up to 1.77″ (45mm) thick. The interior side has EVA foam to protect your tabletop from any scratches. On the top side (and this is why it’s so interesting), you’ll find a 3/8″ thread, which is a very common size for photography items, for example, tripod heads; but goosenecks for lights, clamps, and rods, also frequently use 3/8″ threads.
What this means is that you can use a $9.99 Gravity Microphone Table Clamp to create a nice setup for your tabletop macro photography. Using some gooseneck extensions, you can add LED lights and small modifiers, and get it all done without having to use tripods and horizontal extension arms for your tripod. You just add a small inexpensive ballhead (see the review of the Gravity Quick-Tilt Microphone Adapter on the opposite page) and mount a camera, or a speedlight, to your table (or any other horizontal flat surface).
I found the Gravity MS TM 1 B Table Clamp to be very strong, and well built. Even though it was designed to hold microphones, it will easily take some of your camera gear (as long as you use common sense and don’t try to defy gravity and physics). At $9.99, this Table Clamp is very inexpensive, and I’d recommend that you have a couple of them around, because they may come in handy sooner than you expect.
