Arca compatible quick release clamps

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John
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I would like to add an arca-swiss compatible quick release clamp to a walking pole. Obviously like everyone I don't want to pay more than Ineed to.

However like all of these things it needs to be secure and the adage of "you get what you pay for" may come into play. There appear to be a lot of these items on Amazon, but what are they really like.

Does anyone have any experience quick release clamps that can be added to walking poles or monopods?
 
I've tried a variety and not had any problems. As long as your pole has a standard 1/4" or 3/8" stud on the top you should be fine with almost any clamp.
You might want to consider something like a Manfrotto 234 tilting head between pole and clamp. I have this combination on my monopod and the 38mm clamp is such a good fit on the 234 that it looks like they're one item.
 
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It's worth mentioning that there is a fair bit of variation between plate widths so when you adjust the clamp for one plate it might not work on another. Frustratingly, I used to have an L bracket that required different adjustments for vertical vs horizontal so I ended up just using the regular clamp adjustment rather than the quick release. If all your plates are the same or you only use one, you won't have this problem.
 
'Adjust' presumably means you're using a clamp with a lever? The cheaper knob-operated clamps usually don't have this problem.

No cheap jokes about whether 'knob-operated' refers to the clamp or the owner, please. :p
 
Are there any specific third party clamps that people have found to be a problem? Or any clamps that can be recommended?

As snapsh0t said... some of the simple knob one can be cheap. And the knob can be fiddly. But at the same time you don't want to find a lever that fails over time.

I'm not thinking of hiking along with kit attached by one of these clamps, but do want something that is reliable.
 
Are there any specific third party clamps that people have found to be a problem? Or any clamps that can be recommended?

I have an Andoer CL-50LS on a Monopod. It has a clamp and an adjustment screw. I carry camera and lens over my shoulder (Nikon D500 +300mm or 200-500mm) and I can quickly lock it onto the monopod using the lever locking clamp.

I keep the clamp open, which means the lever sticks out and can catch on things, and the fine adjustment screw seems to "occasionally" loosen off meaning the clamp doesn't lock properly. This isn't really an issue as you can immediately feel that the clamp hasn't clamped properly, and tweak the adjustment screw. Apart from this, it seems to work well enough and is faster than the "locking knob only" clamp it replaced.

Having said that, I plan to change it (sometime) for a Novelflex clamp which has semi-automatic clamping and doesn't have the same sticking out clamping lever.

https://www.novoflex.de/en/products...system-quick-release-units/qbase-ii.4864.html
 
I've not had any problems with the cheap clamps I've bought from eBay but it's worth reading the Amazon reviews to weed out any real duffers.
Novoflex kit is expensive but good quality and can be a good investment. Possibly the oldest piece of photo gear I own is my Novoflex Basic Ball.
 
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I would recommend RRS...wimberly.... Kirk... Hejnar and Desmond, Desmond are I believe the items used on and come with the Lensmaster gimbals.

Hejnar has an eBay shop and his prices are good.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_...m=R40&_trksid=m570.l1313&_nkw=hejnar&_sacat=0

I do have a bag of 1 inch Hejnar clamps lying about, they are one inch items either centre mount or dual mount.


Be careful with the novoflex mentioned above, they have compatibility issues with some other makes.
 
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I've not had any problems with the cheap clamps I've bought from eBay but it's worth reading the Amazon reviews to weed out any real duffers.
Novoflex kit is expensive but good quality and can be a good investment. Possibly the oldest piece of photo gear I own is my Novoflex Basic Ball.

I largely agree with this, most of the cheap clamps and plates I've bought from ebay/Amazon have been fine, but I've also bought some poor stuff as well, even with 4/5 star ratings, so I feel there is always a bit of a risk.

If you can afford to buy the "best quality", all the Novoflex kit I've bought or used has been excellent.
 
Be careful with the novoflex mentioned above, they have compatibility issues with some other makes.

Can you expand on this? The only incompatibility I am aware of is through the RRS plates not following the original Arca Swiss standard, which can lead to their lever clamp heads not clamping down on genuine Arca swiss design plates.

I wasn't aware there was a problem with the Novoflex clamps not working with RRS (or other makes) of plates.
 
That is what I was talking about, the RRS plates etc, the last lines from RRS saying they can only guarantee Wimberley and RRS with their clamps must mean the Wimberley may also be incompatible, hence most of mine are those two makes, with the odd Kirk and Henjar thrown in..

From their own website (Novoflex)

The Novoflex Q=Plate series PL-3 Quick Release Plate fits any Arca-type quick release system (except the Arca Swiss Flip-Lock), and features two camera mounting screws (one 1/4"-20 & one 3/8"-16) and two slots on a 4.7" long plate, allowing a broad placement of the camera screws relative to the plate or one another. The bottom edges are dovetailed for smoother loading and unloading from the clamp, as well as less abrasions. The screws of the Novoflex plates work with both traditional flathead screwdrivers as well as 5/32" Allen wrenches. Note: The Novoflex Arca-type quick release plates are thinner by the slimmest of margins than the Arca-Swiss quick release plates, and thus are not recommended for use in the Arca-Swiss flip-lock quick release clamp if you are shooting with different brands of quick release plates from Arca-Swiss, Wimberley and others.

https://novoflexus.com/products/bal...-heads-quick-release-units/novoflex-qpl-3.htm

From RRS

A Note About Compatibility

There are a number of companies that sell gear based on the Arca-Swiss dovetail rail. In addition to Really Right Stuff, companies such as Wimberley, Markins, AcraTech, Foba, Novoflex, and Kirk sell gear that is commonly marketed as "Arca-Swiss style" or "Arca-type" or "Arca-Swiss compatible. Arcs-Swiss has never published a standard, so we developed our own and distributed it within the industry. In general, most of this gear is cross-compatible (but many Novoflex plates do not fit our screw-knob style clamps). For example, a Really Right Stuff L-plate will work just fine with the quick-release clamp on your Markins ballhead. And your Wimberley lens plates will work great with any Really Right Stuff clamp and ballhead. An exception to this is our lever-release clamp.

WARNING ABOUT OUR LEVER-RELEASE CLAMPS
Due to wide variations in other brands of Arca-Swiss compatible plates, we recommend using our lever-release clamps only with Really Right Stuff or Wimberley brand quick-release plates. If you own other brand plates, see this note about our plate exchange policy.

Our lever-release clamps are not user adjustable, so the plate that you use in our lever-release clamp has to be EXACTLY the right width. Only Really Right Stuff and Wimberley build plates to the same exacting tolerances. But screw-knob style clamps are much more forgiving of slight differences in plate width since you control the clamp jaws by turning the screw. So most Arca-Swiss style quick-release plates will work in most screw-knob versions of Arca-Swiss style clamps. Warning: many Novoflex plates do not work even in our screw-knob style plates.

To summarize: all Really Right Stuff plates and rails will work in all screw-knob versions of Arca-Swiss style clamps. This includes screw-knob versions of Arca-Swiss style clamps from Markins, AcraTech, Arca-Swiss, and Kirk. BUT only Really Right Stuff and Wimberley plates and rails are guaranteed to work with Really Right Stuff lever-release clamps.


https://www.reallyrightstuff.com/intro-to-rrs-qr-system
 
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That is what I was talking about the RRS plates.
RRS on their web site only point out that Novoflex plates don't fit all RRS heads, not that RRS plates don't fit Novoflex clamps.

You may well have had a different experience, but as per my original question, I haven't of their being a problem with the RRS plates before.
 
https://photo.stackexchange.com/que...ipod-heads-accept-the-arca-swiss-plate-system

In my (very expensive) experience, Novoflex camera plates are of a slightly smaller height. They are usually held by friction by the slanting sides but that might be at a tiny more elevated position, while still well inside the clamp. When taking pictures and moving the head, the camera assembly may "drop" by this tiny amount. Because the sides are slanting, the lower position implies a loss of grip. The camera assembly and may then slide out of the mount (in my case out of a Jobu head into a waterfall).

RRS, Kirk, Novoflex, that I know of. Be advised that my Novoflex lens/camera plates are just a tiiiiny bit too narrow to be used with an RRS quick-release tripod mount - the quick-release does not grip them securely and they can slide straight out which rather defeats the point of having the stuff in the first place!
 
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Looks like it might be their plates that are the issue being to small to grip in an RRS clamp, I don't know if the RRs being to large in the Novo is an issue.. hence I steered clear and 99% of my tripod stuff is RRS, I dont want a 500mm slung over my shoulder wandering anywhere,
 
Looks like it might be their plates that are the issue being to small to grip in an RRS clamp, I don't know if the RRs being to large in the Novo is an issue.. hence I steered clear and 99% of my tripod stuff is RRS, I dont want a 500mm slung over my shoulder wandering anywhere,

Yes, which is what I said, compatibility issues with plates is fairly well known, But, your original comment was that the Novoflex clamp I recommended had compatibility issues. This was why I asked because although I have experienced problems with plates, I haven't experienced problems with clamps.
 
True, but if not aware they may go on to use the plate from it in another clamp unaware it may fail. Hence my warning.
 
True, but if not aware they may go on to use the plate from it in another clamp unaware it may fail. Hence my warning.
Yes, agreed, but that also applies to plates from any manufacturer who is sticking to the original Arca Swiss design, and there is more variation in Arca Swiss "compatible" plate design than many people realise.
 
I years ago had a fetish lol for buying RRS, today I have so much of the stuff it never gets used.. as an example

Monopod head,
Series 2/3 Tripod
Tripod level base for above
Tripod universal level base
Mini pocket tripod
Another TP243 tripod
BH-55 ballhead
BH-25 ballhead
BC-18 ballhead
Assortment of clamps, think about 5 various from screw to quick release
Safari Clamp assy
Footspikes
Harness
L Plates
Gimbal
Tripod extension
3x panning clamps both screw and i think quick release
Long lens support
Pano Gimbal
Long slide nodal, several bars... several plates....

Frightning and thats just off the top of my head... gulp
 
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Bumping this as I’m in the market for a new tripod and there seems to be way more options if like me you don’t want a lever clamp. Swapping to a lever clamp could open up a few more option.
 
Bumping this as I’m in the market for a new tripod and there seems to be way more options if like me you don’t want a lever clamp. Swapping to a lever clamp could open up a few more option.

I bought this one last year, all metal. Not incl the legs. You can save £20 not having the pano head.

cvKDBo7.jpg


 
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