Looking for a very thin Arca-type clamp and plate

<p>For my particular setup, the camera must be raised above its base plate for no more than 14mm.<br>

Can you suggest an Arca-swiss type quick release clamp and plate combo that has a total thickness of 14mm or less?<br>

<br />The plate needs to be around 80 to 100mm long. <br>

<br />If you happen to have the said product with you, can you measure the actual thickness of the item and share with us?<br>

<br />A million thanks!<br>

<br />Jack</p>

 

<p>Just for clarity, what are we attaching this to? Direct to a 3/8" or 1/4" screw, or attached to a surface with an M6, or...? Does the lever have to fit into that 14mm, or can you have a screw mechanism hanging "over the side" of whatever you've attached it to?<br />

<br />

I'm intrigued by what you're doing, but sadly I can't help (other than noting that at least one RRS clamp is 16mm thick, Kirk don't seem to say, and the genuine Arca clamps are now quite tall because they take SlideFix as well). I could check my Triopo clamp, but I'd be astonished if it's any thinner (and it has an oversized knob, as it were, which may rule it out for your requirements).</p>

<p>They say nothing is impossible. Now you got me, because this thickness is IMNSHO impossible to find unless you can get some shop to mill down a slim clamp and use a removable screw if you can find one that will fit and tighten it by some custom knurled screw.... No, I say it is impossible, Jack, as a long time Arca Swiss clamp and plate user. Back to the drawiing board time I guess. Or get a machine shop working on one. I hope someone has a solution, like to hear it myself..<br>

I have an old early RRS one that would meet a thickness of ca 16 mm, but not adding some thickness to camera with a plate that meets the requirement of an acceptable dovetail to fit it. Also you need to see what is out there plate wise for your camera, which is model (X) that is determinative as well....good luck anyhow...gs</p>

<p>Another question: How stable does it have to be? With a really thin clamp (and the RRS clamps are already 16mm including the lever) it might be able to engineer a plate that cantilevers out the side of the clamp, stepping back below the plane of the release itself. That would let you get the camera lower than 14mm above the plate, by moving the clamp "out to the side" (and might avoid you having to hurt an expensive clamp).<br />

<br />

It sounds like it's for something big, though, so maybe this won't help. Jack: if you can explain a bit more about the geometry of what you're doing and its weight-bearing requirements, we might be able to suggest some cunning workaround. 14mm is intriguingly specific.</p>

Look at Arca-Swiss' relatively new SlideFix clamp and plates. They meet your size requirements.

<p>Slidefix is incompatible with the original plates, of course (though some of the new Arca clamps can take both). But it was designed to be smaller, and may solve the problem if you don't mind being less compatible; I assume some of the plates are thin (the clamps that can take both bury the SlideFix in the bottom of the main clamp, which makes me think that some plates must be quite tall).<br />

<br />

I'm interested to see that Arca have some camera plates that use anti-rotation pins to engage with the holes on the bottom of some cameras. We were discussing that it was weird that nobody did this recently in another thread, so I've learnt something!</p>

I have the Arca-Swiss "classic" L bracket which uses the camera plates that have the pins. It's a system that works well if

you have a camera that has matching sockets for them! Those seem to be cameras that have a removable vertical grip

like some Nikons and Canons but for the tall bodiedc Canon 1D/1Ds or Nikon D1/2/3/4 bodies.

 

I mainly shoot with a 1DX and 1Ds Mark III and the Arca-Swiss L brackets work great on them. I have switched away

from the make & model dedicated Really Right Stuff L brackets for a couple of reasons: versatility and cost.

 

Versatility: I can use the full L bracket set up or just the plate attached to the camera. The distance between the edge of

the camera body and the upright leg of the "L" is adjustable which is useful when tethering. Also -and this ties into cost- If

I change cameras the plates and L can be used on the new camera or I buy just the camera body plate for the new body.

 

Cost - Dedicated L brackets that are made specifically for a specific make and model of camera get expensive. If you use

a 5d Mark III for example you need one bracket when you only use the body and a different one if you use the body with a

vertical grip /battery holder (By the way: the RRS L bracket for a Nikon D3 also works on Canon 1D X and 1Ds Mark III

bodies except for the appending to slide the battery in and out.

<p>Ellis: Interesting, now I've investigated it. (<a href="http://www.robertwhite.co.uk/tripods-and-heads/arca-swiss-l-bracket-quickset-classic.html">this</a>, yes? Though I doubt he's saying quite what the automatic subtitles claim in the video.) For what it's worth, my RRS plate for my D800 does allow me to slide the camera over the plate for tethering, but I'm stuck at the moment if I want to clamp my D700. Arca's other QR plates don't have the same means of locking the camera, so I'd dismissed this one, but I'll certainly consider it now - thank you. (It would also mean my nose wasn't squashed the whole time by the vertical component, and I might be able to remove the LCD cover without taking the plate off...) I presume the rubber doesn't reduce stability detectably. I hope pins can be put in the right place for a D800, otherwise it's less useful to me. There goes more money...</p>

The pin placement can be changed according to the camera body. I've used the Arca-Swiss L clamp on a D800 and

D800E. I gave feedback to Arca-Swiss about where the plate needed to be tapped for the D800 series bodies including

scanning the base of the D800. That was well over a year ago and they indicated they'd be making the change, so check

with your dealer to make sure they have new stock.

 

I mostly shoot with the 1D X and 1Ds Mark III without the pin as an anti-rotation stopper. The longest heaviest lens I

regularly use that doesn't have its own tripod mount is the Canon EF 135mm f/2L USM. I have had no problems with

these large and heavy combinations twisting on these A-S plates.

 

Why do you need lower profile QR plates and clamps.

<p>Cool, thank you Ellis. As you say, I'll chat to a dealer and confirm the holes line up on the latest version. Thanks for the public service!</p>

<p>So this is what I'm trying to do:<br>

<img src="http://www.jack-lam.com/images/promediagears_c40.jpg" alt="" width="984" height="780" /></p>

<p>I need to install a quick release plate between a Blackmagic Cinema Camera and the base plate. Although the camera hasn't arrived, I know from my research that the camera has to be 14mm above the base plate in order the for lens center to be 85mm above the rods, which is dictated by industrial standard for cine-style accessories.<br>

Looks like I need to find a machinist who can help file down the thickness of the clamp. But it need to have an extra long locking screw in the first place.<br>

Any further idea?</p>

 

Looks like an interesting project. best wishes on it. But why do you need a separate QR system at all? Doesn't someone

already make a cine grade rail / QR combo for the black magic?

<p>Regarding the locking knob, I'd be looking at attaching the clamp the other way. For cameras, the clamp is normally running parallel with the base of the camera anyway (at 90 degrees to its orientation with lenses). That should allow you to have the clamp knob sit between the rails, either between the camera and lens or behind the camera, without the knob fouling anything - though it might be more awkward to reach in that position. The 16mm RRS lever clamp's lever is no taller than the clamp itself, I believe, so it may be somewhat better, if still 2mm thicker than you need.<br />

<br />

I think you're going to end up milling the plate, though I'd do it carefully if it needs to retain structural integrity. I don't suppose you can take any thickness off the base plate?<br />

<br />

Otherwise, we're back to my suggestion of having a QR plate shaped like "____,------", with the higher bit attaching to the clamp and with the camera cantilevered off the front. It may not be sufficiently stable, and I'm not sure whether you'd be happy with where it positions the nodal point for panning, though you might be able to compensate with base movement.<br />

<br />

Good luck, and - as Ellis says - interesting.</p>

<p>Thanks everyone for the suggestions. So the RRS 16mm clamp is the thinnest one we can think of? Anything thinner than that? Now I don't mind the clamp + plate combo is thicker than 14mm because I don't think I will find one at all. But I do want to find the thinnest clamp available and I mill it down.<br>

Ellis: There are many rail system designed for the Blackmagic Camera, but nobody seems to care to design one that has a quick release.</p>

 

<p>Incidentally, looking <a href="http://www.blackmagicdesign.com/uk/products/blackmagicpocketcinemacamera/accessories/">here</a>, the pocket camera is clearly intended to attach to rails via what looks like quite a thick QR plate. It's interesting that the non-pocket version is so much thicker; all Blackmagic's sample images do have it mounted on rails. Have you tried asking them if they can recommend something?</p>

If you are going to have a clamp machined to a lower profile obviously it needs to be done from the bottom of the clamp.

My impression from working on movie sets is that usually therapies don't extend under the camera body and sometimes

they both mount to a common platform that attaches via a larger than Arca-Swiss standard quick release plate and clamp.

<p>Andrew: Yes I have tried speaking to camera houses and have emailed a couple equipment manufacturers. None of them have products that address to this particular need.<br>

<br />Ellis: I am aware of the Arri dovetail type of quick release you are referring to. It is originally designed for larger 35mm motion picture cameras or today's Arri Alexa.<br>

<br />The problem here is, the motion picture market is transformed by this new breed of small cameras like Canon 5D Mark II or the Blackmagic, but the support accessories haven't caught up with this new trend. Most people are still focusing on making these cameras work like large studio-style cameras by mounting them on full-sized rigs. Full-sized rigs have their benefits, but we shouldn't overlooked the advantage of being able to go small at times.<br>

With the way most rig/cage setups are designed, the blackmagic camera body is semi-permanently attached to the rig. It can take as much as 10-15 minutes to disassemble the whole rig to take the camera body out when one wants to go small. To me that is unacceptable and downright stupid.</p>

<p> </p>

 

 

I know this thread is a year old but wondering how you

went with this, did you find a thinner clamp or mill one

down?

 

Sunwayfoto have clamps 13mm thick, and

ProMediaGear C40 is 12.7mm (the slimmest I can find)