I have a couple of cheap brackets bought from Hong Kong eBay traders. Just picking examples found at random, here's one of them....
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Flash-Rotatin...ryZ48515QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
and here's the other....
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Black-Profess...ryZ15215QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
I like the compact design of the first one but the flip operation is not very smooth and it's a bit irritating to use, but it gets the job done.
I find little to recommend the second one. Personally I don't like the large size and I really do not see what point there is to the padded grip. I use mostly zoom lenses so I'll have one hand on the camera grip and the other one cradling and adjusting the lens. In portrait mode, if you are holding the rig just by the camera the whole bracket will just collapse downwards and all in all I find it a cumbersome and ungainly mess.
If you fancy experimenting on the cheap then try the first one. If you want something a bit more up market then I have heard nothing but praise for the
Newton flash bracket and also products from
Custom Brackets.
The
JustRite bracket looks really like the business, but it is definitely not cheap. The good ones seem not to be. Check out this video....
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=7MjqWuxedug
I don't have any personal experience of a good bracket, but from what I've seen in terms of bracket design ond operation I would certainly be inclined towards a camera rotator style and none of the cantilever flip designs, especially not a flash flip. The JustRite video is a great demo of how simple and quick it is to use a properly designed bracket, but I would be very careful to look at how the weight begins to add up. My girlfriend was prepared to buy me the JustRite for Xmas (very kind of her
) but I was nervous that the weight of a 1D3, 70-200 f/2.8 IS and 580EX, plus the bracket and sync cord, would be pretty horrific for use at a wedding, so I got salopettes instead.