Is there one QR plate (system) made for....

[tim_stahl]

Hi All,

 

I am starting to notice the wear and tear that my tripod head is

taking. So, I am curious if there is a QR plate (or system) made to

fit the Mamiya RZ, Pentax 67, Super Graphic, and a Linhof Kardan BI?

I am using a Bogen 3221 tripod with a Manfrotto 3029 head. Thanks

for the help.

[jay_.]

Buy an Arca-style QR clamp from www.kirkphoto.com, remove the cork pad from the 3029 and install the clamp using red Loctite making sure it is facing the right direction and on straight, as you need 500-degree heat to undo the Loctite! Also at www.kirkphoto.com you can find dedicated plates custom-formed to the RZ and P67. You might want to call Kirk and discuss which plates to fit the others.

[ellis_vener_photography]

Jay has got it. <A HREF = http://www.reallyrightstuff.com>Really Right Stuff </

A> is also an excellent source for Arca-Swiss type QR clamps and camera

customized plates. RRs recently changed hands and are much more internet

shopping & newbie friendly.<P>What really kills me about the Bogen/

Manfrotto QR system is that people are willing to entrust their multi thousand

camera setups to ten cents worth of pot metal.

[._._z]

The Bogen hexagonal plate will do what you're looking for at a fraction of the price of the AS system. The Bogen/Manfrotto hex plate is a solid, inexpensive ($35) design. It comes with one QR plate and additional plates cost around $15. Last time I checked, AS plates alone cost $75-$90 apiece.

 

I also have a "90-degree 'architectural' plate" ($21) which has a small raised lip that snugly holds against the back of a camera body and prevents the camera from twisting on the plate (which especially can happen when the camera is flopped on its side for vertical shots).

 

The positive lock-in 'click' of the hex plate is reassuring, and I prefer it to the more expensive Arca-Swiss plates, which require that you tighten the plates yourself. The Bogen system seems more foolproof to me, although it is bigger and clunkier-looking than the A-S system.

[._._z]

"What really kills me about the Bogen/ Manfrotto QR system"

 

But Ellis you are incorrect to imply that there one such system -- to the contrary, Bogen/Manfrotto has two or three different QR systems. The hex-hsaped QR system is the most solid (albeit ugliest) of them, and I've used it with 35mm, MF and LF equipment without fail or worry.

 

Bogen/Manfrotto also has one or two incompatible rectangular systems as well.

[louis_webb]

The slim rectangular Bogen system(?-354)is solid and relatively inexpensive and having moved from the hexagonal system myself,I feel is much easier to use.

[louis_webb]

I have trusted the hexagonal 10 cents of pot metal for a couple of years and am sure the bogen system I have now is more than up to the job(the only reason I changed was due to ease of use).Sometimes,as with the great camera and other bits and pieces you buy,eg. the Gitzo 1228mkII tripod,you get what you pay for.However,you don't always have to spend an arm and a leg to aquire what you need.

[godfrey]

I've been using a Bogen 3221 with Manfrotto 3265 speed grip ball head and

QR plates for nearly 15 years. They've never given a minute of trouble.

 

When I bought the new, more compact and lighter CF Manfrotto 3444D

recently, I used that same head with it for a while. Now I've replaced it with a

FOBA Super MiniBall Plus head using Arca Swiss type plates from Really

Right Stuff. I find the A-S plate system a bit slower in use but more confidence

inspiring in the security of the mount for heavier cameras.

 

I looked at the Manfrotto 3029 head a moment ago. You could get the A-S

type clamp for it and plates for all your cameras easily. I don't know whether

you can retrofit it with the hexagonal Manfrotto QR plate system, which is what

I'd want for medium format and other large, heavy cameras.

 

Godfrey

[cliff_lesergent]

"<i>The positive lock-in 'click' of the hex plate is reassuring...</i>"<p>

Unfortunately, the same spring that provides the reassuring "click" provides for a forceful ejection of your camera if you happen to snag the release lever. The Arca-Swiss clamp might take a second or two longer, but it won't toss your equipment on the ground like a Manfrotto head did to my Nikon F4s and 80-200 f2.8 zoom a few years ago.<p>

Ellis is right - why would anyone spend thousands of dollars on camera gear, and then

cheap out on its support system? The Manfrotto pieces might seem solid, but if you've ever had one break (and

I had a two or three of their castings break before I wised up and switched

systems), you will probably see that they are a poor-quality alloy, with lots of flaws and voids in the casting (hence the

reference to "pot metal" is not far off the mark). <p>

 

Then again, if you never use it to support more than a small SLR and standard lens, you might never have a problem... and you can save as much as $20 or $25 per plate by buying the Manfrotto plates rather than Kirk or RRS gear. But, I think you would have to be a bit of a masochist to want use a heavy camera such as a Pentax 67 (do you ever shoot verticals?) on a Manfrotto head, when there are

<a href="http://www.kirkphoto.com/lbracketso.html"> much better solutions</a> available.

[._._z]

"Forceful ejection"? Cliff, I'm not sure how that could happen. Why? Because snagging the release lever alone won't release anything unless you first depress a second, smaller lever -- neither of which I think one could snag simultaneously.

[cliff_lesergent]

There are (at least) three ways it can happen:<p>

 

- the secondary lock might not have been set on the clamp;<br>

- the clamp may not have a secondary lock (mine didn't);<br>

- the hexagonal plate might not have been aligned in the clamp properly<p>

 

The addition of a secondary lock mechanism was eventually implemented by Manfrotto because accidental release of the catch was quite common on the older clamps. Trouble is, most of them are so fiddly and hard to reach (especially wearing gloves) that the Arca-Swiss sytem is actually much faster to use under field conditions.

[._._z]

"The addition of a secondary lock mechanism was eventually implemented by Manfrotto"

 

When would that have been, Cliff? I've had my Bogen hex system (with two latch-locks) for several years, so your original warning should have noted that you referred to some older system no longer sold. (And thus your warning about it was somewhat tangential to the person who started this thread asking about buying a new system today).

 

I'm glad you're happy with yous A-S system, and from looking at your profile you seem to be happy selling plates to that system for the last few years. But I'm just as happy and safe with a system that costs a fraction of the A-S system, has never failed me, and works easily with 35mm, MF and large format

[cliff_lesergent]

Yes, Bailey, I have sold some A-S plates over the years. My Arca-Swiss ball head has been more reliable than some of the camera systems I've owned during that time; the camera systems have changed, hence the QR plates have changed with them.

 

When stuff doesn't work (i.e., the Manfrotto 055 tripod leg yoke castings that kept breaking, Manfroto quick release plates that won't stay in place, Manfrotto ball heads that sag after you've tightened them, Manfrotto leg locks that won't stay tight...) I have no qualms about getting rid of it.

 

Some of us solve our problems by moving on to better equipment, and others learn to live with the limitations of what they have. While you are obvious satisfied with Manfrotto equipment, my experience with their products has been far less than satisfactory, and I think there is a benefit to a prospective buyer to be aware of a products'drawbacks as well as all the flowery praise.

[danny burk www.dannyburk.]

Not to ruffle any feathers, but my *personal* experience is that I've used both Bogen and A-S (RRS) systems, and A-S is much superior to Bogen. I've used A-S for years and would not use anything else; it's definitely worth the difference in cost.

[tim_stahl]

Wow, I did not think that this question would stir up so much controversy. Thanks for all of the input, the information is valuable to me. I was talking with a friend who has used the hex plate version... and he said that there was some camera shake when he used that version. As if the plate on the camera were not snug with the holder on the tripod. Not to stir any more controversy, but is it possible that he was using the older version hex plate that was mentioned about having the lock problem? And, are any of the other systems known for this? Thanks again for all of the help.

[._._z]

Tim, several years ago Bogen stopped topping its plates with cork after getting reports that compression occurred over time and allowed slippage. Perhaps that is what your friend experienced. All tops now use a rubber compound which works very well.

 

Since Cliff didn't answer my question as to when Bogen might have switched QR assemblies, and since I've had mine for several years (and since he's exclusively used and sold A-S plates for years), Isuspect that his information is out of date. A-S plates are quite good, and they are considered the gold standard in nature photography. But they are not the only good plates, and I know studio and field photographers who use (and in fact initially recommended to me) the Bogen hex plate system. I've used it for 35mm macro photography, with a TLR and with a 4x5 field camera with no problems and no camera shake. It's a smal fraction of the price of an A-S system with a single plate, and if you buy from a place like B&H you've got a couple of weeks to try it and decide if you want to keep it.

[steve_singleton3]

Years ago I purchased a Kirk Enterprises hex plate that mounted semi-permanently on the bottom of my RB. This is a vast improvement over the Bogens, even Bogen's anti-twist plate. The Kirk plate allows the camera to sit flat off the tripod, is generic enough to also fit 35mm (and possibly the Pentax) without obstructing the back opening, as the Bogen anti-twist does. The Arca is a fine system--I also own a B1--but the Kirk hex plate will help you get the most of the Bogen system.

[rwbowman]

I mount my Pentax 67 on a Manfrotto/Bogen 3039 head with a

Gitzo Inter Pro Studex tripod using a Kirk Enterprises mount

adapter--hex plate on the bottom, Arca-Swiss-type clamp on the

top. The Kirk product is bomb-proof. I also have Kirk's L-bracket

for the P-67 on the camera, the one that allows you to switch the

camera easily from vertical to horizontal orientation. I use this

setup for landscape and macro shooting, and it serves me very

well.

[cliff_lesergent]

To answer Bailey's most persistent question, I got rid of my last pieces of Manfrotto equipment 7 or 8 years ago. I think that Manfrotto was starting to introduce the safety locks on their hex plate heads around the same time, but I'm not sure.

 

In view of Bailey's other comments, I guess I should explain that the Arca-Swiss compatible plates from Kirk Enterprises and Really Right Stuff are each designed for a specific camera or lens model. This custom fitting is one of the reasons why they work so well, but it also means that if you sell that particluar camera or lens, the plate you bought for it may no longer be of use to you (that's why you often see these plates for sale). The Manfrotto plates are of a generic design which will fit almost anything with a tripod socket.

[scott_dordick]

Camera specific plates as offered by RRS, Kirk and ourselves (Acratech) offer several advantages over the other types of quick release systems. First of all they prevent the camera from rotating on the plate, either with a lip that corresponds to an edge on the camera or with pins that locate into the camera body . Also many camera bodies have raised areas on the bottom and a flat or generic plate will contact the body only on these high spots, camera specific plates are contoured to fit the bottom of these cameras and provide much more surface area increasing stability and minimizing body flex. Camera specific plates are also clearanced to allow access to all controls and features without removing the plates. Many cameras have their tripod holes far from the center of balance of the camera. Camera specific plates are designed to bring the balance point closer to neutral balance. Camera specific plates are contoured to the camera body and are far less obtrusive than many other plates making it much easier to hand hold the camera especially in the vertical position. An added bonus is that the camera specific plates look like they belong on a precision camera not big hexagon stuck on the bottom.

[david_nelson1]

I see that this is an older thread, but felt compelled to voice my opinion...

 

I cannot fathom spending thousands of dollars on cameras and lenses and quibbling about less than $100 for a QR plate. The RRS plate for the RZ67 Pro II has two "posts" that fit into the body and prevent twist or rotation completely.

[bob_salomon]

"QR plate (or system) made to fit the Mamiya RZ, Pentax 67, Super Graphic,

and a Linhof Kardan BI?"

 

A Linhof Quickfix will easily hold a Linhof Bi as well as all the other cameras

mentioned. Most, if not all, the other QR systems mentioned will have a tough

time with the B. Especially if the extension rail is used.