Amateur Photographer - UK (2020-03-07)

48 7 March 2020I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI subscribe 0330 333 1113

Testbench ACCESSORIES

Ataglance

●Handgripextension

●FitsSonyA9andselect

A7-seriesmodels

●WorksasArcaSwiss

tripodplate

● L-bracket add-on available

TAIWANESEcompanySTCis primarily

knownformakingfilters,includinga

usefulrangethatclipsinsidethecamera,

ratherthanscrewsontothelens.It also

makesfilteraccessories,suchasadapters

forfittingthemontowideanglezoomswith

largedomedfrontelements.We’vebeen

veryimpressedbyitsproductsbothin

termsof buildqualityandclevernessof

design.Butthefirmis restlesslyinventive,

andthedevicewe’relookingat hereis

completelydifferent:‘Fogrip’is shortfor

foldinggrip.

Sony’sfull-framemirrorlesscamerashave

becomejustifiablypopularduetotheway

theysqueezealltherequisitetechnologyinto

impressivelysmallbodies.Buttheysufferfromhaving

relativelylow,crampedhandgrips,whichcanbe

uncomfortableforphotographerswithlargerhands,or

whenshootingwithlonglenses.Othercameramakers

employstrikinglytallergripsontheirhigh-end

mirrorlessmodels.

STChastackledthisproblembybuildinganadd-on

gripwhichscrewsontothebaseof Sony’ssecond-and

third-generationbodies.Butunlikesimplegrip

extensions,it employsaningeniousfold-downsection

thatdramaticallyincreasestheareain contactwiththe

palmof yourhand.Thisradicallyimproveshandling

whileaddinglittletothecamera’sbulk,andwithout

blockingaccesstothebatterycompartment.

TypicallyforSTC,thedesignis deceptivelysimple.

Thegripextensionis in twoparts,andwhenit’sfolded

out,themetallicorangesectionhingesinwardsslightly,

tolockit solidlyin placeandprovidea comfortable

curvedgrip.Thenwhenyoufoldit backdownagain,it

clipsfirmlyflat,sowon’tflaparoundannoyingly.It’sthe

kindof thingthatlooksstraightforward,butrequires

impeccableengineeringtoworksuccessfully.

ThankfullytheFogripbenefits fromtop-quality

materialsandconstruction,beingprecision-engineered

fromaluminiumalloy.Thisalsohasthe benefi t of only

addinga little weight, at just 79g.

Ve r d i c t
WhiletheFogripmaybeoffthebeatentrack
comparedtotherestof STC’sportfolio,it’sjustas
cleverlydesignedandwell-made.Indeedprettymuch
everythingaboutit makessenseandworksperfectly.
Theonlynegativepointis thatwiththeextensionfolded
flat,theorangesectionprotrudespastthecamera’s
handgripanddigsuncomfortablyintoyourhand.But
thenagain,that’snotreallyhowit’ssupposedtobe
used.It maylookpricey,butSony’sconsiderablyless
functionalGP-X1EMextensiongripcostsevenmore,
at £130.Alpha7-seriesownerswhoappreciatetheir
camera’scompactsizebutfinditshandgrip too small
ALL PRICES ARE APPROXIMATE STREET PRICESmay well fi nd the Fogrip a godsend.

If youwanttoimproveyourAlpha7’shandlingwithoutaddingthebulkofa full

verticalgrip,thena simpleL-bracketmighthelp;theycanbefoundonAmazon

forlessthan£20.VariousimitationsoftheSonyGP-X1EMare also available,

usuallyaddinganArcaplate,forunder£50.But these

preventthecamerafromsitting flat, and

needtobeunscrewed

tochangethebattery.

TheNeewerGB-X1EM

shown here costs £36.

OTHER OPTIONS

STC Fog rip

AndyWestlaketestsahandygripfor

Sony’sfull-framemirrorless models

● £99.99● http://www.stcoptics.com

Recommended

Tripod

socket

A standard1/4inconnector

is positioned

in linewiththelensaxis,

behindthebrass

camerascrew.

Compatibility

TheFogripworkswiththe

SonyA9,A7RII, A7RIII,A7II,

A7III,andA7SII, butdoesn’tfit

first-generationA7models.

A versionforthelatest

A9II andA7RIV is on

theway.

L- b r a c k e t

Anoptionalsidebracket

allowsmountingtoa tripodin

portraitformat.It comesin a

choiceofblack,orangeor

blue,andcosts£10.

Straplug

Thisslotatthebackof

thegripprovidesan

unexpectedlywell-placed

mountingpointfora

wriststrap.