Quick release plates and fittings

[Manfred M]

Just to add to Allan's comments.

I had a quick look at the Hähnel website and they make no reference to the specs on their plates or clamps, so I suspect that it is likely a proprietary design. If that is the case, you are stuck with the gear that they offer or you will have to either replace the ball head or depending on how the clamp is attached to the ball head, possibly only the clamp itself.

In general, the legs and ball heads on better tripods are independent and can be detached; no need to use a ball head and triopd legs from the same manufacturer. As an example; I have a Feisol tripod, fitted with a Really Right Stuff (RRS) ball head. This means you could replace your ballhead / clamp mechanism with one that is compatible with your L-bracket. If you have an Arca-Swiss type L-bracket, then you can probably pick up just about any ballhead with that style of mount and put it on your tripod.

[Genghis]

The quick release on the Hahnel is attached via a screw to the ball head, the whole ball head comes off as well. I have an Arca Swiss type L plate and I do not really want to go to the expense of replacing a whole ball head, just the quick release plate is what I am after.

[Polar01]

Ok you answered one question, you state that the clamp is fastened to the ball head by way of a screw, I will get back to that later. You state that the L-bracket is a Arca Swiss type, that does not tell me the maker of the bracket, if you know the maker than you can see if they make a clamp that you can swop out. I like Manfred use a Feisol tripod, however he uses a RRS (Really Right Stuff) ball head and clamp, I however use the Feisol ball head but swopped out their clamp for a spring loaded RRS quick release clamp.
So please let us know who made the bracket, as there is maybe 4 or 5 makers of L-brackets that are of a Arca Swiss type, I could get the machinist down the road to make me a bracket so again who made the bracket.
So if you know the manufacture, you can get a clamp that will fit that bracket. Usually the screw holding the clamp to the ball head has liquid lock applied to the hold so when the screw is tighten tight it will dry and prevent the screw from coming loose.
To break the lock you will need to really tighten and lock down the ball head then using a Philips (star) screw head driver or maybe a Robertson (square) one you will loosen the screw. Now with the Feisol screw it took over 50 lbs of torque to loosen it.
So if may take some effort to remove it, once removed lift off clamp and install new clamp.

Cheers: Allan

[Manfred M]

Let me warn you about a couple of "gotchas" in what you are looking at doing.

1. If the locking mechanism between the plate and head are a non-permanant adhesive approach, a good deal of torque will break the jamming material used. If on the other hand, a more permanent compound or an older locking technology was used (deformable insert, mismatched threads, etc), you could permanently damage the head itself.

Unless you have a very good screwdriver / key (depends on the screw design), it is all too easy to wreck the screw head, making it impossible to remove in the future.

2. There is a very good reason for using a locking mechansim in this type of situation, to prevent the plate (with camera) from becoming separated from the head itself. If you are not careful and the head does loosen without being noticed, you could suddenly find your camera sitting on the ground. Make sure you tighten (but do not overtighten) frequently. Again, if you are dealing with an aluminum head, that particular metal is quite soft and you could end up wrecking the head through overtightening.

A new dedicated ball head might actually be a less costly solution.

[ajohnw]

If I bought a tripod with a ball head on it and couldn't unscrew it by hand I would be inclined to take it back. If a certain grade of Loctite was used on it I would wish people the best of luck getting it off too.

Anyway the ball head on my Hahnel travel tripod just unscrews without much of a problem. I just tightened the panning screw up and unscrewed the head. In fact I vaguely remember it was supplied on the loose side rather than tight so I did that myself.

I'm wondering why an L bracket when a ball head allows the camera to be swung to portrait mode anyway?

John
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[Manfred M]

I'm wondering why an L bracket when a ball head allows the camera to be swung to portrait mode anyway?

Two reasons that come to the top of my list:

1. Balance - if I do not use the L-bracket the camera / tripod assembly is a lot more prone to tipping over because of the way the weight is distributed; and

2. Ability to rotate around the optical centre of the lens (useful for panos).

I can also flip from landscape to portrait format a lot more quickly with an L-bracket than by rotating the camera on the ball head.

[ajohnw]

Must admit I was thinking in terms of a ball head with a separate panning lock. All of the Hahnels seem to have that.

I haven't done many pano's but the few that I have done have been hand held so probably rotated around the axis of my head / body. These were not aligned by hand though. The 180 degree one that showed detail more or less at my feet didn't work out well. My curiosity again.

John
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[Genghis]

Apologies for not being more specific, the L plate I purchased is XCSOURCE® MPU100 Universal L Quick Release Plate which despite the low price (£8.99) is really well made and solid.
Specifications:
Safe Screw installed in both side to prevent drop of camera by accident.
You can change the location of the screw to fit different cameras.
This Quick Release L Plate System has been designed to be compatible with other brand quick release systems.
Suitable for most ball heads.
Built with excellent materials, offering outstanding quality.
Material: Metal Alloy
Color: Black
Length: 75mm (height) x 105mm (length) x 38mm (width)
Width: 38mm (universal width of Arca-Swiss Standard QR plates).
Mounting Screw Diameter: 1/4" (the screw size that connecting the QR plate and camera)
Compatibility: Arca-Swiss Standard

Using the Quick Release L Plate is ideal for doing panos in portrait mode so as to utilise the pixels in the length as opposed to the width and the other plus is it is quicker to change than using the ball head portrait mode.

[Genghis]

Must admit I was thinking in terms of a ball head with a separate panning lock. All of the Hahnels seem to have that.

I haven't done many pano's but the few that I have done have been hand held so probably rotated around the axis of my head / body. These were not aligned by hand though. The 180 degree one that showed detail more or less at my feet didn't work out well. My curiosity again.

John
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I have done panos handheld and the problem is getting the nodal point correct and using the L plate with a Rail Nodal Slide Metal Quick Release helps correct this.
The Hahanel heads are relatively tight and I have not used the lock on it once to date, but I suppose as time goes by this will loosen up and be needed.

[Manfred M]

Interesting that they quote compatibility with Benro ball heads.

http://www.amazon.ca/XCSOURCE%C2%AE-...N%3DB00L1YK1NA

I own three Benro ball heads. You might find that they are less expensive than a replacement plate (parts prices can sometimes be rather ridiculously high). Worth looking into, regardless.

http://www.benrousa.com/products/bh-...on-ball-heads/

[ajohnw]

I have done panos handheld and the problem is getting the nodal point correct and using the L plate with a Rail Nodal Slide Metal Quick Release helps correct this.
The Hahanel heads are relatively tight and I have not used the lock on it once to date, but I suppose as time goes by this will loosen up and be needed.

I have a Hahnel 40 head on order. The smaller one on my travel tripod is super smooth and most definitely not a cheap item. The separate panorama lock is obtained by adding and adjustment for the friction on the ball internally and locking that which is retained by an anular screw in ring. They even add a cover to that retained by 3 screws. The whole thing feels to heavy to be using much alloy as well.

If the are stiff I suspect you need to twirl things around by hand for a few mins to evenly distribute any grease in it though mine seems to run the ball grease free. They would be a bit silly to not use grease on the other rotating part.

Anyway wish you luck with your venture.

John
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[ajohnw]

My Hahnel 40 head just arrived. Rather cold but the movements are OK. I bought 2 extra plates for it and feel that might be a simpler solution for you. Buy one, remove the camera fixing screw and fix the L bracket you have to it with 2 screws. The camera screw will just screw out of the plate.

These fit perfectly and retain the 1/2 turn locking. Personally I like the easily disengagement and re engagement of the pin that prevents gear from sliding out before the plate is clamped in place. It also means less turns to clamp than some other types.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...ilpage_o02_s00.

It might be worth reading this as well.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardin...)#Nodal_points

It might be worth mentioning that optical benches can be fitted with something called a nodal slide. These allow the point a lens is pivoted around to be adjusted. One way they are used is to point the lens directly at a marker exactly in the centre of view. The lens is then pivoted. At the correct position of the slide the point will remain stationary as the lens is pivoted. perfect lens of course.

http://www.photonics.com/edu/Term.aspx?TermID=1582

John
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[Genghis]

I found a solution which is quite good. The plate can be screwed to the existing quick release via the camera screw and is very sturdy. For £15.09, not a bad price either. I have a link to the image below.

Thanks to all for your help and comments.

http://www.mediafire.com/view/4prijr...L._SL1000_.jpg

[Manfred M]

It looks like you have the next step for shooting panos covered. You might want to look at getting a long rail so that you can rotate your camera around the entry pupil of your lens. This will mainly be useful if you are getting material that is close(ish) to the camera in your panos. I'm sure you can find something less expensive than this option on eBay and the like.

With the setup you have (are getting) you will be rotating your pano shots around the tripod mount, rather than the optical axis of the lens.


http://www.kirkphoto.com/Long_Rail_Plate__LRP-1.html

[Genghis]

I have ordered a long rail, http://www.mediafire.com/view/a8nblv...L._SL1001_.jpg, and it will rotate around the optical axis of the lens and not the tripod mount, unless I am wrong. But I will see when all the kit arrives and get all mounted.

[ajohnw]

What I described on an optical bench is I believe an actual nodal point and may well not be what you want.

You might like to try Hugin for stitching. It's very capable with a catch. There is a need to go some way down the steps 1st and set the correct projection. The tutorials do explain this. Last time I looked there wasn't an option for this in preferences. There is also another package about but it's main claim to fame is more projections.

I tried a pano showing ground more or less in front of my feet Manfred. My conclusion was that if I could switch to portrait mode and include more than my feet there might be enough image left after corrections. A crazy idea to try some day.

Another not so extreme worked out and would have been fine if I had used Hugin. On the package I used there was still some near distortion however I couldn't set the actual focal length I used.

John
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[Genghis]

Thanks for that John, I am trialling Autopano Giga to see what that is like when stitching panos together, so far it seems very good.

[loosecanon]

Must admit I use a mixture of manfrotto hex plates for heavier set ups and the 200 series plates, which slide into place and have a locking lever and safety catch.

In answer to original post, manfrotto are selling a kit to convert some heads to the arca system. You get a new quick release plate to attach to the old head. You need a head where the current release is attached by a central bolt to be able to replace it.

[Genghis]

Must admit I use a mixture of manfrotto hex plates for heavier set ups and the 200 series plates, which slide into place and have a locking lever and safety catch.

In answer to original post, manfrotto are selling a kit to convert some heads to the arca system. You get a new quick release plate to attach to the old head. You need a head where the current release is attached by a central bolt to be able to replace it.

Interesting loosecanon, do you have any links?

Just had a look at Manfrotto site and the L plates will not allow the connection of any cables to the camera, so this is not good to me as I use a laptop with ControlMyNikon software and a wireless remote which needs to be connected as well.

[loosecanon]

Manfrotto MSQ6 TopLock Arca-type QR Platform

Listed in the speedgraphic cat and online - they have listed many of the useful bits we photographers often "need". The Manfrotto website fails to list many of their products.

You can use Manfrotto L plates by removing the support for the side. The L plate I have is adjustable so the lens is correctly positioned in relation to the tripod, both in horizontal and vertical use.