Locktite?

[John Di Leo]

Again, thanks for all the suggestions. The loctite seems to be working well with no unintended consequences like stickiness or gumminess, or difficulty in removing, etc. It seems to just work.

@mike_halliwell

I don't know how those holes could be utilized as "anti rotaion" without some Rube Goldberg apparatus that would negate the "quick" in quick release. They are not threaded. At this point any further cure would be worse than the (cured?) disease. These are the holes I see.

Neither of the plates I have, one from Benro and the other a Giotto, have a L lip, they are flat and the peak design (thanks Mary) doesn't seem to have a lip either? I don't see how putting the L bracket in between the camera and tripod would solve the problem. And I like my camera "naked."

 

Again, I appreciate the suggestions, and yes, I asked the question originally because there was something maybe unseemly about using something like Loctite on a fine optical instrument, but it seems to work fine, better than anticipated actually. It's presence is invisible except for its function.

[Mary Doo]

The loctite seems to be working well with no unintended consequences like stickiness or gumminess, or difficulty in removing, etc. It seems to just work.

Glad the Loctite works. There's a Kirk PZ-146 plate designed for D810 too if you prefer not to use glue.

 

The following will address your other questions.

[rodeo_joe1]

I don't know how those holes could be utilized as "anti rotaion"

Yes, they're quite a distance apart. Not so much on other cameras. But I was thinking you had one of those slide bases that go nearly the full length of the camera. I now see that the QR plate you have is too small to utilise those holes.

[mike_halliwell]

You only need to utilise one hole to prevent rotation completely.

 

However, it does make that adapted plate unique to that body.

 

It would be nice if Nikon put those holes in the same place on EVERY body now wouldn't it?

[Ed_Ingold]

Automotive stores have a "purple" LocTite which stays gummy. It sticks well enough to keep something from accidentally unscrewing, but easily removeable. I use it for the tips of tripod legs. Use blue or red LocTite when you want the joint to be permanent. Red LocTite must be heated with a torch or soldering iron for removal. There are thicker formulations which fill gaps better with loose threads.

 

Rather than LocTite [sic], you might try securing the head to the tripod with a rubber or fiber strap wrench. The wide contact area between head and tripod has all the gripping power you need. Even tightened by hand, I often need a strap wrench to loosen a head once it settles in. Cork and rubber gasket material makes the best replacement for tripods and plates. It's firm but compressible, and takes a set under pressure.

 

The best solution for camera plates which tend to rotate and loosen with use, are plates with a lip which engage the camera body. Tightening the center screw is never enough if the plate can rotate under torque. I use Really Right Stuff Arca-style plates exclusively, machined to fit the camera body tightly without over-tightening (or thread-locker).

[Ed_Ingold]

Not all Arca plates are compatible. A few thousandths of an inch across the bevels can make the fit too tight or dangerously loose. That dimension is difficult to measure without a proper fixture. To be safe, use only plates from the same manufacturer with a lever-operated clamp. A screw clamp works with nearly every plate, and is less expensive.

[John Di Leo]

Again, thanks for the responses.

The Blue Loctite (242) is not gummy as you describe the purple one. It is "tidy" to use, and just a drop is used.

It is not a "glue" - bad connotations there. It is related to acrylic material, like lexan or lucite, more like a plastic. It dries "dry."

It does not require heat to loosen, I can loosen the QR baseplate with a dime or a key in the slotted screw of the QR plate. And I can re tighten and it still stays with the original application, IOW no more is needed.

A rubber or fabric strap wrench is not an acceptable solution for my usage, and it would cover buttons or the lcd.

It's working on both the ball head/tripod and the QR baseplate/camera nexus.

Aside: sometimes on a small screw on devices of all kinds, electronic, mechanical, etc., you can see a small area, a dot, of blue where the screw threads in. That's blue Loctite.

[John Di Leo]

I was thinking you had one of those slide bases that go nearly the full length of the camera.

nah. I think we've had a conversation before where we agreed that we both like to carry our cameras like a gun at our side in our hand, and to carry them naked--the camera that is. Dodads on cameras get in my way. It's big and heavy enough as is.

[Ed_Ingold]

If applied correctly, a screw will break before LocTite Red will let go.

 

I have used a strap wrench to tighten or loosen a ball head from a tripod, wrapping the strap around the base of a pan head (never a camera). A head doesn't have to be locked to its thread. It just has to be tighter than any other rotating part of the head.

[rodeo_joe1]

A head doesn't have to be locked to its thread. It just has to be tighter than any other rotating part of the head.

The trouble is that threads are fickle beasts, as are the friction pads that separate them, and vibration from, say a car journey, can loosen what seems the tightest 'doing up'.

Take filter threads; nobody tightens a filter with the intention of welding it permanently to a lens. It just happens! :eek:

[Matthew Currie]

Adding to Ed Ingold's remark about lips on the plate, I would add that the depth of the recess you put in need not be great at all. If it's a millimeter, it's enough to hold a plate from rotating without having to hire a gorilla to tighten the screw. If you have any kind of milling capability, including just a good file and a little patience, any plate that overlaps any edge of a camera or lens can be modified.