Is there any L bracket for vertical orientation that will attach straight to the Manfrotto 410 gear head? I guess the l bracket has to have a similar design to the Manfrotto 410PL plate. I don't seem to be able to find any. The plate I liked the most made by Kirk has an arca swiss type of attachment. Would that work?
there are no dedicated L type plates with the manfrotto QR system made. you cand adapt your 410 to the AS system. the cost/benefit may not be too good though. my question is do you own the 410 yet and what do you shoot using a geared head?
I have the same setup as JCOLWELL's first photo but my AS clamp is mounted 90* to the left so that the clamp knob is the same direction as the 410's knobs. I'm sure this matters not in the least. As long as you are in the AS system already its a valid endeavor.
john_edwards wrote:
I have the same setup as JCOLWELL's first photo but my AS clamp is mounted 90* to the left so that the clamp knob is the same direction as the 410's knobs. I'm sure this matters not in the least. As long as you are in the AS system already its a valid endeavor.
I agree, it matters not at all. A body or short lens typically has the lens axis at right angles to the sliding direction of the A-S plate, while a large lens or macro rig on a long plate (i.e. focus rail) has the lens axis parallel to the A-S plate sliding direction.
I removed the lever and quick release plate then mounted the AS clamp right to the top of the head. I'm not a big fan of the Bogen quick release and I wanted to eliminate the movement and any chance of the release popping and dumping my camera.
jcolwell wrote:
If by "quick release plate", you mean the RC4 base clamp, then you can't do that with the 410 geared head that I have, as the QR base clamp/lever assembly is an integral part of the head. It's a single casting for the QR base + first level of gear casing. You could remove the clamping lever, but the rest of the clamp assembly is a pretty clunky surface to work with. In my experience, the RC4 clamp system is very secure, probably more secure than the Arca-Swiss system, which is one reason that it's so nice to have stop-screws at the ends of the base of A-S lens plates. Here's what's left when you take the QR plate off my 410 head - it's the RC4 base clamp....Show more →
The plate is the piece that mounts to the camera. I removed the lever by unbolting it. I mounted the clamp with 2 bolts, one where the lever was removed and a second through the hole shown in your picture. I used a clamp from Bushawk that I had as a spare and the hole spacing was perfect.
Jack M wrote:
The plate is the piece that mounts to the camera. I removed the lever by unbolting it. I mounted the clamp with 2 bolts, one where the lever was removed and a second through the hole shown in your picture. I used a clamp from Bushawk that I had as a spare and the hole spacing was perfect.
Good stuff. Of course, I won't bother to do that, as I still use RC2, RC4 and sometimes even 3271 plates, as well as Arca-Swiss.
Many thanks everyone (especially Jcolwell) for the feedback, it was truly helpful.
To answer few questions: no I do not own the 410 gear head yet but was planning to buy it to take advantage of its very competitive price. I am currently using the 460MG RC2 head and aboslutly love the compactness of the RC2 QR system. I figured using the 410PL plate will be a negative in that regard but 410 gearhead precision in addition to an L brackert would more than make up for the loss of compactness.
Given that there is no compact solution to make the 410 gear head work with an L bracket (mind you the extra cost to do so) I guess I should start looking at gear heads with built in arca swiss quick release system. Do you recommended any heads that are comparable to the Manfrotto 410?
Also, size wise, how does the arca swiss plate compare to the RC2 and RC4 plates? Judging from the pictures I guess it falls in the middle between the RC2 and RC4, is that correct?
The width of an Acra-Swiss plate is about 38mm, and it's length varys from about 25mm (1") to 300mm (12"), depending on what it's supporting. I use a 100mm plate on a 300/2.8 lens; a 150mm plate on a macro bellows rig; and, a 300mm plate for 1:2 and 1:1 macro lenses (see https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/837035). The length of most A-S clamps is about 60mm (2.5"), and it varys from about 25mm (1") to 80mm (3"), see http://reallyrightstuff.com/QR/03.html
I own a 410 and use it for nature & landscape panos. I also have a Markins M10 and a Manfrotto 488 both purchased without QR's I want max flexibility with my heads and QR's.
The M10 is a very recent purchase.
My 2 QR's are the Manfrotto 625 (RC0,~$39) and the 394 (RC4,~$35) plus a few spare plates (~$17); 3249 & 3271. My elbow bracket is the Manfrotto 3288 (~$60) which has a more substantial mount than the 341, its short leg serves as a great grip when shooting handheld or on the head.
Using the L-bracket with the 410 was straight forward---I used the supplied 3/8 bolt in the 3271 plate (top part of the QR) and then screwed the 625 QR onto it as you would do with a camera body. Next, I mount my D300 onto the L bracket and seat it into the 625, in portrait or landscape mode.
I could have simply removed the 3271 plate and bolted the 625QR onto the 410, but this did not feel solidly secure and was an inconvenient workflow. The first approach lets me swap the L brkt and/or the 625 in&out and even mount another camera body using a 3271 or 3049 plate.
In an urgent situation, rapidly changing light or the sudden appearance of wildlife I can quicly mount a ballhead on top of the 410/625 setup. Use the spare 3049/48 plate screwed into the base of the ballhead and mount on the 410/625. This is much faster and safer for your eqpmnt.than removing and remounting the 2 heads, plates and camera..
The 410 is an excellent head, 7 yrs usage, no problems. Using it gives you time to think and see-it pulls one inside the image. The above Manfrotto components mentioned are solid and robust and much less expensive than the jewelry I see touted as must have by the more affluent audience. It should be remembered that many posters are hobbyists, serious and amateur looking joy and hope in their efforts. I do not want any of them to feel 'less than' because their eqpmnt is said to be 'inferior'. Their most important piece of gear is in the front of their heads and between thier ears--not the size of their wallet.
I do hope the 'techie' info helped solve your problem. Enjoy Irv Weiner
Looking at Jims pic, above, I don't see a huge problem with the 410.
You could easily remove the lever, file-off the raised edges, drill a hole (or possibly re-use one that is already there) and mount any clamp you want. It wouldn't require a fancy machine shop. Probably 1/2 hr of work, if that.
I did the same thing on my Manfrotto pistol grip head.
Considering that there doesn't seem to be any other comparable head in that price range, why not do this?
