Arca Swiss Conversions of tripod heads

JJ_SO

You're right, it was. I thought it's the only possibility: I had a 4 feet high, but very space limited point on a wedding. A coach was meant to pass by with bride and father of bride. I wanted some teleshots and as well some wide angle shots, not only with coach, but also with horses. I thought (and was right) there's no time to change lenses. So one body was with 85, the other with 14-24. With that stupid looking setting I just could switch the cameras, while the coach was passing. Putting all this on a Monopod was less fiddly than straps.

GhostRider117

Pardon my ignorance, but having only used Manfrotto systems (2 and 3), could you detail why the famous ArcaSwiss is so superior?

soap

Ok, so it helps you from having to change your tripod setup to use the other orientation.  Makes sense.

AND when you're in portrait orientation you're still rotating around the center of the tripod when using an L-plate. If you have a camera mounted to a ball head in landscape orientation, flop the ball head to portrait orientation, your camera is now sitting offset the center of rotation and will pan around a circle, not a point, leading to parallax if that is something you are concerned with.

Also on a tripod, but more noticeable on a monopod, without an L-plate to go from landscape to portrait you must flop the camera's off the centerline of support, weakening your platform's stability.

Msmoto

OK, while the setup makes a lot of sense for shooting some situations, the thing I would like to see is holding that rig at arms length about five feet over a $300,000 car.

Symphotic

Golf, you are a cool cat dude! Thanks for the videos! Due to the fact I tend to stammer, I never use myself in a video. It takes too many takes!

Golf007sd

OK, while the setup makes a lot of sense for shooting some situations, the thing I would like to see is holding that rig at arms length about five feet over a $300,000 car.

Not a problem msmoto. I have done that on my own car with out any problem using my monopod & RRS head. I have not tried it my D4 but did it with my D7000 current configuration (ie. battery grip and L-Plate). I used my 10.5 DX Fish-eye in order to get the entire car and then cropped myself out...was standing on a 2-3' stool by the way to get some hight. Camera setup was as follows: Aperture priority @ f/8.0 2 second delay...the lighting was good so shutter speed around above 400. Did not keep the photo because I was just fooling around...if you know what I mean. Give me a $300K car and I can assure you I will have some great pictures to share with you all. :P

JJ_SO

Before I came into this forum, I ordered a Manfrotto 405 geared head and sold the 410 before. But I've seen the arca swiss d4 in October - just thought "oh, no, not another quick release!" and "a tripod head at that price?".

Actually, it would have been a tripod head which is 3 heads in one, but I haven't had time in October to play with it a bit more: it's a ball-, 3D-, geared head - just forgot, has also a panorama plate. Damn it!

So, we're two now: GhostRider117 and me would like to know, what's so much better with arca swiss plates?
There are a couple of fine heads for them, but if you have one or two, that should be enough. And after all, they are not that common, are they?
The famous L-plate is nice and expensive, too - I would need 4 of them, D7000 and D800 with and without battery grip, if I want to use the camera's sockets on the left side. I would like to leave the battery grips on the bodies, if they would not wobble so much. That's no problem of arca swiss or RRR, but Nikon doesn't sell grips with a stiffer housing.

Yetibuddha

So, Msmoto, could you please do a video of the conversion of your Manfrotto head to Arca. I have the same head and trying figure out what to do to convert it. I don't wish to purchase a whole new head just to put an L plate on my D800.

Msmoto

First, what is better with the ARCA Swiss is simply the "L" plate. Having the camera balanced on top makes the alignment for any type of photo much easier. Also, the ability to use a Wimberley style gimbal mount, switch to a monopod, or tripod, all of these are done seamlessly when the attachment plate is the same. Most folks who are working in the field want to have the equipment interfere with the process a little as possible. Thus, ease of use is important.

The Manfrotto clamps are all different, cannot be interchanged and thus one is forced to switch plates on the camera with every application.

@ Yeti... video...video...video...? What is this? LOL Let me know which head you are asking about and I will explain. It is not too difficult with common workshop tools.

JJ_SO

Thank you, Msmoto. Just decided to wait with that until I get famous and incredibly rich $-) and meanwhile use that 1500 $ for that for something else. To sell 7-10 plates and adapters is just not too attractive, plus buy them new at quite amazing prices. I shift that project to later times.

Msmoto

Eventually we get so old the phrase "now or never" justifies a lot of stuff to be purchased. LOL

Swame_sp

After all the research, I've decided to settle with arca swiss type systems with L plates. Though I'm on limited budget I'm scouting to get the best for buck types. Msmoto suggested me good models (in the other thread) and most are out of stock. Awaiting for them to get back.

Overall, thanks for giving me a reason to spend more on camera gear.

soap

@Swame_sp

I built my dual-axis pano rig entirely out of Benro, Kiwi Fotos and other Chinese knock-off plates and rails. If you are willing to spend the time reading what others have done, and willing to return clamps or rails which don't interface well to the official ones you can build anything but the L-plate for significantly less than the name brand parts. In the end they are just extruded or machined aluminum - if the dimensions match the knock-off's are just as good.

The nice thing about using Arca Swiss in that application is that I can mount the camera on the X-Y axis rail, mount it on the Z axis rail, mount it on the nodal rail, or mount it directly to either of the pivots, all with just a single clamp release.

I can also quickly break the dual-axis rig into two single-axis rigs - Something the Manfrotto version (which also uses Arca Swiss rails) can't do.

spraynpray

How about posting a pic Soap? :-B

Swame_sp

@soap... will be definitely inclined to work on such stuff. Please share a photo or link to your modifications. Thanks!!

Yetibuddha

Msmoto, I have a manfrotto 488 RC4 head

haroldp

The reason for the 'L' bracket is to keep the center of gravity closer to the center of the tripod legs.

Flipping down through a ball head slot for portarait not only repositions the camera, but puts the COG to the side and is much less stable, rigid, and more prone to vibration.

This is particularly true when putting 5 pounds of camera / lens atop 3 pounds of Carbon fiber Tripod legs.

regards ... Harold

JJ_SO

...Flipping down through a ball head slot for portarait not only repositions the camera, but puts the COG to the side and is much less stable, rigid, and more prone to vibration.
...

Depends, if the camera is in between two legs or above one (which is more stable). Depends as well of the size of ballhead and tripod lengths. Although I agree it's very comfortable to change between landscape and portrait orientation, I saw some L brackets I would not consider to be very stable. But I didn't see them in action.



And the change between big L for battery grip and less big L annoys me, to. It would be better to have a D4 with two sides Arca Swiss rails

haroldp

I can only speak to the RRS L brackets, which are very strong.

While you are correct that how you tilt can matter, I believe centering the COG is still Ideal.

I also do not use columns on my tripods as they are a source of vibration, so adjusting height is more difficult for me.

Regards ... Harold

haroldp

"It would be better to have a D4 with two sides Arca Swiss rails"

Or a D800 etc.

I completely agree...

Regards .... H

JJ_SO

And of course, with the sockets for all connections on an...hmmmm... other side? I admit, I just talk around theoretically.

Because I'm bored with my way buying things. Instead of taking a lot of money and buy the thing I know I will have to buy at the end of this year, I keep on increasing, have fun with the next step of stuff, then sell it again (and feel somehow morally nice, because somebody gets the good stuff cheaper #:-S ), until I finally reach target, some RealRollsRoyce stuff or schizo or in that case, an Arca Swiss d4. Well, it's a hard life as amateur (

crizman

Looking at the Manfrotto 327rc grip head,anyone have it -thoughts on it?

Msmoto

@ crizman

I converted the 322RC2 to the ARCA Swiss..see photo at beginning of thread. The 327 is very similar. Once adjusted these area very handy. I would ask you why you are looking at this? It is primarily for studio work, a very quick way to adjust your camera. If you are an RC2 plate user, this is great. But, if you are not into a bunch of heads already, ARCA Swiss is the way to go IMO.

JJ_SO

Well, Msmoto, I think, our 322RC2 is better than 327. Why? If you turn 327 to left handed position - which I prefer to release the shutter trigger right-handed - the release looks against the photog, as shown in Manfrotto's YoTube clip:

Msmoto

I suppose the 322 is better in one respect, in that if in the left hand position, one can mount the plate on the other side of the grip assembly and have the movable part once again away from the photographer. Of course, with the ARCA Swiss conversion, it makes little difference as the camera can go into the clamp either forward or backward and lock.

Incidentally, in the video, the voice states the adjusting screw will change the amount of pressure on the ball. This is true only while the clamp is released. The screw to adjust the final clamping pressure is an allen screw on the grip itself.