MSC Offline Dedicated FM Upload & Sell: On
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No freeplay at all, it tightens completely and securely. That said, if you have two extensions on it, like I do at times when I want the flast way up and off the lens (it is over a foot off the lens [the lens I'm talking about is the 400 2.8 IS...the fat one) with two extensions) it 'moves' a bit. If you were walking with the kit over your shoulder, you would likly see it 'bounce. ' That is flex in the metal...think of an airplane wing. It is just a function of weight at the very end of a long piece of metal. The rods about the same thickness as the RRS bracket you show...they are just a lot longer so there is flex in it. Imagine the RRS bracket with two plus times the length of the metal and that is a good idea. Shooting people at a game for instance, you need the extra distance to not have red-eye. I have no idea about wildlife. But for instance at a football game, some people take thier flash off the camera and gaffer tape it thier monopod below the lens for the same reason. They mount this way down the monopod, over a foot below the lens...otherwise you still get redeye (of the dreaded white-eye )
Looking at the RRS bracket, I would think you would still get some shadow from the flash hitting the lens hood...it is not that high off the lens. I've been forced to take the hood off to deal with this at games and even then I would still get some shadow...until I got the longer extension. Maybe if you are just going for a catchlight in the eyes of wildlife, therefore dail down the flash a lot, and they are distant, it is not an issue? No may area...unless you football players wildlife...and there is truth in that. 
I have Wimberley and RRS and Kirk gear, all are well made and will last a lifetime plus have plenty of resale value because of it. The only RRS products I don't care for are the ballheads. But they are def on a par with Wimberley in build quality...and Kirk is too for that matter. Kirk gets left out of a lot of these discussions but they make top flight ballheads and tons of great non-ballhead stuff too.
Same idea, different ways to tackle the problem...get the flash off the camera and away from the lens.
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