Ridiculously-priced L Brackets
Nov 8, 2018 11:49:28 #
nadelewitz
Loc: Ithaca NY
Looking at a listing to sell a $180.00 L bracket, I couldn't resist helping those who want one and aren't rich.
There's a British outfit named "3 Legged Thing" who makes some nice accessories, including two generic L brackets for cameras with and without battery grips. they cost $50.00-60.00. Even come in two colors. I bought the tall model, as it can certainly be used for a gripless camera too.
They are beautiful pieces of metal. For the life of me I can't see what makes a "custom" $150-180 bracket worth three times more.
Check 3 Legged Thing's website, or see B&H, Adorama, etc. for American dealers.
There's a British outfit named "3 Legged Thing" who makes some nice accessories, including two generic L brackets for cameras with and without battery grips. they cost $50.00-60.00. Even come in two colors. I bought the tall model, as it can certainly be used for a gripless camera too.
They are beautiful pieces of metal. For the life of me I can't see what makes a "custom" $150-180 bracket worth three times more.
Check 3 Legged Thing's website, or see B&H, Adorama, etc. for American dealers.
Nov 8, 2018 11:53:36 #
Try inserting a wired remote control and mount to your tripod, you'll begin to see the custom designed difference...
nadelewitz wrote:
Looking at a listing to sell a $180.00 L bracket, ... (show quote)
Nov 8, 2018 11:59:17 #
nadelewitz wrote:
Looking at a listing to sell a $180.00 L bracket, ... (show quote)
Check out SunwayFoto. They make very good quality L brackets at very reasonable prices. I've purchased three of them in the past and they were all very well built and functioned perfectly.
Nov 8, 2018 12:32:30 #
nadelewitz wrote:
Looking at a listing to sell a $180.00 L bracket, ... (show quote)
Yes, It looks pretty similar to a $180 piece of aluminum.
Three Legged Thing L-Bracket Thing
Nov 8, 2018 12:51:50 #
CHG_CANON wrote:
Try inserting a wired remote control and mount to your tripod, you'll begin to see the custom designed difference...
Nov 8, 2018 13:07:00 #
nadelewitz
Loc: Ithaca NY
CHG_CANON wrote:
Try inserting a wired remote control and mount to your tripod, you'll begin to see the custom designed difference...
I don't get your point. Show me what your custom L does that the 3 L T doesn't. With my Canons I have access to all ports just fine, thanks.
Nov 8, 2018 13:28:00 #
The advantage to the custom ones, particularly when shooting vertical, is they cradle the camera to keep it from moving. Depending on the bits of rubber on the generic plate is kind of iffy.
But, you don't need to buy the $180 ones. I bought RRS starting with a D1x and ending with the D4s. Currently I have a D500 and D850 and bought 2 different custom third party models for the cameras with battery grips. One seems a little lighter duty than the RRS model and one is a little more robust. Both aftermarket brands have stop screws to prevent slipping out of the Arca Swiss clamp. In a blind taste test I don't think you could pick a winner. One was $60 and one was $75 at Amazon.
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But, you don't need to buy the $180 ones. I bought RRS starting with a D1x and ending with the D4s. Currently I have a D500 and D850 and bought 2 different custom third party models for the cameras with battery grips. One seems a little lighter duty than the RRS model and one is a little more robust. Both aftermarket brands have stop screws to prevent slipping out of the Arca Swiss clamp. In a blind taste test I don't think you could pick a winner. One was $60 and one was $75 at Amazon.
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Nov 8, 2018 13:28:12 #
nadelewitz wrote:
Looking at a listing to sell a $180.00 L bracket, ... (show quote)
Nad, what’s the difference between ANY expensive item and a cheap knockoff??
Usually it’s strength in the material.
In an aluminum bracket it could be in the alloy. Is it a cheap, qwick casting with beautiful paint? Or is it a hardened piece of 8000 series T-7 aluminum cold forged from a piece of billet, then precision machined ???
Not all metals and processes are equal.
The later might be 100 times more expensive than the first and have ZERO flex, minimal vibration and NEVER accidentally break when loaded.
The other I wouldn’t put more than a consumer camera on it if I wanted to be 100 % sure!!! Good luck
SS
Nov 8, 2018 13:45:35 #
nadelewitz wrote:
I don't get your point. Show me what your custom L does that the 3 L T doesn't. With my Canons I have access to all ports just fine, thanks.
I believe some brands don't have the open area to allow access to plugs, SD cards, etc. if on that side of the camera while using the bracket. I got his point but many brands have good designs.
Nov 8, 2018 13:56:02 #
nadelewitz
Loc: Ithaca NY
SharpShooter wrote:
Nad, what’s the difference between ANY expensive i... (show quote)
Lower price, however much, is not synonymous with "cheap knockoff". When something is new on the market and in demand it can be sold for a high price. But as soon as competition starts to kick in, prices come down. Some manufacturers try to maintain the "aura" they started with, with varying results.
Castings can be crappy or good. Machined aluminum can be hardened and well produced, like the 3 Legged Thing, or they can be poor quality.
No, I don't do metallurgical testing on accessories, but I do know quality materials and craftsmanship.
Nov 8, 2018 14:03:06 #
SharpShooter wrote:
Nad, what’s the difference between ANY expensive i... (show quote)
And yet not all of us ever shoot with 2.5 lb. cameras with 20 lb. giant telephoto lenses mounted on them. I like well made stuff too, like my Gitzo Tripods and my old vintage Pentax Takumar lenses. But say if the OP only wants a L-bracket for one shoot per year, being extra careful he may not need an indestructible one. I've gotten by thus far (>35 years) with no L-bracket at all. I simple rotate my hold for handheld portrait / vertical shooting or tilt my tripod head 90 degrees. Have no lenses longer than 300mm, and 95% of the time I'm using one of many 16mm to 135mm lenses. A good portion of the price is in marketing too.
Nov 8, 2018 14:18:56 #
lamiaceae wrote:
And yet not all of us ever shoot with 2.5 lb. cameras with 20 lb. giant telephoto lenses mounted on them.
And if you did you would mount the lens to the tripod, not the body. I do have RRS feet on my heaviest lenses.
That was my thought when I bought the less expensive L brackets.
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Nov 8, 2018 15:36:08 #
lamiaceae wrote:
And yet not all of us ever shoot with 2.5 lb. came... (show quote)
Mike, I agree with you 100%!
What I don’t agree with is that a company just charges whatever they want because they can, and that the same product that costs 1/4 as much is as good. Beautiful paint and finish doesn’t make something better.
I’m in enough hobbies where the products costing 10 times as much NEVER fail and the cheap ones do.
I buy lots of stuff at Harbor Freight Tools, but I’ll never fool myself that because it looks as good that it is.
Cheap items may perform well for years but they may not.
I’m quite familiar with 3 Legged Thing!!
SS
Nov 8, 2018 17:58:21 #
nadelewitz wrote:
Looking at a listing to sell a $180.00 L bracket, ... (show quote)
Any thing photographic by a brand name is always over priced...$180 is ridiculous and even $50 is a rip off. Its probably cost $5 to make and even with a liberal mark up it should go for less than $10 in my opinion. CNC machines can knock this out in minutes at most with excellent accuracy and anodizing is not expensive.
Nov 8, 2018 18:04:38 #
nadelewitz wrote:
Looking at a listing to sell a $180.00 L bracket, ... (show quote)
Almost all tripod suppliers/makers offer L-plates and a lot of them are on the lower end, but still well made. Siriu's L-plates are too around the 40 - 60 dollar range, but they are rather nice quality, ok, PMG plates as well as RRS, Kirk are made even better, but their pricing is still way too high for what you get! Same goes for tripods, cameras or just anything made. Leicas are beautifully made, I don't think anybody questions that, but their prices would be too high, if they were to cost one tenth that price!
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