Is an 'L' bracket worth it?

HoppyUK said:
...the worst lock-down shift - Acratech GP. The Benro/Induro B-series is not good either...
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There must some spread on quality then... I've used a Benro B2 for a short while and for the past 7 month a Benro B3. None of them have any dipping or shifting at all. Both are very smooth and give a tight, steady grip.
 
Jan K. said:
There must some spread on quality then... I've used a Benro B2 for a short while and for the past 7 month a Benro B3. None of them have any dipping or shifting at all. Both are very smooth and give a tight, steady grip.
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I think I've tested five Benro/Induro B-series heads now, up to B3 size.

Try this. Camera/lens needs to be perfectly balanced, so it stays still with very little tension applied. Unless you have a long-rail rig like I use, the best way to do this is to use a lens with a collar that you can slide back and forth. Use live view, max magnification, and focus on a point on a wall 2-3m away, then lock down the head securely and note the movement. Even the best heads will show some shift, even if it's tiny and insignificant.

In use, shooting landscape with a wide lens, a bit of movement passes unnoticed. But with a longer lens, or for critical studio work, and especially when framing macro accurately, any positional shift on lock-down becomes much more significant.
 
Ah, I see. It's my working method, that's giving me the dip free head then... :D
 
The best accessories I have bought have been the l-plate and an Arca Swiss ball head.
 
Why are L brackets so expensive ?:thinking:

£ 120 seems excessive. If they were £ 50 I may get myself one.
 
Have though about one but don't get or understand the different till I can try one. I use a tripod with manfrotto grip head it does landscape and portraits
 
pat1cp said:
Why are L brackets so expensive ?:thinking:

£ 120 seems excessive. If they were £ 50 I may get myself one.
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You can get one for under £50 if you google.

rookies said:
Have though about one but don't get or understand the different till I can try one. I use a tripod with manfrotto grip head it does landscape and portraits
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L-brackets are about speed, ease of use and accuracy of working, particularly with close distance subjects, and stability.

For example, frame up a table-top still life or product shot, with a normal QR plate in horizontal. Now to change that to vertical, you need to flip the head, adjust the height and shift the tripod to the right to get the lens back in the same position. The head will now have maximum tension on it, making fine adjustments difficult and the tripod will be off-balance. It will take you a couple of minutes to do that carefully and accurately, with a L-bracket it takes a couple of seconds and the tripod will stay properly balanced.
 
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HoppyUK said:
You can get one for under £50 if you google.

L-brackets are about speed, ease of use and accuracy of working, particularly with close distance subjects, and stability.

For example, frame up a table-top still life or product shot, with a normal QR plate in horizontal. Now to change that to vertical, you need to flip the head, adjust the height and shift the tripod to the right to get the lens back in the same position. The head will now have maximum tension on it, making fine adjustments difficult and the tripod will be off-balance. It will take you a couple of minutes to do that carefully and accurately, with a L-bracket it takes a couple of seconds and the tripod will stay properly balanced.
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Thanks now I see the point of it :) do we need correct ones for the tripod anything else we need on top of the plate?
 
rookies said:
Thanks now I see the point of it :) do we need correct ones for the tripod anything else we need on top of the plate?
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Covered in the thread. You need the same fitting on the head and L-bracket and the best option there is the Arca-Swiss dovetail design.
 
HoppyUK said:
If you're tempted by the lever-release A-S style clamps, as opposed to screw, try before you buy. I don't like them at all. They attempt to solve a non-existant problem but introduce several more along the way :thumbsdown:
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+1 on this

I had one, it eventually failed (repaired under warranty), the main problem is that the plates all vary slightly in size, the lever clamp has a really tricky adjuster to accommodate this, however it is not the easiest thing to do in the field especially when it is freezing cold.

I switched it for the screw type clamp, much better option.
 
Martyn... said:
+1 on this

I had one, it eventually failed (repaired under warranty), the main problem is that the plates all vary slightly in size, the lever clamp has a really tricky adjuster to accommodate this, however it is not the easiest thing to do in the field especially when it is freezing cold.

I switched it for the screw type clamp, much better option.
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Yes :thumbs:

The different plate size thing is a nightmare, a fraction of a mm difference needs readjustment. Some clamps have an easy-adjust screw on the opposite side for this, but it's still very irritating and rather defeats the whole object of having the lever.

Then the lever often has a safety lock in case you catch it on something accidentally, which is an extra fiddle not needed on a normal screw type. And they usually need two hands, one to steady the head, to ensure nothing moves when you pull on the lever. And they're more expensive :thumbsdown:
 
HoppyUK said:
Yes :thumbs:

The different plate size thing is a nightmare, a fraction of a mm difference needs readjustment. Some clamps have an easy-adjust screw on the opposite side for this, but it's still very irritating and rather defeats the whole object of having the lever.
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I never felt confident with it.

One more tip ... always fit the little safety stop screws that come with the plates ... saved my 500/4 hitting the deck on one occasion :thumbs:
 
Not sure if this is a daft statement or not.:thinking:

If I were to fit the bracket to my D7000 with Hahnel grip I wouldn't be able to change the battery. Is this something you live with and remove plate when changing battery?:shrug::help:
 
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