Just a quick response regarding customers with shipping concerns, questions about the return policy, etc. I will not be able to answer them through this forum. Contact RRS to handle those concerns. I will stick strictly to updates on the design and fit itself.
My experience with Gura Gear with regard to a $300 item – I hope RRS measures up:
“I have become a real fanboy for Gura Gear. When the what is now called the 30L first came out (and was the only product, hense didn't yet have the 30L name) I got one. It is the best bag I have ever had and I didn't think I would ever need to buy another bag. While it is big, it is so light that I used it even when I didn't need all the room.
Well, a while back there was a demo/return sale on the 22L and I just couldn't pass it up for those times I don't need all the 30L room.
What has made me a fanboy is that a week ago I got a letter from Gura Gear saying there was a manufacturing defect (some stitching was missing and had not been caught by quality control) on the batch that included my bag. It directed me to the web site to order a replacement. The new bag came today with a prepaid label to slap on the box once I put my old bag in it.
That is service. They stand behind their products.”
Not having seen this thread, I placed my order yesterday for both the standard plate and the L plate. My order had not yet shipped when I called to speak to them today. The person I spoke with was polite, but clearly defensive about the issue. He indicated that they were "examining the issue today" and hope to have a conclusion tomorrow.
I cancelled my order pending the outcome. I have several pieces of RRS equipment, and have had great experience with them in the past. I hope they get this straightened out.
This is the one i was speaking of. It has an anti-rotation pin that sits in the hole normally used for the battery pack and two attachemnts for a handstrap. I have had really good products come out of this company. The plate for the 5D3 looks good. the price is good along with free shipping.
One can clearly see there is also some sort of "step" machined at the bottom of the radiused edge just like the RRS plate in question. Clearly, there is something to this whole issue of an "anti-rotation lip" mentioned earlier, much different than other smooth radiused edges on other plates such as the one pictured in the drawing here:
Perhaps there was some design change by Canon late in the process not communicated in time to some of the third party vendors before they had manufactured initial products based off of earlier Canon specs? And given all of the other "bugs" users seem to be finding with this camera after the first couple weeks - maybe this is a result of Canon rushing this camera into production?
I emailed them at 2:26pm and received a reply at 3:16pm telling me there would be a follow-up in the next couple of days when there was some kind of resolution. Email wasn't defensive at all and contained:
"I do apologize for any inconvenience but please rest assured we will rectify this issue."
AGeoJO wrote:
Hi Gene,
I understand and I have decided to reject the shipment tomorrow. The Pro Media Gear plates look interesting alright but theirs, at least as of right now, do no not have the loop to attach a handstrap that I think is a desireable feature. Both RRS and Kirk plates have that. I will contact Pro Media tomorrow and see what they have to say.
geniousc wrote:
Joshua,
This is the one i was speaking of. It has an anti-rotation pin that sits in the hole normally used for the battery pack and two attachemnts for a handstrap. I have had really good products come out of this company. The plate for the 5D3 looks good. the price is good along with free shipping.
One can clearly see there is also some sort of "step" machined at the bottom of the radiused edge just like the RRS plate in question. Clearly, there is something to this whole issue of an "anti-rotation lip" mentioned earlier, much different than other smooth radiused edges on other plates such as the one pictured in the drawing here:
Perhaps there was some design change by Canon late in the process not communicated in time to some of the third party vendors before they had manufactured initial products based off of earlier Canon specs? And given all of the other "bugs" users seem to be finding with this camera after the first couple weeks - maybe this is a result of Canon rushing this camera into production?
That's an interesting drawing. It appears there is a slight lip on the front and the back. That design would allow clearance over the "Death Gasket" and at the same time keep the plate level. I wonder if all of these elevated solutions will place undue strain on the tripod socket. Usually, the socket is tightened against the plate. If the needed design requires a gap between the plate and the body, then the socket's going to be pulled away from the body with the torque only being supported by the bolt. Tripod socket repairs generally require a decent amount of surgery and are not a cheap fix.
jdben622 wrote:
I'm confident they will indeed get this fixed.
Yep, all my stuff is RRS too. If any company will get it fixed, they are the ones to do it. That's why I am leaning to some sort of last minute change as the reason for this. Given RRS' meticulous nature, they didn't just go off willy nilly and put that lip there for no good reason. There had to be some sort of drawing or spec on the Camera they were referencing that doesn't appear to be present in the pictures you posted above in this thread.
yep got my email just a few minutes ago. I'll wait for the plate to arrive first and see if it fits as I got the L-plate and seems that no one has many problems with it but I will check carefully and compare to the fit of my 7D and 5D2 plates before I decide.
They are taking care of this correctly. The issue was attributed to differences between the pre-production 5DIII sample they used to fabricate the plates and production bodies.
Well I guess they call it "RRS" for a reason. When I called today to cancel my order, they handled it quickly and without any problem. I will wait for v.2 as the more RRS I purchase, the more I feel they have the best stuff out there.
Matt, thanks for being out in front on this.
Great company, great employees. Keep up the good work.
Interesting - all the pictures of both the L and non-L plates have been removed from their site and there is reference to Rev. A. I wonder if it will be a total redo of the plates.
The L-plate is recalled too. Im still waiting for mine to arrive so I can ship it back but I have other stuff in the order so will have to accept it and then send it back but RRS is paying the shipping so no big deal. Only big deal is another 3 weeks with no L-plate.
arbitrage wrote:
The L-plate is recalled too. Im still waiting for mine to arrive so I can ship it back but I have other stuff in the order so will have to accept it and then send it back but RRS is paying the shipping so no big deal. Only big deal is another 3 weeks with no L-plate.
Did they confirm they sent out your shipment?
I ordered my B5D3-L on Mar 27th and was told it would ship late April. I would hope they won't ship me the Rev.0 model at this point. I got my invoice the day I ordered but they only per-authorized the CC, they did not apply the actual charge as of yet.
