# Arca-Swiss requires plate



## Daniel Flather (Oct 13, 2012)

This:

http://www.adorama.com/AWMBZ1SPC.html

In the description it reads _requires plate._

Then it leaves me hanging. Is this the quick release plate? Where can I buy it? What model for a 5d3? Arca-Swiss seems to be well regarded, but their website suxs azz; it has limited information.

I want to pair this with a Gitzo CF tripod, yeah!

Thanks for the replies.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Oct 13, 2012)

It does not include a quick release plate. They are pretty standard, but you should look for reviews of various QR plates and how they work with the head.
Most Arca Swiss compatible plates work, but some have quirks.


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## neuroanatomist (Oct 13, 2012)

Yes, you need a quick release plate for your camera (and lens tripod collars, if any). If you will shoot portrait orientation from the tripod, consider an L-bracket instead of just a base plate for the camera (yes, the ballhead has a drop notch, but centering the weight over the ball is better, and also enables you to do a pano rotation in portrait orientation).

Clicking the Accessories tab on the page you link shows the 'generic' base plates (fit any camera, you'd need the 1/4") from Arca-Swiss. But, lots of vendors make compatible plates since the AS system is 'the standard'. Check out Wimberley for a good generic plate (P-5) and lens plates for tripod collars. I like Really Right Stuff plates and L-brackets a lot - they are camera-specific, meaning no chance of the plate twisting. RRS gear is available only direct from them, though. Kirk plates and L-brackets are of equal quality to RRS, and distributed by B&H/Adorama.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Oct 13, 2012)

neuroanatomist said:


> Yes, you need a quick release plate for your camera (and lens tripod collars, if any). If you will shoot portrait orientation from the tripod, consider an L-bracket instead of just a base plate for the camera (yes, the ballhead has a drop notch, but centering the weight over the ball is better, and also enables you to do a pano rotation in portrait orientation).
> 
> Clicking the Accessories tab on the page you link shows the 'generic' base plates (fit any camera, you'd need the 1/4") from Arca-Swiss. But, lots of vendors make compatible plates since the AS system is 'the standard'. Check out Wimberley for a good generic plate (P-5) and lens plates for tripod collars. I like Really Right Stuff plates and L-brackets a lot - they are camera-specific, meaning no chance of the plate twisting. RRS gear is available only direct from them, though. Kirk plates and L-brackets are of equal quality to RRS, and distributed by B&H/Adorama.


+1 all of the above. I have different brands, some fit lenses, some fit bodies, and a few generic ones. I have both RRS and Kirk and they are good.


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## Daniel Flather (Oct 13, 2012)

+2

Thanks.


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## neuroanatomist (Oct 14, 2012)

I see the 200/2L in your sig - I'd look at either the Wimberley P-20 plate or the RRS replacement foot for the 200/2.


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## TrumpetPower! (Oct 14, 2012)

While you're checking out RSS plates, also have a look at their ballheads, which're awesome.

b&


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## brad-man (Oct 14, 2012)

You may want to check out http://promediagear.3dcartstores.com/ for excellent camera specific plates. Kirk Enterprises for L brackets and generic plates for lenses from Amazon or ebay...


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## brad-man (Oct 14, 2012)

Also keep in mind that different manufacturer's plates have varying tolerances. If you opt for a lever release clamp on your ballhead, you may be required to buy the plates from the same maker. If you get a screw type clamp there will be no compatability issues...


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## Daniel Flather (Oct 14, 2012)

This plate on my 5d3:

http://reallyrightstuff.com/ProductDesc.aspx?code=B5D3A&type=0&eq=&desc=B5D3A%3a-Plate-for-5D-Mk-III%2c-Rev-A

Will fit right in to the Arca Z1 ball head's clamp (I think I want the Arca with the screw and not the lever, unless those with experience recommend otherwise?). 

So that advantage with the RRS plate is that it made to fit and will stay square on the body and will not twist like my annoying inexpensive manfrotto set up. But that plate is next to useless for my 200/2, but I never put that lens on a tripod; it's a handheld lens only for me. I use my pod mostly with my 24mm for long exposures. 

Thanks for the information. It's hard to grasp all this stuff when there are no stores here that stock anything more than basic Manfrotto gear. They can get me Arca-Swiss heads, but seem to know less about them than I do.


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## neuroanatomist (Oct 14, 2012)

Yes, that plate will fit right into the Arca Z1 clamp, and is a custom fit to your 5DIII - provided you don't use it with a battery grip, else you need a different plate.

Or consider the L-bracket, instead: http://reallyrightstuff.com/ProductDesc.aspx?code=B5D3-LA, for better balance in portrait orientation on the ballhead.

As for the 200/2, correct - you'd need a lens plate (or replacement foot) for that.

Personally, I have AS-type plates/L-brackets on both bodies and all tripod collar feet, except the 600L II where replaced the Canon foot with the RRS foot. I have two tripods, one of which has both a ballhead and a gimbal, and a monopod as well, all with AS-type clamps. More importantly, I use Blackrapid straps to carry my gear when in use, and I've got Kirk 1" clamps on the ends of those straps. So, I can attach a strap to a body or lens for best balance, freely move attachment points when I change lenses, and mount to ballhead/gimbal/monopod quickly, as needed.


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## TexPhoto (Oct 14, 2012)

The fantastic thing about the arca-swiss system is lots of manufactures make it, and they are all cross compatible. 

Many (but not all) have a safety system of pins that will keep the plate from falling off the ball head if you loosen it but don't completely undo it. In this loose position, you can slide the plate back and forth to get positition and balance. (Or you can just be happy your camera did not fall on the ground because you did not make it as tight as it needed to be.) Not all have the safety system, and I avoid the ones that do not.

One of my favorite Arca-swiss add ons is the Wimberly Sidekick. It converts your ballhead into a long lens gimbal system without removing the ball head.


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## Daniel Flather (Oct 14, 2012)

TrumpetPower! said:


> While you're checking out RSS plates, also have a look at their ballheads, which're awesome.
> 
> b&



Yes, the BH-55 looks really nice. Do you have a RRS ball head?


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## AdamJ (Oct 14, 2012)

TexPhoto said:


> The fantastic thing about the arca-swiss system is lots of manufactures make it, and they are all cross compatible.



To my frustration and cost, I've found that not all Arca-Swiss-compatible clamps and plates are created equal. This table goes some way to recording the differences.

http://www.afximages.com/stuff/arca-plates-xref.html


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## Sitting Elf (Oct 14, 2012)

Daniel Flather said:


> TrumpetPower! said:
> 
> 
> > While you're checking out RSS plates, also have a look at their ballheads, which're awesome.
> ...



I have the BH-55. It ROCKS! Do a google search for "BH-55 Reviews". If you can find a single honest negative review, I'll send you a bottle of Irish Whiskey!

Probably the highest rated Ballhead in the world, and RRS is a great company. Everything they make is extraordinarily engineered... just expensive.

Also, +1 on the Wemberley Sidekick. I have it AND the flash attachment that works with it.


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## neuroanatomist (Oct 14, 2012)

Daniel Flather said:


> TrumpetPower! said:
> 
> 
> > While you're checking out RSS plates, also have a look at their ballheads, which're awesome.
> ...



I've got the BH-55 as well, and it's excellent, as is all the RRS gear I've got (which is a lot - TVC-33 legs w/ leveling base clamp, PG-02 LLR gimbal for the supertele, rail that turns the gimbal into a full multi row pano rig, monopod and tilt head, etc.). Their stuff is universally high quality, but also thoughtfully designed with ease of use and modularity in mind. The pano use for the gimbal is one example, another is the L-bracket for the 1D X, which converts between L and just the base plate (better bag fit if not bringing tripod), and the allen key to do that stores inside the plate. 

The Z1 looks like an excellent ballhead, especially after the two redesigns it has undergone - they first changed the pan lock knob design, then later moved the position of the drop notch relative to the main knob (I suspect the latter may be recent, because the product pic on Adorama isn't a pic, it's a CAD drawing).


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## Richard Lane (Oct 14, 2012)

Daniel Flather said:


> Will fit right in to the Arca Z1 ball head's clamp (I think I want the Arca with the screw and not the lever, unless those with experience recommend otherwise?).
> 
> So that advantage with the RRS plate is that it made to fit and will stay square on the body and will not twist like my annoying inexpensive manfrotto set up. But that plate is next to useless for my 200/2, but I never put that lens on a tripod; it's a handheld lens only for me.



The Arca Swiss Head is considered one of the top ballheads, as is the RRS-55, and Markins Q-Ball M20 (many users and reviewers described the Markins as slightly smoother than the RRS-55, that's why I went that route). FWIW, the Arca Swiss is considered buttery smooth as well. I bought the Markins without a clamp and then I purchased the RRS Quick release lever clamp (B2 LR II: 60mm LR clamp with dual mount) and attached it to the Markins head with the included screw. However, I don't think you can go wrong with any of the top 3 ballheads above. Personally, I happen to like the lower center of gravity of the RRS-55 design, as compared to the Markins and Arca swiss.

Another thing I like about RRS, is that you are not only buying a clamp or lens plate, but you are buying into a totally compatible system in which everything that they design works very well together. For me the ballhead was less important than the interaction between the camera/lens plate and clamp. I use all RRS camera L-brackets and lens plates and I have one wimberley plate which works perfectly with the RRS lever clamp on my ballhead and monopod head.

I prefer the QR lever clamp over the knob clamp. The QR lever is either open or closed, and that is easily determined by just a quick glance at it. If you look at the knob clamp, you can't tell if it's loose or tight. You have to actually check it with your hand. So, there is a tendency to keep tightening it all day. The other thing I like about the QR lever is that, it is not a knob, so it has a different feel to it. 

Many ballheads use knobs for tensioning the ballhead or for panning. So, if you are looking through the VF and want to reach down and loosen the panning knob or adjust the ball head knob, then there is no way that you would accidentally loosen the QR lever, because they feel so different. This is not the case if you have only knobs. 

Sometimes I also like to rest my left hand around the top of the ballhead and the knob can get in the way. I also have the QR lever on my RRS monopod head because I was afraid that all of the positioning, rotating and twisting about with the monopod, could accidentally loosen the clamping knob. 

The other nice thing about the RRS QR lever if you should choose to ever get an RRS monopod head, is that for birds in flight, the RRS head uses a knob for tilting the head upwards, and that knob could also easily be mistaken and loosened for the lens plate clamp knob. With the QR lever there is no chance of that happening.

One word of caution regarding the QR lever, is if you're carrying your tripod over your shoulder, is to make sure that the you don't accidentally catch the QR lever on a piece of clothing (that could actually open it) when you bring the tripod back down to ground level. I have never done this, but I'm aware of it. The QR lever actually has a tight fit against the clamp, so there's probably only a very slim chance of catching it. Some QR levers like the Arca Swiss brand have a lock, which is a nice touch.

Rich


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## tron (Oct 14, 2012)

I am happy with the Kirk plate for my 5DMkII. It was a perfect match with my Markins M20 head. Now Markins are said to be Arca Swiss copies. So I guess that the plate will be suitable for Arca Swiss heads too.


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## neuroanatomist (Oct 14, 2012)

Richard Lane said:


> One word of caution regarding the QR lever, is if you're carrying your tripod over your shoulder, is to make sure that the you don't accidentally catch the QR lever on a piece of clothing (that could actually open it) when you bring the tripod back down to ground level. I have never done this, but I'm aware of it. The QR lever actually has a tight fit against the clamp, so there's probably only a very slim chance of catching it. Some QR levers like the Arca Swiss brand have a lock, which is a nice touch.



I do have the lever clamps on my RRS ballhead and gimbal head, and the clamp on the leveling base that lets me quickly switch between them is also a lever. 

But, the above concern is why I went with the screw clamp for the monopod head, as I'm more likely to carry that on my shoulder with the lens mounted, while wearing a backpack, and when carried like that the monopod head rides closer to the shoulder (much thinner diameter than a tripod). The clamp release knob is about half the diameter of the tilt knob, making it pretty unlikely to grab the wrong one, IMO.


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## Daniel Flather (Oct 17, 2012)

I'm really considering the RRS BH55 and their TVC-33 tripod now. They seem like nice items. I really like the size of the main control knob on the RRS BH55. Also, if I'm ordering the plate for my 5D3 from them I can order it all from one place. If its all RRS gear, then I have the "matching set", and I feel that RRS is on the ball and in the game. Any issues or future accessories will fit into my tripod set up with few or no issues. Arca-Swiss seems to have a passive business approach. 

Thanks for all the replies.


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