Mr. Gillette would you care to notify me of those plates which have lipped edges which are within my price budget, £50 for the QR system and an extra plate
Nov 22, 2008 at 03:34 PM
Lars Johnsson Offline • • • • • • • Upload & Sell: Off
Conor Cahill wrote: Another quick question is the RRS stuff available from the UK!!!
I don't think anyone answered this yet--the answer is no, RRS is available direct from manufacturer only. They have a good reputation for service, I'm preparing an order myself at the moment.
C
No you can buy RRS stuff from other shops also. Even your own country Belgium sell RRS stuff
Foto Konijnenberg have shops in the Netherlands and Belgium and internet websites selling RRS stuff
I think you'd find many of your questions could be answered by looking at the B&H site. While it's a US site (New York) so might not reflect the part numbers and UK pricing structure, it does have a pretty complete listing of the Bogen/Manfrotto products. Some of the Arca Swiss type products are listed as well. Arca Swiss and Acratech products come to mind. Pricing varies because the different heads price out somewhat differently depending on which plate you are looking at.
Separately, the Bogen 030-14, a O plate with 1/4" screw is $19, the 030ARCH-14 is $23. The 200PL-14, the rc2 plate is $13, the 200PLARCH-14 is $20. Acratech plates start at about $40 US.
Haven't used them, haven't had trouble with the regular ones. I think, looking at an enlargement on one of the sites that the sides are lipped down or may be even curved under a bit on the rc2s, maybe there are squared off sides to the rc0 as well but don't know.
Nov 22, 2008 at 10:14 PM
Lars Johnsson Offline • • • • • • • Upload & Sell: Off
I have a 468MG head, and originally had the RC0 QR plate on it... The 468MG head is bulletproof, highly recommended, but the RC0 plate system is CRAP. I hated it, the plate is far too bulky, I always had to remove the plate from the camera before putting it in the bag. I also had a couple of scares where the RC0 plate wasn't securely clipped, and I almost had the camera drop off the tripod. Really, it's trash.
I bit the bullet and ordered an RRS lever release bracket and L-plate from RRS directly (I'm also in the UK). I also bought the multi-row pano setup, so I spent more than $1000 with RRS... I got humped for import duty. UPS actually pre-declare incoming parcels, and call you on the phone while your parcel is in the air... You have to pay the duty over the phone "to make sure it's not delayed".
Now that I've stopped bleeding, I'm very glad I bought the RRS stuff. It's better than anything I've seen, so there's no desire to upgrade it. The 468MG combined with the RRS plate is absolutely perfect.
I know of a teacher at school who uses the RC0 system and I will ask him. Apart from the bulkiness which I don't mind was there anything else you didn't like about the RC0 QR system? More to the point did you like anything about it?
What kit were you using?
(Unfortunately I most definitely cannot afford RRS until I'm looking at 1D(s) cameras and such or when I earn enough from weddings - got a new customer last week, only my second but I'm only 15 so..)
The procedure to clip/unclip the RC0 is quite annoying too, to unclip it you have to push one lever with your thumb and then pull another lever with your finger... and the mechanism needs to "click" just right for it to be primed for quick re-attachment. I also found the need to wiggle the camera every time I attached it (rotating the plate in the mount), it's a hexagonal plate, and it needs a shake to make it settle into the mechanism properly.
There's also quite a thick rubber gasket which sits between the plate and camera, and I found there was slight movement there regardless of how tight I attached the plate. Your best bet is to get a demo from your teacher, if you think you can live with it, it will do just fine! I was using a 5D+Grip, and the heaviest lens I attached was the 24-70.
It's certainly useable though... I used it for about a year before investing in RRS. You just need to double-check everything's securely clipped when you mount your camera. If you get the 468MG head, at least you know you can upgrade to RRS when your financial situation allows, you just need the metric (M6) coutersunk screw to attach the RRS bracket.
Do you think it would be sensible then, to buy a 468MG head, a 625 RC0 QR system which includes a 030-14 plate, and 2 extra 030ARCH-14 plates?
I would use the 030-14 plate on my 70-200 2.8 IS 's tripod ring as this can always be in the landscape position and I move into portrait without changing the ball head settings. This plate would also be used on my flash perhaps although I may keep the Jessops tripod for the flash.
The 2 030ARCH-14 plates would be used on my 30D and 40D, gripped or not as they would need to not be able to twist when used in the portrait orientation on the ball head.
BigStuart wrote:
I have a 468MG head, and originally had the RC0 QR plate on it... The 468MG head is bulletproof, highly recommended, but the RC0 plate system is CRAP. I hated it, the plate is far too bulky, I always had to remove the plate from the camera before putting it in the bag. I also had a couple of scares where the RC0 plate wasn't securely clipped, and I almost had the camera drop off the tripod. Really, it's trash.
I bit the bullet and ordered an RRS lever release bracket and L-plate from RRS directly (I'm also in the UK). I also bought the multi-row pano setup, so I spent more than $1000 with RRS... I got humped for import duty. UPS actually pre-declare incoming parcels, and call you on the phone while your parcel is in the air... You have to pay the duty over the phone "to make sure it's not delayed".
Now that I've stopped bleeding, I'm very glad I bought the RRS stuff. It's better than anything I've seen, so there's no desire to upgrade it. The 468MG combined with the RRS plate is absolutely perfect....Show more →
I also had the RC0 plate system on my first real tripod & head. I also hated it Like you I had many scares where it didn't lock securely. And it's very bulky.
It's worth the extra cost to get the Arca-Swiss system from the start. You will buy it sooner or later anyhow
Lars is right. If you are starting out, do it right and get the A-S compatible stuff. Otherwise, you will probably buy the RC2 manfrotto stuff and then junk it out. That way you buy both systems and strikes me as a waste.
I can't afford the A-S/RRS stuff at the moment. I only have £300 in total to spend on the tripod.
There are other things that are more important. Such as getting my new camera bag (£110 - my old one is on eBay at the moment for £85), getting the tripod and head itself (£255), ST-E2 Flash transmitter (£130), Remote release (£30)
I'm basically asking if you think I can get away with the architectural plates on the RC0 system or if there is another system in the same price bracket that offers a much better solution and can fit on the 468MG head?
I can only tell you my negative experience with the RC0 plate system... It worked ok most of the time, but I hated using it. You could get by with it, but you'll probably find it clumsy and annoying.
I don't have any experience with the other Manfrotto plates, so I can't comment on those. Having used RRS for as long as I have, I can't see past it! I know you're saying RRS isn't in your budget right now (hardly surprising, it's expensive stuff), but if you start out with any lesser QR plate system you should expect that you'll want to upgrade later, so buy a compatible head now.
Nov 23, 2008 at 03:10 PM
Lars Johnsson Offline • • • • • • • Upload & Sell: Off
Fred Lindsey wrote:
I can't afford the A-S/RRS stuff at the moment. I only have £300 in total to spend on the tripod.
There are other things that are more important. Such as getting my new camera bag (£110 - my old one is on eBay at the moment for £85), getting the tripod and head itself (£255), ST-E2 Flash transmitter (£130), Remote release (£30)
If you can't afford it at the moment, then wait. Save a bit more money and buy it later when you can afford it. It's a lot more expensive to first buy a not good plate & clamp system just to change it next year
