Manfrotto & Arca-Swiss mounts?

[Yi-P]

Hi all,

I got a Manfrotto 055PROB and 488RC2 tripod, and a 680B + swivel head monopod setup, but I'm thinking of making it compatible with Arca-Swiss type mounts. So I can get an L-Bracket for my camera.

I've searched around, they do have these sort of quick release platforms made from kirk, RRS and some others to mount an Arca-Swiss type mount on the tripod. But this solution is about $100USD ~($115-120AUD with strong oz dollars). And I still have to attach my RC2 plate in order to mount onto my tripod and monopod (this involves 2 moving/removable parts).

Is there other solution to mount the RSS L-Plate onto a manfrotto leg?

Thanks,

[Onyx]

Besides the luxury of wanting an L plate or belonging to the supposed exclusive Arca-Swiss mount club - is there anything you currently find lacking in Manfrotto's mount? ie. insufficient stability, quick release system too slow for you or otherwise not working as you'd want?
(If it ain't broke...etc)

[Yi-P]

Besides the luxury of wanting an L plate or belonging to the supposed exclusive Arca-Swiss mount club - is there anything you currently find lacking in Manfrotto's mount? ie. insufficient stability, quick release system too slow for you or otherwise not working as you'd want?
(If it ain't broke...etc)

Manfrotto served me really really well over last couple years. But when I mount a D2 + 28-70 on portrait position with the monopod, the weight is so uneven and hard to use because about 2kg weight is lying on the side of the stick.
It is more that I want to use the L-Plate on the monopod than the tripod. But it can be handy when creating panoramas from portrait oriented shots...

[MarkW]

Been there done that.

I have the MF 550PROB with 488 head with RC4 QR plate and in the end got rid of the RC4 system and replaced with the Kirk Arca style QR system so that I can use the L brackets.

I also have a MF235 (??) - small single movement tilt bracket on my monopod which I fitted the Kirk QR plate to. I also have the same plate on my small tripod and gorillagrip as well.

[DaveB]

You can either sell the 488RC2 and replace it with a 488 (with a 1/4" thread) and attach the A-S clamp to it (I did that with a 308 head years ago: it's still on my backup tripod) or with some heads you can remove the Manfrotto QR clamp (leaving a post coming out of the ball) and attach an A-S QR clamp directly to the post (you'll want to check with the clamp manufacturer to make sure you get the right version of their clamp for that).

For the monopod, replace the RC swivel-head with the non-RC version, and attach an A-S plate to it. Check the article at RRS about this. I have a setup like this (using a Kirk clamp) on my 681B monopod. I have the clamp channel parallel to the direction of swivel, and this works great for me whether I'm mounting lenses or camera bodies to it).

[MarkW]

One of the issues with the 488 ball head is the way its supplied. When supplied with a RC2 QR system the post coming out of the ball has the 3/8" stud on the end which easily fits the Arca style plate. If the 488 was fitted to a RC4 QR system (as was mine as shown below) the post has a threaded hole in the middle of it in to which a countersunk screw is fitted to attach the QR plate. What this means is if you get the RC4 system you need to drill and countersink the Arca Swiss plate to suit the 488 ball head. You cant use a stud in place because the thread in the 488 is 6mm metric and the Arca plate is 3/8" imperial - nobody makes such a stud.

I believe that if you were to buy a 488 on its own you will get one with a post suited to the RC2 system. It certainly means you cannot later retrofit an RC4 system

Here is an image of what my system was prior to being modified to suit the Arca Swiss style system.

[DaveB]

What this means is if you get the RC4 system you need to drill and countersink the Arca Swiss plate to suit the 488 ball head.

Check with the clamp manufacturer: they do make some counter-sunk versions.
For example, the RRS clamp selector page explicitly lists the versions required for the 488, 488RC2, and 488RC4. BTW, the Arca-Swiss plate is the thing on the bottom of your camera/lens. The clamp is the thing on the head that grips the plate.

[MarkW]

Check with the clamp manufacturer: they do make some counter-sunk versions.

At the time I purchased the extra Kirk L Bracket and additional clamps, there was no special plate to suit the 488 with internal threaded post. At least not from Kirk's.

I generally wont buy RRS as they have a tendency to divide products into sub assemblies so that by the time you have all the pieces its far more expensive than the equivalent Kirk Product. This was very obvious with their L Bracket - instead of having multiple brackets to suit each brand/model, they have just a few but this means that you need a special plate to match the camera - more dollars.

[DaveB]

I tend to mix-n-match my Arca-Swiss gear. Initially it was primarily just on the basis of cheapest price (including shipping) but these days I try to get the optimum component for each instance. Thus I have a mixture of gear from RRS, Wimberley, Camdapter, Kirk, and Arca-Swiss themselves. This covers heads, clamps on 3rd-party heads, lens and camera plates, flash brackets, panoramic gear and even a shoulder strap. I borrow an AcraTech head from time to time as it's so light. They all inter-operate!

So if an RRS clamp looks like the best solution for a ballhead then don't discount it just because you don't like some of their other products. I'd recommend people make their decisions about each component in their systems primarily on the basis of quality (and price of course).

Cheers