New L-plate for R5 Mark II?

[ahsanford]

Hey all, one of the items I need to replace as I migrate to the R5 Mark II is my L-plate. I've shot my landscapes with an Arca Z1 monoball for ages and have relied on the RRS L-plates to do that job for me. They're a bit pricey, but they've ticked all my boxes so far.

My requirements list isn't revolutionary:

• Stills usage only (no need for the top handle, a cage, etc.)
• Not gripped
• Horizontal or vertical shooting position option
• Generally not fond of modular L-Plates with separate bottom / side pieces that require assembly, could come loose, etc.
• Doesn't dramatically increase the size of the camera if I quickly want to pack the body away with the L-Plate still attached
• Must retain access to all ports, priority on cable shutter attachment not being a pain
• No need for dedicated power, a gimbal, video use, etc.
• In rare tripod + handheld walking/hiking days, having another 1/4-20 hole to directly attach my blackrapid strap to it is a nice feature. (I'm fine not using a camera strap for most landscape sessions, but sometimes I park my setup, detach my camera and go on a walkabout looking for a new shooting position.)

While I wait for those RRS plates to come out for the R5 Mark II (still listed as 'coming soon'), are their others I should have a look at?

Thx,
A

 

[AlanF]

L-Plates are readily available in the UK for Learners.

 

[neuroanatomist]

Kirk makes one for the R5II, they are basically equivalent to RRS.

 

[ahsanford]

Kirk makes one for the R5II, they are basically equivalent to RRS.

Okay the Kirk is rigid like the RRS one I have on my 5D3 = good. The RRS one telescopes laterally (and takes the vertical arm away from the ports) -- why on earth did they do that? Won't the added modularity lead to some small flexing being possible?

Looks like both Kirk + RRS have forgone the 'front surface bumper' (to locate the plate before threading it) in favor of a positive boss. That's fine if it has the same [slap it on and it's ready to thread] use case.

And the tiltable LCD is a new wrinkle I didn't consider. Good to see that both have some allowance for this, though I'm guessing that's a little tinker-y.

Hmmm. No landcape trips coming up for some time, so I may wait until RRS comes out and then make the call. Thx all.

- A

 

[neuroanatomist]

Okay the Kirk is rigid like the RRS one I have on my 5D3 = good. The RRS one telescopes laterally (and takes the vertical arm away from the ports) -- why on earth did they do that? Won't the added modularity lead to some small flexing being possible?

I really like the modular RRS plates. I suspect the reason was 3-fold, 1) to enable just that separation if you're connecting a lot of cables, e.g. for video, 2) to allow users to remove the vertical part when desired, and 3) to enable them to design fewer products and sell them in two pieces. The first one I used was on the 1D X, but my RRS plates for the R3 and R8 (the latter is actually the RP plate) are also modular. I find them to be very stable (unlike my experience with a base plate on an accessory battery grip). Reason #2 applies to me, I only attach the upright portion when I'm bring a tripod and leave it off for a smaller profile the rest of the time. I very much hope the R1 plate has the same modular design.

Looks like both Kirk + RRS have forgone the 'front surface bumper' (to locate the plate before threading it) in favor of a positive boss. That's fine if it has the same [slap it on and it's ready to thread] use case.

I'm sure it does. They've just leveraged the pin holes for the battery grip to provide the anti-twist functionality instead of the front of the plate following the curve of the lower front edge of the camera. I suspect the R1 plate will have that 'front surface bumper' like the R3 plate does, because there are no pin holes on the bottom of the R1.

And the tiltable LCD is a new wrinkle I didn't consider. Good to see that both have some allowance for this, though I'm guessing that's a little tinker-y.

It is, but you get used to it. For example, to use it as a waist-level finder you have to open the display to 90° , rotate it then open it the rest of the way so the horizontal LCD goes between the 'arms' of the L-bracket.

 

[P-visie]

Hey all, one of the items I need to replace as I migrate to the R5 Mark II is my L-plate. I've shot my landscapes with an Arca Z1 monoball for ages and have relied on the RRS L-plates to do that job for me. They're a bit pricey, but they've ticked all my boxes so far.

My requirements list isn't revolutionary:

• Stills usage only (no need for the top handle, a cage, etc.)
• Not gripped
• Horizontal or vertical shooting position option
• Generally not fond of modular L-Plates with separate bottom / side pieces that require assembly, could come loose, etc.
• Doesn't dramatically increase the size of the camera if I quickly want to pack the body away with the L-Plate still attached
• Must retain access to all ports, priority on cable shutter attachment not being a pain
• No need for dedicated power, a gimbal, video use, etc.
• In rare tripod + handheld walking/hiking days, having another 1/4-20 hole to directly attach my blackrapid strap to it is a nice feature. (I'm fine not using a camera strap for most landscape sessions, but sometimes I park my setup, detach my camera and go on a walkabout looking for a new shooting position.)

While I wait for those RRS plates to come out for the R5 Mark II (still listed as 'coming soon'), are their others I should have a look at?

Thx,
A

I ordered RRS L-plates for the R5 Mk II in October (body only and body+grip). Apparently my order is in the first batch. End of January RRS said these would ship in 3-4 weeks time, i.e. end of February.

 

[alFR]

I ordered RRS L-plates for the R5 Mk II in October (body only and body+grip). Apparently my order is in the first batch. End of January RRS said these would ship in 3-4 weeks time, i.e. end of February.

Wonder why it's taking them so long to finalise the design on these and ship? I get that they're not that big a company and have a lot of stuff to do across all their product lines, but still.

 

[ahsanford]

I ordered RRS L-plates for the R5 Mk II in October (body only and body+grip). Apparently my order is in the first batch. End of January RRS said these would ship in 3-4 weeks time, i.e. end of February.

Thanks for the info! Our big trip with landscapes on offer won't be for some time, so I can wait.

- A

 

[P-visie]

Thanks for the info! Our big trip with landscapes on offer won't be for some time, so I can wait.

- A

You are welcome. RRS has shipped the L plate (for body only) yesterday (feb 12). The L-plate for body and grip will follow end of this month.

 

[Smiling Eddie]

Hey all, one of the items I need to replace as I migrate to the R5 Mark II is my L-plate. I've shot my landscapes with an Arca Z1 monoball for ages and have relied on the RRS L-plates to do that job for me. They're a bit pricey, but they've ticked all my boxes so far.

My requirements list isn't revolutionary:

• Stills usage only (no need for the top handle, a cage, etc.)
• Not gripped
• Horizontal or vertical shooting position option
• Generally not fond of modular L-Plates with separate bottom / side pieces that require assembly, could come loose, etc.
• Doesn't dramatically increase the size of the camera if I quickly want to pack the body away with the L-Plate still attached
• Must retain access to all ports, priority on cable shutter attachment not being a pain
• No need for dedicated power, a gimbal, video use, etc.
• In rare tripod + handheld walking/hiking days, having another 1/4-20 hole to directly attach my blackrapid strap to it is a nice feature. (I'm fine not using a camera strap for most landscape sessions, but sometimes I park my setup, detach my camera and go on a walkabout looking for a new shooting position.)

While I wait for those RRS plates to come out for the R5 Mark II (still listed as 'coming soon'), are their others I should have a look at?

Thx,
A

I have a similar requirements list, except that I also want to retain use of my Canon E2 hand strap. At the moment, I have an Arca Swiss plate mounted below it. This is messy and the plate rubs against my leg/trousers when I’m walking with camera on hand.



There are suitable attaching points on the Small Rig L bracket. Its inexpensive and reviewers say its well-made. What makes the RRS bracket so much better to use that it justifies four-times the price?