Quick post on Quick Release

Just a short one, one of the things that I dont see a lot of discussion about on DSLR forums etc. is the small little device called the quick release. It seems that most people are happy to use whatever Quick Release plate their Camera Support Rig comes with, and to be honest so was I, for a while.

The most common mount I have seen people use is the Manfrotto 357 Sliding Plate Adapter. 

This is the most common QR plate by a long way, as far as I can tell it is standard on ProAim gear, RedRock, CPM Film Tools to name a few. Now, I have a lot of these plates and I do mean A LOT, and I can honestly say they are just about the worst QR plate in the history of QR plates (for DSLR anyway), lets discuss the main negatives, 

1.The length of the plate: Pop one of those on a DSLR, it either sticks out under the lens or back out the end of the camera, now try and hold it up to your face, you have a giant plate sticking into your chin. You can do what I did, cut them in half and then they fit OK under a DSLR but it is by no means a sollution.

2. The side locking mechanism or screw: OK, who designed this, put it on any tripod head big enough to handle a DSLR rig and you are in for a world of hurt. The plastic bit has to rotate clear 360 degrees to allow you to lock the plate in place, but it will innevitably get fouled on any tripod head that is wider than the base plate, which is pretty much any decent tripod head in existance. I have tried everything cutting the plastic tab off, then it is hard to tighten enough to hold the camera, increase the height of the plate off the tripod head to add clearance, but then it becomes unstable. It's just plain annoying.

So, I had been thinking I wanted to change QR plates for a while, but I knew I only wanted to do it once, because apart from the significant investment, it would also mean I would have to mount the new plates on my rig (which have custom mounts so I would have to tap new holes). So I just left it for a while, then during the Phillip Bloom DSLR sessions held in Australia, I noticed that Phillip was using a plate that seemed to be nice and large (read stable) made a good sound when they clipped on and off (meaning it was a solid unit) and as far a I could tell he had the plates on a  variety of heads, and he was taking cameras on and off with ease. So in the break I had a chat to him about it, and apparently he has been meaning to do an article on these for a while but hasnt had the time. He was pretty happy with them, which was good enough for me. So off I went and ordered one to see if it was going to work for my rigs. The model is a Manfrotto 394 , it not only allows you to put the plates on pretty much any head without the release lever getting blocked or stuck, but the size of the plate means it wil take a camera with a decent amount of weight. They have two levelling bubbles to complement the one you probably have on yoru tripod and the additionale plates themselves are quite cheap, so once you have bought a base for every tripod head you own etc. you can add devices to the tripod for just the cost of a plate. So now that I have replaced all the plates I can clip my camera into my cage rig, and mount the cage on my tripod, or pull the camera out and pop it straight onto the tripod without the cage (for when I want to use a fisheye or wideangle that that cage doesnt support etc) all in a second. I have also added plates to the supports mounts on our tele lenses, and am in the process of adjusting my cage to have the shoulder support clip on and off of the cage with the same QR plate so that I can go shoulder mount just as easy. But that is for another post, once I get the new Cineroid LCD mounted.