L Bracket

[Two23]

I bought a Kirk QR plate for my D300, but am having second thoughts. I'm starting to think I might have been better

off buying the "L" type plate. I do take some verticals and I think I'd benefit from the convenience of the L. I don't

have the grip. Does the L plate interfer much with camera operation? In the past I've stuck with just the dedicated

plate (non-L) because it was more compact and didn't get in the way. Any thoughts on L plates? I am an outdoor

photographer using AcraTech head. Two of my lenses don't have rotating collars, the other two do.

 

 

Kent in SD

[markp]

The Kirk and RRS L-brackets are cut away around ports and control access points, they don't interfere. I couldn't live without L-brackets - the first thing I do when I get a new camera is order an L-bracket for it. For verticals, your center of gravity is then over the tripod head and not hanging off to the side, thus stability is increased.

[acbeddoe]

I have L-plates for my cameras, both RRS and Kirk. Both are excellent quality and enhance the use of the camera.

[ShunCheung]

If you shoot a lot of verticals, I think it is a good idea to buy a dedicated L bracket because it is very convenient. Sometime I wish I had done that.

 

I use the small non-L plate myself and add an external universal L plate when I shoot verticals. The universal L plate is much bigger and gets in the way when I mount the body onto a 70-200mm/f2.8 AF-S VR. However, I also use the MB-D10 vertical grip quite a bit so that I need to remove the plate when I do that, but I also prefer the smaller configuration without the MB-D10 sometimes.

 

Well, trade offs.

[famico]

I use an L plate with a D300, no motor drive. It really doesn't interfere with the way I use the camera, and for vertical orientation it is a big help in my opinion.

[dan_brown4]

I have the L-Plate, and model-specific plate for my D200, as well as a generic plate, all Kirk's. The generic plate is just for

emergency use for odd cameras or lenses, not very solid. The L-plate is nice, and the camera controls all work and ports are

accessible. But, it makes the camera bulky, so for the most part, I use the center plate shown below. I think it depends on how muc

you shoot verticals, how heavy the lenses are, and the head you have on the tripod.<div></div>

[lilly_w]

I'm a big fan of L-plates for several reasons, among them stability and not having to torque the daylights out of the tensioning knob to compensate for the otherwise cantilevered rig...esp important with 2.8 zooms (e.g. 14-24, 17-35, 24-70, 28-70). Uneven terrain and wind are other reasons to opt for the stability of an L. I mount mine directly to the body as mounting to a battery pack introduces unacceptable play. I suspect you'll take a liking to an L-bracket.

[iancoxleigh]

I have L-brackets for all my cameras. They stay on all the time. I have never found them 'bulky' or awkward or in the way. They have never interfered with the operation of the camera of lenses.

 

I prefer verticals to horizontals and I could not live without an L-bracket.

 

Just my $0.02.

[Rene11664880918]

Hey Kent! I bought the L-bracket myself. I love it. I also use the battery pack. I have one little complain about it. I never

remove the card from the camera to download the files into my computer. I use the USB cable instead. My problem is that

every time I open the cover to connect the USB cable it is very hard to close back the rubber cover. I always have to

remove the battery pack with the L-bracket to close it well, otherwise water and dust would get in. If you download from

your card directly into your computer you won't have that problem. Besides that it is great. It makes it so easy to go from

portrait to landscape within a few secs. Rene'

[oskar_ojala]

As far as I'm concerned, L-plates are pretty much a must with ballheads. Much more convenient than tilting the ball and makes positioning the camera faster and more precise.

[cwphoto]

My Acra-tech head couldn't hold the weight when turned for verticals. L-bracket fixed that!

[ShunCheung]

You certainly don't want to turn the platform on top of the ballhead sideways to shoot verticals.

In that orientation, your entire camera/tripod set up becomes unstable and it is also hard to make fine adjustments of camera angles.

[markp]

I don't take my L-brackets off, either, even when shooting an event handheld. I find them to be low-profile enough that

it's not necessary.

 

In fact, I find them handy to have on - if I need to brace the camera against something (tree, fencepost, lamp post,

etc), they offer some protection against scratching the camera body itself. I'd rather the $150 bracket take the

scratches rather than my camera.