Tripod Quick Release Plate

[n614cd]

I have always removed the quick re;ease plate from the camera or lens after shooting; and put the plate back on the tripod to put it away.

I have seen a lot of others do the same thing. My question is why?

The plates are rather inexpensive and light. Why not get a couple and leave them on the most common equipment? You can then screw them in correctly at home, not worry about a loose D-ring or tool, or spend two minutes mounting and removing the plate?

Tim

 

[Dean_Gretsch]

Doesn't the plate usually only fit the tripod it is paired with?

 

[snowbear]

I generally leave it on the camera. I have two plares: one for the SALE and one for whatever film body i decide to use.

 

[snowbear]

Doesn't the plate usually only fit the tripod it is paired with?

Some use a standard mount (not mine)

EDIT: The Arca Swiss mount seems to be the standard; I've seen a number of heads that have them.

 

[Derrel]

I have always removed the quick re;ease plate from the camera or lens after shooting; and put the plate back on the tripod to put it away.

I have seen a lot of others do the same thing. My question is why?

The plates are rather inexpensive and light. Why not get a couple and leave them on the most common equipment? You can then screw them in correctly at home, not worry about a loose D-ring or tool, or spend two minutes mounting and removing the plate?

Tim

Why? Most plates are bulky, and are ergonomically detrimental to hand-holding a camera or a lens that has a plate mounted on it. Also...if one accidentally leaves the plate at home, or leaves the plate (s) on equipment that was not brought to the shoot, then tripod-mounting is impossible...unless one has a plate. On the other hand, if the TRIPOD ALWAYS HAS the plate, then the tripod is always useful; however, if the tripod does not have the plate, and you have no spare plate, then the tripod is not very useful. If you always leave the plate with the tripod, then you need only one plate; as soon as you start leaving the tripod without a plate, then there's the ever-present chance of arriving at a shoot with a tripod, and ZERO plates.

Ask me how I know this...

Over 40 years, the above issues have happened to me more than once. Guess what. I now use a heavy-duty magnesium ballhead from Gitzo, and it uses NO PLATE whatsoever. And I use that tripod head for a reason. I prefer a tripod that is ALWAYS, 100% permanently, capable of mounting a camera or a lens, directly to the head, without any plate needed.

 

[ac12]

I use a QR on most of my cameras.
The QR clamp is faster to mount the camera, so I am not futzing around trying to get the screw to engage. And by being faster, to me it is safer, where I won't drop something.

I have a plate or L-bracket on ALL my primary digital cameras (not the P&S), and a plate on all my telephotos that have a tripod foot.
I have a clamp on all my tripod and monopods.
Yes this was a bit expensive, but once I started using an AS plate, I recognized what a PiA it was to screw the camera/lens onto the tripod/monopod. The AS clamp is faster, so I am not futzing around trying to get the screw to engage. And by being faster, to me it is safer, that I won't drop something. Dropping the camera was always a fear that I had when screwing the tripod screw into the camera.

BTW, I was at school screwing the 80-200/2.8 onto my monopod, and even doing it seated at a flat table (vs. out on the footballfield), it was a hassle.

The other question is WHICH QR system.
I have three.

• #1 came with my Bogen/Manfroto tripod head.
  • I only use this on my 4x5 view camera and its matching tripod head. It is a PiA to try to screw the tripod screw into the view camera. The clamp is faster and there is less chance of me dropping the camera.
  • I use it because it did not make sense to me to put an AS clamp onto the Bogen QR plate.
    
  • The advantage it has over the AS is that the clamp mechanism has a Quick lock. I put the plate into the clamp and push down, and the clamp snaps shut. That is a cool feature.
• #2 - Arca Swiss (AS) system.
  • I originally got the AS because I wanted the functionality of the L-bracket to shoot a dSLR in portrait mode, and not have the head positioning the camera to the side of the tripod. Because in that position, adjusting the camera on a pan head is not intuitive, and a pain.
    
  • I use this on my digitals: dSLR (D70 then D7200) and mirrorless (EM1).
  • I have a couple spare plates to attach to any other camera/lens that I decide to use, like my 35mm film cameras.
    
  • I put an AS clamp onto my flash bracket, as it was faster and easier than screwing it onto the camera.
• #3 - Hasselblad QR
  • This required the purchase of only the clamp, since all Hasselblads have the plate already build into the camera. So I did not bother converting to AS, as it was cheaper to just buy the Hasselblad clamp.
  • However this did create the problem where most of my tripods had the AS clamp on them, and I have to remove the AS clamp and install the Hasselblad clamp. Right not it isn't an issue.

 

[n614cd]

@Derrel

Good perspective. Definitely if I was a pro with lots of equipment it would be a definite concern. But since this is a hobby, I have only a single camera body, and just a few lenses that I use; so I could easily get just a small plate for each lens and body. The only question is if the plate interferes with the body; and I can test that this weekend.

Tim

 

[n614cd]

@ac12

Yes on the QR. Sorry, that was my assumption.. I currently have a Dolica tripod, but I am planning to replace it (to big for luggage, and takes to long to setup/tear down). I will leave the plate on my camera body this weekend and see if it bugs me. If not, when I order a replacement tripod I will just get a few extra QR plates.

Tim

 

[ac12]

@ac12

Yes on the QR. Sorry, that was my assumption.. I currently have a Dolica tripod, but I am planning to replace it (to big for luggage, and takes to long to setup/tear down). I will leave the plate on my camera body this weekend and see if it bugs me. If not, when I order a replacement tripod I will just get a few extra QR plates.

Tim

I found that unless the AS plate/rail has a sharp corner or edge, my hand gets used to it and it does not bother me. The only thing that does is, when/if the rail gets nicked or bumped and a sharp edge is created. Then I have to tap down or file off the protruding bit of sharp metal.
There are different length rails, so you can match them up to the equipment. I usually use a short one, about 2 inches, on the tripod foot of my teles. A longer rain can be used to fine tune attaching the tripod to the balance point of the camera+lens.
On most of my telephotos, the tripod foot can be rotated to put the foot at the 12 o-clock position, if I want the foot out of the way of my hand.

On my cameras, I prefer the L-bracket, but I will use a rail temporarily, until I get a L-bracket for that camera. I prefer brackets which are made for specific cameras, as they fit better and do not rotate. But they are more expensive. Generic brackets and rails need to be tightened down more so that they do not spin on the camera, which can be a PiA. In the old film days, the flash bracket would regularly get loose and spin
There are 2-piece L-brackets, for those that do not use the camera in the portrait position, the vertical part is not purchased.

The AS clamps are available in screw on and flip clamp models. I use the screw on clamps, because that is just what was available when I got mine, and I got used to them. But the screw knob does protrude and can get in the way. On my monopod, I have the screw knob on the right, where it is out of the way of my left hand. One advantage of the screw is that if the plates/rails are not the same size (which unfortunately some are) the screw clamp does not care, you just turn the screw to clamp onto the rail. The flip clamps are faster to use, and may have a place, but are more fussy about the exact dimension of the plate/rail.

The Bogen/Manfroto plate on the other hand would be difficult/impossible to get used to hand holding, as it is a big hexagon with the screw and nut on the bottom. In my case it is on the 4x5 view camera which I do not hand hold, so it does not matter.

 

[Designer]

If one has only one type of tripod, you could certainly get several QR plates, and I think some people do that, particularly if they are in a hurry.

I have three different tripods, so that plan will not save me anything. Furthermore; the QR plate on the bottom of my camera blocks access to the battery compartment, so I prefer to remove it when I'm finished.

Besides; having the QR attached to the bottom makes the camera "sit funny" when I place it on a table.

Every now and then you see a used tripod for sale, and it DOES NOT include the QR plate that somebody lost/retained.

 

[Dean_Gretsch]

A friend returned a camera he had under warranty...yep, he forgot to take the plate off and had to buy a new tripod. Keep the plate with the tripod.

 

[ac12]

A friend returned a camera he had under warranty...yep, he forgot to take the plate off and had to buy a new tripod. Keep the plate with the tripod.

That is the problem with some tripods, you cannot replace the proprietary QR plate, so you have to replace the tripod.