Fotomacher Loc: Toronto

Thanks VERY much to all who responded. Very useful information. My issue with the Manfrotto system which i have been using for 20+ years is that it just never feels secure. I had an opportunity to use Arca Swiss on a recent safari trip to Africa and was impressed with the system. I bought the ProMediaGear conversion kit for Manfrotto ball heads. Will report on the change once I get everything set up. Cheers.

Jerry Green Loc: Huntsville, AL

Desmond and Sunwayphoto brands from B&H work well for me and are reasonably priced.

IowaGuy Loc: Iowa

I would suggest an "L-plate" for the camera. This lets you switch from Landscape to Portrait mode with your camera while still keeping the center of gravity over the center of the tripod. You choose the manufacturer. I use RSS(Really Right Stuff) plates.

OnDSnap Loc: NE New Jersey

Whats your gear worth to you?

cjc2 Loc: Hellertown PA

The BEST in the business, bar none, is RRS. Expensive and worth every penny. Personally, I wouldn't use anything else. Best of luck.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

If you want Arca Swiss plates, get Arca Swiss. Anything else is not Arca Swiss. I purchased a "lot" of plates, Arca Swiss and some other brands were included in the box. The other brands just didn't have the same quality/fit and I'm replacing the few others with A-S plates.
--Bob

jcboy3

I use Arca on nearly everything, and have for years. I have only encountered a few compatibility issues. First, there are Arca clamps, especially the quick release kind, that are not universally compatible. These incude RRS and Acratech. If the clamp has a knob adjustment, then it will have a better chance of being compatible. Second, there are some plates that are also a bit off; these usuall have very thin edges.

If you are looking for straight plates, Desmond is a good cheap brand which is available from Amazon and other retailers. I would avoid ordering directly from China; takes a long time to ship and if there is a problem you will have a proble returning (shipping is prohibitive). But most of what you want can be obtained from domestic resellers.

I recommend, however, that you try to get custom plates for as much of your gear as you can. They are more stable and less hassle. I use custom L-brackets on all of my cameras. I prefer the kind that have removable vertical parts. Depends on your camera. I use Nikon, Olympus and Panasonic. They usually have mounting points in addition to the tripod mount, so they won't twist.

I also use Arca feet on my telephoto lenses (where available). If they aren't available, then look for plates that have tabs that provide anti-rotation stability as well. Some plates by Desmond or Wimberley have these features (I've used both).

Creta1 Loc: Vancouver, BC

Check Peak Design for converter plate for Swiss plate to Manfrotto.
Saw it yesterday at a trade show.

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

No, buy the Chinese plates. A CNC machined piece of aluminum or steel is the same anywhere you go for the purposes of fastening a camera or lens to a tripod or clamp.

I just purchased these two plates:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/291933895787?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

http://www.ebay.com/itm/302129585729?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

I could have bought them for a few dollars less if I wanted to wait for them to come from China. But I looked for them in the US on eBay so I could get them faster - but I paid a couple of dollars more.

BudsOwl Loc: Upstate NY and New England

This is what I have on all my cameras. Plus I have an RRS plate for my Tamron 150-600.
Bud

houdel Loc: Chase, Michigan USA

Same here. I bought several Arca-Swiss compatible plates off Ebay for $5 or so, they work just as well as the expensive name brand plates that came with my Oben and Giottos tripods but a hell of a lot cheaper. Now I have dedicated plates attached to all my bodies and lenses with tripod mounts and I never have to worry about switching plates again.

FL Pics

Arca-Swiss is a de facto standard, if the term is used somewhat loosely. The standard is not exact to the extent that if you have what RRS calls a “Quick Release” shoe (that’s the one with a screw lock) you probably will be O.K.mixing plates from manufacturers that are not the same as the shoe’s manufacturer. Where you can, but not necessarily will, run into trouble, and this is where the term “standard”is somewhat loose) is with lever-locks. Not all manufacturers’ plates will lock tightly with all lever-lock shoes. So be certain to check out compatibility. I kind of recall reading that some lever lock plates can be adjusted to be compatible with different manufacturers’ plates. The safest and easiest path is to buy into one system from a quality manufacturer.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

Lens plates are fairly universal, unless you happen to have certain telephotos where it's better to completely replace the tripod ring or the ring foot.

But most lenses can be easily fitted and "no name" brands are pretty much as good as the big name brands (Kirk, Wimberley, Really Right Stuff, Arca-Swiss, etc.) Lens plates are often sold in different lengths.... And if you're using them on a gimbal head or wanting the plate to serve as a "macro slider", longer than usual is needed. Otherwise, just look for some sort of "anti-twist" feature.... a second screw or lip that prevents the lens rotating from it's own weight.

With cameras it's different. "Proper" plates are fitted to the base of the specific camera, to also be "anti-twist". I recommend you spend the extra for those, rather than "universal" camera plates that don't fit nearly as precisely.

I [i]hate[i] L-brackets on cameras. They're expensive, bulky and get in the way. (And thanks to the type of gimbal adapter I use, I reallydon't need them.)

But if you want to be able to switch the camera from horizontal to vertical orientation easily, while maintaining pretty good balance on top of a ballhead, an L-bracket might be necessary. But, if yours is a pan-tilt or other type of tripod head, it might not be needed.

topcat Loc: Alameda, CA

blackest Loc: Ireland

It's the lever lock quick release clamps that can be a problem where a small difference in plate width might mean adjustments needed to the clamped width of the clamp. With that kind of clamp you would be better off sticking to one brand but it will cost you substantially more. You might need the couple of seconds advantage of that kind of clamp. There are some pretty poor examples of that kind of clamp made in china, as well as some good ones but who knows which you would be getting.

My favorite plate is chinese made it has 2 lugs either side this gives me the option of using both a hand strap a neck strap or my tripod without changing anything. When using the neck strap the camera body hangs side ways. There is a plastic plate which often comes with hand straps not a quick release plate but you can attach one too it. These I don't like as its relying on plastic not to give way. Plastic can get brittle over time with exposure to UV too. with my neck strap / hand strap arrangement the weak point is the tripod mounting hole perhaps the bolt could come loose with both straps in place even if it did come away there is less chance of the camera hitting the ground as the 2 straps would effectively become one strap in that scenario.

The big advantage to Arca Swiss is when you have more than one camera or even more than one tripod, since with the possible exception of the Quick release lever clamps you can mix and match successfully. With the longer arca swiss plates you can set up to put the nodal point of the lens right over the centre of your tripod which is handy for stitching together landscape shots. Being at that nodal point means you minimise your foreground moving against your back ground.

Manfrotto don't seem interested in making alternative plates for their heads at least not for the one I have, which has been sitting in a box since i switched to Arca Swiss. Some plates have a raised lip which helps avoid the plate rotating against the camera body, which with a long lens in portrait mode can happen.