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Re: [OM] QR plate recommendation

Subject: Re: [OM] QR plate recommendation
From: Chuck Norcutt <chucknorcutt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sat, 26 Feb 2011 14:45:15 -0500
Thanks, Dan.  I'll re-read this several times and carefully consider 
your advice.  I've been putting up with the frustration of drooping 
cameras and lenses ever since I bought the 5D.  It's just big and heavy. 
Time to solve it.

Chuck Norcutt


On 2/26/2011 9:28 AM, Daniel Sepke wrote:
> Chuck,
>
> I would agree that the initial cost to get into Arca plate systems are
> higher in comparison than Manfrotto but I believe they offer a better
> universal system. There are several makers to select from for plates and
> heads at several price points. I also firmly believe it really is a system
> just like the cameras we buy and should be considered as such.
>
> When I purchased my first tripod (a Manfrotto) I looked long and hard at the
> options and balked at the prices of Arca compatible designs initially. With
> models like the Monoball at near $400 and then the plates on top it was hard
> to justify to me at the time. But as I looked at the other systems out there
> issues like the one you describe came up and I was never impressed by the
> solutions if one existed*. The lack of a single standard for plates in the
> Manfrotto range was big a factor in putting me off their designs despite
> their many good features. After reading this article
> <http://www.bythom.com/support.htm>  by Thom Hogan I was convinced that the
> Arca design especially that offered by Really Right Stuff was a superior
> one.
>
> *plates with pins are not a solution unless your camera/lens has the hole
> for it which most SLR's don't. I strongly believe it is the rubber grip pads
> on the plates that are the real cause of the problem. The pads just add
> instability to the mating of the plate to the camera and thus allow rotation
> and flex. The grip the rubber is intended to provide can only do so much
> before it slips.
>
> So how did I solve the problem of cost? My initial purchase was the
> competitively priced Acratech head which is a quirky design but closer to
> the Manfrotto pricing. Since then I have added a second tripod and a RRS
> 40mm head. I have acquired plates used on eBay and from Kirk who offer close
> copies of the RRS products at a lower price point. Of late I have started to
> see Chinese made Arca compatible plates offered direct on eBay at very steep
> discounts. While I don't own one Benro made Acra designs are even closer to
> Manfrotto pricing from a quick browse of B&H.
>
> Maybe I drank the cool aid but I have never regretted the investment I have
> in Acra plates and heads. In use they are transparent in the same way as the
> dust busters on my E-1/3/410/420/5/620 have "just" worked (I have never once
> even considered having clean a sensor on these cameras). Also the resale
> value on the plates does help offset some of the cost when you change bodies
> for example I sold my old E-1 plate last year for about half what I paid for
> it 5 years ago.
>
> Dan S
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Chuck Norcutt
> Subject: Re: [OM] QR plate recommendation
>
> Arca type plates can be very expensive.
>
> Chuck Norcutt
>
>
> On 2/25/2011 9:25 AM, AS wrote:
>> I wanted to ask a similar question. For a Manfrotto 496rc2 I read a
>> something in which the person suggested arca type of plates.  Are
>> plates interchangeable? And what should I look for?
-- 
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