Arca Swiss plates for long lens

BillN_33

BillN_33

Messages
13,974
Name
Bill
Edit My Images
No
Has anyone bought the "cheaper" ones off EBay

or have you stuff with the Wimberley and RRS etc.,
 
Just bought a Kirk replacement foot for my 500 Bill. I paid £80 for it and was happy to do so. To be honest this is one of those bits of kit where the price is relatively insignificant for the quality of the foot. Admittedly nothing special to look at. Not as substantial as the original Canon foot but all the holes exactly in the right place and fits perfectly.

Would I trust several grands worth of camera and lens to a cheaper Hong Kong bit. Not a chance.
 
Gaz J said:
Just bought a Kirk replacement foot for my 500 Bill. I paid £80 for it and was happy to do so. To be honest this is one of those bits of kit where the price is relatively insignificant for the quality of the foot. Admittedly nothing special to look at. Not as substantial as the original Canon foot but all the holes exactly in the right place and fits perfectly.

Would I trust several grands worth of camera and lens to a cheaper Hong Kong bit. Not a chance.
Click to expand...

That's my view Gary - it is just that I maybe need three as i am moving from a Manfrotto 393 to a Wimberley and I don't want to keep taking the plates "on and off"

plus I have only got those really old Arca Swiss plates made by Acra swiss with no stops
 
Last edited:
Yes it's going to cost you a couple of hundred quid. I know you've got a 300 f2.8 and 600 f4 so depending on what bodies you've got then you must have a minimum of £5-6 grand + resting on the plate.

What's a couple of hundred quid with so much invested in lenses etc?

Never seen an old style Arca plate but can they be modified to take the small screws that act as stops?
 
Last edited:
BillN_33 said:
That's my view Gary - it is just that I maybe need three as i am moving from a Manfrotto 393 to a Wimberley and I don't want to keep taking the plates "on and off"

plus I have only got those really old Arca Swiss plates made by Acra swiss with no stops
Click to expand...

That's not my view at all. I don't think I've paid more than £20 for an A-S plate and mostly a lot less. Not sure how many I've got, but it's well into double figures, of numerous brands, and they all work fine. The only time I'd be careful is if using with some brands of lever-lock clamp.

If you specifically want a lens plate* then there's nothing wrong with this KiwiFotos 169mm one I recently bought for £20 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kiwifotos-L..._sbs_ph_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=0DPKNFATCSNNE54TYA5N Other sizes available.

Right now I happen to have six different A-S type ball heads to hand, and it fits perfectly on them all.

*Lens plates tend to be heavier/stronger than camera plates, with less metal machined out from the underside, and no rubberised pads on top. They also usually have an end-stop to butt against the lens foot, in addition to the safety-stop studs underneath.
 
£80 for a plate?

Bill, take the advice offered and get a cheaper one, save some brass.
 
fracster said:
£80 for a plate?

Bill, take the advice offered and get a cheaper one, save some brass.
Click to expand...

It was for the complete foot Ade not just a plate. But despite Richards recommendation I'm still happy to spend the money.

Of course you could rearrange the following into something apt :)

Parted fool money his soon are and A
 
Gaz J said:
It was for the complete foot Ade not just a plate. But despite Richards recommendation I'm still happy to spend the money.

Of course you could rearrange the following into something apt :)

Parted fool money his soon are and A
Click to expand...

so you bought the smaller foot Gary?
 
Gaz J said:
It was for the complete foot Ade not just a plate. But despite Richards recommendation I'm still happy to spend the money.

Of course you could rearrange the following into something apt :)

Parted fool money his soon are and A
Click to expand...
sorry mate, I mis-read your post, didn't realise it was for a complete foot.
 
No probs mate. I never use any other lenses on a gimbal head so don't have multiple plates to buy. The only time I use any other lens on a tripod is a wide angle and I've got a Kirk L plate for my 5D3 for that. Again there are cheaper ones out there but I've got this thing about well engineered stuff and when I see the way that the Kirk RRS etc are made I'm happy to pay.

I guess my philosophy is "buy well buy once"
 
my reason for having a few is sheer idleness.i cant be bothered changing them over, so the 70-200 and 300 have one each. The 500 came with a Wimberley foot. I have a couple for when I do night shots or landscape stuff and a few for visitors to the estate and the hides thereon.
 
Never realised you were involved in the reintroduction of wildlife on an estate Ade. That must be really satisfying. Will follow your website from now on and hopefully will be able to make a visit sometime in the not too distant future.
 
the new hides will all be up and running come spring Gaz, various new projects are ongoing and will happen as time goes on. All the hides are and will be built specifically with photography in mind. Details will be submitted properly when it is sorted.
 
HoppyUK said:
That's not my view at all. I don't think I've paid more than £20 for an A-S plate and mostly a lot less. Not sure how many I've got, but it's well into double figures, of numerous brands, and they all work fine. The only time I'd be careful is if using with some brands of lever-lock clamp.

If you specifically want a lens plate* then there's nothing wrong with this KiwiFotos 169mm one I recently bought for £20 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kiwifotos-L..._sbs_ph_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=0DPKNFATCSNNE54TYA5N Other sizes available.

Right now I happen to have six different A-S type ball heads to hand, and it fits perfectly on them all.

*Lens plates tend to be heavier/stronger than camera plates, with less metal machined out from the underside, and no rubberised pads on top. They also usually have an end-stop to butt against the lens foot, in addition to the safety-stop studs underneath.
Click to expand...

Yes exactly
I use the kiwiphotos plates for my 300 2.8 and they are well made and strong
 
Ultimately only the individual can decide what a piece of kit is worth to them. From tripods to lens plates to grips. I very rarely get the opportunity to see a variety of equipment in a camera shop so I stick with tried and trusted.

I went through several tripods thinking "this will do the job" before realising if you want a very stable base you buy a tripod with fewest moving parts, no centre column and large diameter legs.

No big dealers near me to go and look at any so bit the bullet and bought a Gitzo. 3 kgs but rock solid. Should last for ever, barring accidents. Came with spares for the locking mechanism. Id buy it again in a flash.

As a matter of interest does anyone have a pic of the underside of the older, pre screw in stop, arca swiss version
 
Gaz J said:
Ultimately only the individual can decide what a piece of kit is worth to them. From tripods to lens plates to grips. I very rarely get the opportunity to see a variety of equipment in a camera shop so I stick with tried and trusted.

I went through several tripods thinking "this will do the job" before realising if you want a very stable base you buy a tripod with fewest moving parts, no centre column and large diameter legs.

No big dealers near me to go and look at any so bit the bullet and bought a Gitzo. 3 kgs but rock solid. Should last for ever, barring accidents. Came with spares for the locking mechanism. Id buy it again in a flash.

As a matter of interest does anyone have a pic of the underside of the older, pre screw in stop, arca swiss version
Click to expand...

Wouldn't disagree with any of that Gaz.

There is a significant difference between two kinds of product here - the OP is asking about an additional lens plate, and then there is your replacement lens foot. IMHO, there's no need to spend a lot on an ordinary plate, but a replacement foot is a different matter, custom made for a particular lens model. And yes, I too would spend extra to get a good one of those.

Hejnar is another brand to look at. Sorry for the confusion :)
 
It's good that these topics come up Richard and that people, such as yourself, who seem to have hands on experience of quite a lot of kit pass on their views. If I ever need to get plates for my other lenses I will certainly now look at other alternatives rather than just order another kirk etc.
 
Do the RRS and Wimberley replacement tripod feet just slot into the Wimberley without the need for an additional Arca Swiss Plate?
 
The Kirk does Bill which is why I bought it. I'm sure the others are similar. It would negate the advantage of buying the foot otherwise. One point is that some of them do a double lens plate. As I understand it the screw in stops don't work on the double versions.
 
Gary, the standard Nikon tripod feet always seem to get criticised in the reviews
 
I didn't realise that Bill. I guess you always imagine that similar lenses from Canon and Nikon have similar fittings etc. the Canon foot is fine but I bought the replacement because it seemed a better solution than essentially doubling up with a plate. No screws to come loose. Just fit and forget.
 
I better not say "always" as i will get pulled up

better to say "quite a lot"
 
The problem with the Nikon original is the height, if you change to another version the it's lower and thus becomes more stable with a lower centre of gravity. By adding a plate you increase that height- never a good thing. I have a Wimberley plate on my Sigma 120-300 but much much prefer the replacement foot on the 600 f4.
 
ive bought cheap arca swiss plates and clamps, and they have been fine, specialy the plates :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top