Be careful with thumb grips.

[Newsphoto]

What was actually holding the hot-shoe plate on the camera?

 

4 screws.

[ken]

I first used a thumb grip on my X-E2 as well, but I never really trusted it. So I exchanged it with a massive (and relatively cheap, about 25$) Mengs handgrip. Now I feel comfortable and safe. It looks ugly and totally ruins the fine retro look of the camera, but, heck, I bought the camera  despite its design anyway.

[Trenton Talbot]

This appears to be a design flaw that Fuji should look into for future models.

 

Not really. It's a "design flaw" of all ISO hot shoes in existence. They are designed to hold an accessory, not to be supported by that accessory. Camera's hot shoe can survive rocking loads (to some extent though, as I've seen a lot of Nikon hot shoes destroyed by heavy flashguns). However, once you introduce twisting, the steel parts of the hot shoe act as scissors, easily cutting thin bolts that hold it in place.

 

…And it's a good thing that they do, actually: in case of an overload, something have to break. I'd rather see a hot shoe bolts stripped ($20-$40 repair) than an irreparable crack in a camera's magnesium chassis.

[Drake]

I use a thumb grip and like it. I am curious about a version I found on eBay that includes a hot shoe, see: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Extra-Hot-Shoe-Thumbs-Thumb-Up-Grip-For-X10-EPM2-EP2-Xpro1-EP3-EPL3-EM5-Leica-M9-/171030172482

 

It's considerably less than the the Thumbs Up CSEP-2, but I like to use off camera flash and was looking for something along these lines. 

 

Would appreciate any comments on what appears to be the knock-off of the Thumbs Up version. (Is there such a thing as a knock-off of a third-party accessory?)

[jlmphotos]

OUCH!

That sucks.

 

[Guest thiswayup]

It somewhat protects against bumps, but if you read carefully, you might notice that @Sip's original text says "…but I'm sure if I hooked something hard…"

 

Also, does paying an extra $100-150 to avoid a $150-400 repair really make sense? Only if you you think the chances are something 1 in 2 that you will have this type of accident and at angle where the extra piece of metal will help. Which I'd say is more of a 1 in 10,000-1000,000 chance. If I was going to spend $150 extra dollars protecting an expensive camera then I'd spend it on an insurance policy.

Edited March 23, 2016 by thiswayup

[Guest thiswayup]

I think that the only way to ensure safety of the hot shoe with thumb rests is rater counterintuitive… Making thumb rests from the very frangible material, as opposed to the current trend of "hi end" materials like milled brass.

 

If I want one I'd just stick some sugru to the back of the camera. It won't use the hotshoe at all. Under stress it will bend - it's a silicone/epoxy - and then should seperate from the camera before pulling it apart. It will also act as a shock absorber.

 

But I don't feel an urgent need for a thumb grip, because I use an arca grip which I moulded to fit my hand correctly (with more sugru.)