Collar for 200-500VR

pictureted

Since the Nikon collar does not have an Arca Swiss dovetail, I initially screwed a dovetail on the Nikon collar.

When Kirk announced their collar, I contacted RRS to see if you were going to make one and they said no. I bought the Kirk collar. It balances perfectly, but doesn't rotate very smoothly and the attachment screw is not captive and seems to want to fly off on removal. I, consequently, tend to leave it on the lens, even when hand holding. It's also a one piece design and bulky for travel.

RRS subsequently changed their mind. Noting the deficiencies of the Kirk, I bought the RRS. Unfortunately while it has none of the Kirk collar flaws, it has one of it's own. It doesn't balance with the lens at 500mm on either a D500 or D810, even with RRS L-Brackets. RRS acknowledge they knew of the problem but weren't going to do anything.

I really wanted the RRS to work because it's easy to remove and stows very small, but not balance is a critical flaw and I returned mine. Shame on RRS for such shoddy design work and lack of testing.

spraynpray

For the price, it's probably worth a go, but those Chinese knock-offs can be cr@p.

DaveyJ

I bought a Kirk plate that attaches to the 200-500 base and that has an Arca Swiss shoe, my Oben Carbon Fiber Tripod is set up for that, and having now used it extensively in the field I found it is perfect. The Kirk Atca Swiss plate at B&H was $50, and immediately I had a rig that works perfectly. I have used it in the field, at night, etc., and it sure works! Problem solved. I almost bought the Tamron 150-600 mm G2 to solve this and now I got the lens I want and the whole rig super! I could have used such a setup with great results all of my photo career!