looking to find a good bracket to mount under my cx550 to mount a light/mic on. bh has this one, but ive heard its not easy to put your hand in the strap to hold the cam since it comes out on that side. going the other is an issue for the lcd to open
Bescor VB-50 Universal Shoe Mount Adapter Bracket VB50 B&H Photo

any suggestions.

i also had the problems of the brackets getting in the way of my hand or the lcd screen. I recommend this:

DM-Accessories - UNI-CUBE - multi-point mount for universal shoe mounts (http://shop.dm-accessories.com/products/uni-cube-multi-point-mount-for-universal-shoe-mounts)

a bit pricier, but allows to add up to four accessories at the same time.

I use the single shoe version of the cube above to mount my mic, when I need to mount a light also I add a Rycote 4" bar to that.
AISFLAT Adorama Universal Cold Shoe Adapter for Sony Type AIS (Active Interface Shoe) Hot Shoe (FLAT TYPE) (http://www.adorama.com/VDAISFLAT.html)
037303 Rycote 4", 100mm, Accessory Shoe Extension Bar, Allows Mounting Two Shoe Mount Items. (http://www.adorama.com/RY037303.html)

The only thing that makes me nervous with shoe mounts is weight. They aren't very sturdy on many ( most) cases, and I've seen nothing more than a large flash unit tear them right off of a camera. When you tip the camera off-axis and return it to normal orientation quickly, you set up a fulcrum point at the weakest part of the link; the shoe.
It doesn't take much to damage it, and depending on the camera it can be expensive if not impossible to fix.Is there any way you can add an "L" bracket of some sort that would extend the mounting bar forward an inch or so from the tripod mounting hole? it would give you the clearance to use the hand strap, and position your mic/light a bit further forward and closer to your subject.
There may not be anything available commercially to accomplish that, but I'd think a machine shop could fabricate something like that pretty easilly

A couple quick comments - the Bescor, which is also available under the Sima brand and probably a few others, has an awkward short lower spar and angled vertical, making it less than desirable since it won't get past the big 3.5" LCD on the 550. There have been a FEW dual shoe brackets that have longer bars, but they are hard to find and I believe out of production.

I've got a "perfect" bracket I picked up on eBay from a guy in the UK, never seen another like it before or since, and no markings to ID it! I'm sure if I post a pic, someone in China will take measurements and one will be available in no time...

As for the strength of the shoe - it's metal in the Sonys, and directly attached via screws to the underlying metal skeleton of the camera - if you break it, you're buying a new camera anyway... at least from the perspective of someone who's looked under the skin. I'm sure not all cameras are as sturdy, but the offset bracket Matt posted probably would be fine. I've got some cheap Chinese single shoe adapters coming in for under $10, I'll see how they are, but should be adequate for a single mount, plus I have some odd old shoe adapters hanging around.

It's sort of a tradeoff - if you don't use the AiShoe, an adapter there makes some sense, but if you're going handheld, a good bracket helps stabilize your shooting, so has its own attractive purposes.

hey Dave could you post a pic of your bracket? of maybe a link if you're able to find it :)

The only thing that makes me nervous with shoe mounts is weight. They aren't very sturdy on many ( most) cases, and I've seen nothing more than a large flash unit tear them right off of a camera. When you tip the camera off-axis and return it to normal orientation quickly, you set up a fulcrum point at the weakest part of the link; the shoe.

The weakest point on my setup would be the cold shoe mounts on the light and mic as they're both plastic. For what it's worth I've held the camera vertical and shook it with the light and (NP-QM91D) battery and it seemed to hold up just fine.

If Sony were to make a camcorder with a handle like the Canon XA10 I'd be all over it. I just got my 550s and I'm happy with them for now, but if Sony doesn't come out with an XA10 competitor by the time I upgrade them I'm jumping to Canon.