Moment Magsafe / (M) Force Cold Shoe Mount review
As mentioned before, Moment sent us over an (M) Force case (Magsafe for Android) along with several of their Magsafe-compatible photography and phone management items.
In each of those cases I generally liked the product and it worked for me. A phone was held by the power of Magsafe / (M) Force and was not easy to jostle the phone out of position. You had to actively attempt to remove the phone or get into much worse pothole country than I drive in.
This use case doesn’t involve a Magsafe attachment holding a phone, it involves a connection holding a product next to / above a phone at a distance of a couple of inches.
My whitebox is out, enjoy the beige
This will be the first Moment product that I don’t have warm feelings for, or at least I don’t trust it with my gear. I have heavy gear as a note, so your experience will most likely reflect the weight you’re willing to carry. You have light LED lights? You’re probably golden.
I’ve got a LED array for photography lighting, and it’s relatively large these days coming in at 8 ounces. It’s hefty enough that if I’m holding the phone and tilt it back, it provides enough weight to pull the lighting off. I can grab the attached light and shake the phone around and no problems, I can tilt forward to 90 degrees no problem, but tilting back the cold shoe mount peels right off and drops to the piranha laden floor below.
I will say with slightly lighter attachments this is not an issue, so if you’re a bit more modern in your photography than I am you’re probably going to be fine. Should anyone wish to send me a more modern LED lighting feel free, but that 2017 workhorse along with one other is how I get things done and yeah, I know it’s old and heavy.
If I hold the LED light, no problems. It holds the phone without any issues.
I don’t consider this any sort of a failing of the Moment (M) Force / Magsafe cold shoe mount – this attaches, holds as well as anything else, but Magsafe and that whole attachment ecosystem doesn’t seem to be designed for weights at an angle that basically are the same force as disconnecting the phone from a mount.
Should be noted that the L bracket on the cold shoe mount is adjustable. It’s possible the rubberized interior of the L could be used as a grip aid, however any adjustments I did didn’t seem to help. I will also note with the other cold shoe accessories I have this provided a much better experience. I’m highlighting the use case I can’t use it for, which would be my primary.
I’d say if you’re going for a Magsafe / (M) Force mount go for their tripod mount. Magsafe was meant to hold a phone (in my world view at least,) and that’s what it does and does well. Holding weight off the back of the phone at an angle on a device that’s designed to be moved, tilted, rocked is just asking for a drop. Then again, if you’re trying to get something set up in a couple of seconds for adorable kitten photos, or you’ve got very light and unbreakable equipment, it might be worth it.
You can grab a a Moment Magsafe Cold Shoe Mount on their website, but personally I would go for their tripod mount.
