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Archive 2013 · ARCA-SWISS z1 locking question

  
 
hanbok
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · ARCA-SWISS z1 locking question


Hi

can you tell me what you think about ARCA-SWISS Monoball Z1sp "Flip-Lock" or classic locking mechanism with screw? which is best?

Thanks



Jul 03, 2013 at 03:49 PM
sjms
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · ARCA-SWISS z1 locking question


if they still make the way they originally did none of the parts are captive and can come apart if overly opened on the screw for adjustment. if you tend to play you may end up with parts in your hand


Jul 03, 2013 at 06:36 PM
youyou
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · ARCA-SWISS z1 locking question


It's not a matter and it's easy to fix.
Their system is equal to the competitors. I own one and i'm very happy with it. The big plus towards the rrs clamp is that you can adjust - it's impossible with the rrs !

Hope it'll help



Jul 04, 2013 at 01:06 AM
hanbok
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · ARCA-SWISS z1 locking question


what you mean by that: The big plus towards the rrs clamp is that you can adjust - it's impossible with the rrs !


Jul 04, 2013 at 03:18 AM
sjms
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · ARCA-SWISS z1 locking question


this has been discussed before. read from everyone who makes these types of clamps. you should remain with one desired maker of plates for consistency of dimension. this is so you have a standard and do not need to fiddle about adjusting the clamping pressure for said plates. if you need to adjust for each of your plates it ceases to be a QR. as to the easy to fix? well you are assuming you have all the parts and know where they go. it is best you be aware and careful. it has happened

simply put: if you are confident in your ability to adjust and get it right, have at it. the statement that the RRS plate ability to adjust is impossible is a little off the truth as it is, to an extent, self adjusting and works extremely well. in addition better plate makers have tightened up their tolerances closer to if not identical to the RRS dimensions.



Jul 04, 2013 at 03:59 AM
hanbok
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · ARCA-SWISS z1 locking question


sorry if the questi is tupid, but are are you sayng i should get a plate from rrs with ARCA-SWISS Monoball Z? are they plates not good or... sorry i didnt understood


Jul 04, 2013 at 04:30 AM
peter_n
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · ARCA-SWISS z1 locking question


I use an Arca-Swiss Z1. RRS makes a self-adjusting lever clamp for it, the B2 AS II that works quite well. I use one of these self-adjusting lever clamps on an Acratech ballhead and it has worked perfectly with the 6 plates I use from different manufacturers.

By all means get a RRS plate for your camera, but these new(ish) RRS clamp designs do seem to accommodate plates from other manufacturers securely.




Jul 04, 2013 at 09:52 AM
hanbok
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · ARCA-SWISS z1 locking question


what about Arca-Swiss Z1 plates arent they better then rrs?


Jul 04, 2013 at 12:11 PM
Strobo
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · ARCA-SWISS z1 locking question


youyou wrote:
It's not a matter and it's easy to fix.
Their system is equal to the competitors. I own one and i'm very happy with it. The big plus towards the rrs clamp is that you can adjust - it's impossible with the rrs !

Hope it'll help


Anyone considering buying an Arca head with the intent of replacing the factory clamp with a third party clamp (like RRS)
please take note: Arca Swiss has recently decided to "permanently" fix their clamps in place, making installing third party clamps difficult if not impossible. I'm not sure what they've done, whether they've used a glue or a permanent type of Locktite.

Apparently Arca was getting a lot of customer-damaged ballheads in for repairs and decided they don't want people changing clamps anymore.



Jul 04, 2013 at 01:25 PM
sjms
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · ARCA-SWISS z1 locking question


hanbok wrote:
what about Arca-Swiss Z1 plates arent they better then rrs?


AS makes a limited amount of plate designs which makes them not so equal to the rest. RRS makes a much wider variety of system related head, clamp and plate products. pretty much more then any other single company.

in addition there is Kirk which I put as second for plates.



Edited on Jul 04, 2013 at 03:05 PM · View previous versions



Jul 04, 2013 at 02:57 PM
sjms
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · ARCA-SWISS z1 locking question


maybe you need to look into these yourself

www.reallyrightstuff.com
www.kirkphoto.com.



Jul 04, 2013 at 02:59 PM
peter_n
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · ARCA-SWISS z1 locking question


hanbok wrote:
what about Arca-Swiss Z1 plates arent they better then rrs?


Arca-Swiss now also sell Slidefix plates which are narrower than the original Arca-Swiss design and also as sjms points out above their range of the original design plates is nowhere near as comprehensive as Kirk or RRS. The clamps Arca-Swiss have on the current Z1 ballhead have two jaws; the bottom jaw is for the Slidefix plates, the top jaw is for the original type of Arca-Swiss plates. The result of this "double-decker" design is that safety stop screws in the original Arca-Swiss design plates won't work.

Strobo wrote:
Anyone considering buying an Arca head with the intent of replacing the factory clamp with a third party clamp (like RRS) please take note: Arca Swiss has recently decided to "permanently" fix their clamps in place, making installing third party clamps difficult if not impossible. I'm not sure what they've done, whether they've used a glue or a permanent type of Locktite.

Apparently Arca was getting a lot of customer-damaged ballheads in for repairs and decided they don't want people changing clamps anymore.


Well this isn't good for sure. Markins already uses red Loctite to seal their clamps on the ball stud, now Arca-Swiss is getting into the act. Actually all you need to do is heat the stud (with something like a soldering iron) and the clamp spins off easily. Maybe the excuse is damage but I wonder if the real reason is the Slidefix plates...




Jul 04, 2013 at 03:56 PM
sjms
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · ARCA-SWISS z1 locking question


slidefix is pretty much a stillbirth outside of AS sphere. and it has been a few years too since its intro. if you go that route it may be short lived. sort of like the mini rush for the P0 and now you just don't hear much about it at all. regretfully AS has shown a relatively great ability to do some outstanding "proof of concept" unique designs but when it comes to commercial fruition they fall a little short of user friendliness and finishing in some of their designs.

its like their lever clamp. it can be easily finished with captive components but isn't. easy to put back together for some yes as long as you have all the parts. not good in a field of grass to look for.




Jul 04, 2013 at 04:06 PM
Flowernut
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · ARCA-SWISS z1 locking question


Kirk and RRS for angle brackets for a camera body. Add Wimberly for anything else. Not really sure what A-S makes these days for brackets but Kirk and RRS make just about anything you can think of specifically for what you want to do. Hence I've not bought A-S brackets in about 20 years.


Jul 04, 2013 at 07:27 PM
Lars Johnsson
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · ARCA-SWISS z1 locking question


I prefer the screw. But both the screw and flip lock are good. I also have RRS, Kirk and Wimberley. Any of these good brand names will be nice


Jul 05, 2013 at 02:39 AM
sjms
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · ARCA-SWISS z1 locking question


this is one of a few reasons I don't really care for a screw type lock.

Image 1- it has a higher potential for Oops! and I can say w/o issue that this particular situation is most likely responsible for most of the Oops's that have and will occur. with out looking and assuming its aligned in the throat of the clamp one can apply a locking load to the plate w/o it being properly in place for safe use. the potential in the image is obvious and there is little indication unless you are, at minimum, attentive

image 2- with a lever type lock you will never get beyond the 90 deg out position unless it is properly in the throat (not skewed) of the clamp assy.
now of course if its lying on top (not in the throat at all on one side) and you start the locking throw you will notice how really easy it will be to get beyond that 90 deg point. that, hopefully would/should be telling you something. well, at least to some.
the lever has both visual and feel indication.

there is no system made that some determined individual can't muck up.









AS screw type clamp in a locked position on a plate that is skewed.







RRS lever assy with plate out on one side.




Jul 05, 2013 at 07:01 AM
youyou
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · ARCA-SWISS z1 locking question


i'm speaking about lever clamp and not about screw type which is adjustable by definition.

The RRS lever clamp is only compatible with RRS plates (sometimes Markins - i tested it successfully). The AS lever clamp is adjustable for every kind of plate so that you can adapt the strength in relation with with your specific plate, and trust me, it is helpfull !

I'm very surprised to read that AS modified his ballhead not to change the clamp If you go on their website (magasin arca) you'll see that they sell various clamps for arca compatible ballheads - it would't be the case if this was true ?

regards,



Jul 05, 2013 at 08:06 AM
sjms
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p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · ARCA-SWISS z1 locking question


RRS did an inline change in their lever clamp design a while back which allows for greater relative variations in plate width dimensions.

if you own 6 plates with variable dimensioning on the width you need to adjust for each of these. thus it is less of a QR as you are adjusting for their variation. there are some users that can/will over adjust or under adjust. that's rather pointless

as to markins plates they are (maybe were) the least compatible of the bunch due to their thickness or lack of.

as of recent time most major plate makers tightened up their specs and now fit the RRS lever (along with the RRS changes) as well as all screw type clamps. so your statement on only RRS plates fitting is rather dated. many people here use Kirk and Hegnar, Wimberly.

the one thing about RRS is their consistency. their plate dimensions have remained consistant since they came out in '90. the one I have on my F4s (purchased in '91 when I had a B1) is the same as the one on my D4 and D7K purchased within the past 2 years. that's 23 years and 2 owners. still the same at 38mm.

I have measured others that base theirs on the screw clamp. yes you are correct. the screw does allow for a great deal of variation in plate dimensioning and there are makers that take advantage of it too allowing variations. but then back in '90 RRS could have too since there was not even a thought of the lever and everything was a screw type. says a lot about their consistency in manufacture.

oh, they have made errors and they generally resolve them too.

AS started it all but missed the forest for the trees. they make outstanding field cameras. yes they make "some" plate product which mostly supports their field camera product. only recently have they shown "interest" in the 35mm world and it is fairly limited in scope. the reason why RRS has been around since the '90s is just that. they took the idea and ran with it. the made an entire business out of custom designing plates for many uses.




Jul 05, 2013 at 09:15 AM
Flowernut
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p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · ARCA-SWISS z1 locking question


I've used the screw clamps for over 25 years and never dropped a camera. The lever is fine I guess. I just worry that it might get caught in something as I've got it slung over my shoulder and cause an accidental release. Unlikely but things happen. Some screw clamps I've encountered over the years will not close down sufficiently to grab thinner plates so while they will more readily accommodate different plate thicknesses, that is no guarantee that all clamps will accommodate all plates.


Jul 05, 2013 at 12:59 PM
sjms
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p.1 #20 · p.1 #20 · ARCA-SWISS z1 locking question


I used the screw types since '91 and converted when the original lever came out from RRS.

nothing ventured nothing gained.

you have a better chance at the old trip and fall then to get an accidental lever release on a proper designed lever. but then there is that "determined individual" factor. and we have enough of them around as it is. but then that pertains to anything in use.









Jul 05, 2013 at 02:44 PM
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