Roland W
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 p.2 #2 · Quick Release Clamp: Lever Release or Screw Knob Release? | |
I use the Really Right Stuff lever release clamps for much of my clamping needs, and always have them on my ball heads, where the speed is helpful for me. With the lever release clamp, it is easy to open the clamp all the way open, so that you can drop the camera bracket or lens plate in from the top, and not worry about sliding it in from the end. That part is a factor on speed comparisons, so keep that in mind.
The security issue is not a big one, but the screw clamps are possible to get "tight" and still not have your gear secure, because of clamping down on the plate while it is crooked. It is fairly rare for that to occur, but if it does, damaged gear can result. For the RRS lever release clamps, you feal the clamping action occur via the lever, and it is not really possible to get clamped in a crooked condition.
I also put lever clamps on my Wimberley heads, and really appreciate being able to go on and off of the Wimberley very quickly. For large lenses, either on a ball head or a Wimberley, it is really nice to be able to drop in from the top, and then quickly go to fully clamped. I would never want to slide in a large lens in to a screw clamp.
I go from portrait to landscape and back a lot while working with a ball head, and am so used to the RRS lever clamps that I would not want to go back to a screw clamp. But I do use screw clamps in places where the speed is not important, like on macro rails or special setups.
For the mention above about needing to react against something when you clamp the lever, I just let the reaction go through the thing I am clamping in, which I am holding with my other hand. My right hand is on the camera body grip for all clamping and un clamping operations, to provide security while clamping, and to do the "tug test" after I clamp to make sure I clamped properly. In the case of a lever clamp, you get the same kind of feedback feel from the lever as you do the last stage of clamping, to know if you are clamped, but I still do a tug anyway. I had not thought about it before, but I am also reacting againit the clamp as it is clamped with the lever.
The BH-55 is nicer to operate with the large main knob for clamping the ball. If weight is not an issue for you, it is worth considering, but some would consider it a bit big for a TVC-24 tripod. I use the BH-55 on both of my larger tripods, and only use the BH-40 on my light weight tripod.
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. When I had a DSLR I kept the L-bracket on all the time and never really noticed it to be honest.
