Quick Release Plate Confusion

Uncle Fester

Uncle Fester

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Hi

I've always been confused by Quick Release Plates. They come in different sizes, shapes and there seem to be different formats of QPR. I've heard reference to Arca, Arca Swiss, RC2 etc.

I have two tripods and four different heads. I have a two Manfrotto heads, a Hahnel BH-40 head and Velbon PHD-31Q head that was supplied with my Velbon travel tripod. I now use the Hahnel in place of the Velbon.

These are the heads I have:


View media item 107782


The one on the left fits both the Manfrotto heads but none of the others, the middle only fits the Hahnel BH-40 and the one on the right only fits the Velbon.The Hahnel QPR has two bevelled ridges on the underside which slide into two grooves on the plate at the top of the ball head. The QPR that fits into the Manfrotto heads have two bevelled edges and is held in place by a lever that is pulled out and then secured once the QPR is in place, by a secondary smaller lever that prevents the first from being accidentally opened.

I was wondering if someone could kindly tell me what type or format each of these Quick Release Plates are please?

Is there any particular reason there are so many different types of plate rather than having a single standardised system and what are the pro's and cons of each.

Thanks
 
One on the left looks to be a 200PL (-14 has a ¼" screw, -38 has a ⅜" screw)
 
FWIW

The above is one reason I now have all Arca Swiss plates (started to add & alter my kit a few years back when my main gear was Canon). It may not be a "standardised" system (i.e. there is some variation by manufacturer of AS) but it is about as universal as they come......compared to all the proprietary ones you mention above.

All (almost all?) makes of tripod head can be adapted and/or modified to accept AS plate types. NB in the case of one lens, the Olympus 300mm f4, its tripod foot is AS grooved already :)

PS my tripod and monopod are both old Manfrotto ones and on the tripod is my Gimbal and the Monopod has a Surui tilt head. (Somewhere I have a now unused Manfrotto medium ballhead with its RC-2 QR clamp and the 200PL plate hiding somewhere in a draw!)
 
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Sorry, I know I’m being thick here, but is 200PL yet another system/format?

None of this stuff about Quick Release Plates makes much sense to me I’m afraid!
 
RC2 is Manfrotto's designation for heads that use the 200PL plate. It's proprietary to Manfrotto although there are some clone plates available from eBay & Amazon.
The Velbon plate is proprietary but the Hahnel sounds like it might be Arca/Swiss compatible. I stress might as it's impossible to tell without seeing the head itself and the underside/profile of the plate.

Like Box Brownie, I switched to Arca/Swiss a few years ago as it's a much more flexible system.
 
I bought a batch of RC2 plates and and fitted them to all my supports. Some are from Manfrotto but others are clones. They all seem to work equally well for my needs.

Manfrotto RC2 quick release plate and lock GX7 P1140463.JPG
 
Snapsh0t said:
RC2 is Manfrotto's designation for heads that use the 200PL plate. It's proprietary to Manfrotto although there are some clone plates available from eBay & Amazon.
The Velbon plate is proprietary but the Hahnel sounds like it might be Arca/Swiss compatible. I stress might as it's impossible to tell without seeing the head itself and the underside/profile of the plate.

Like Box Brownie, I switched to Arca/Swiss a few years ago as it's a much more flexible system.
Click to expand...

Thanks, that's very helpful.

Here are some photos of the Hahnel plate:

View media item 107783
View media item 107784
I can upload some pictures of the head later.

Cheers
 
Other than clearing up your confusion, is there a purpose in mind? Do you want to standardise? If so, Arca Swiss is probably the way to go, although watch out as Arca Swiss plates and heads from different manufacturers might not be as good together as those coming from the same manufacturer. Tolerances!
 
AndrewFlannigan said:
I bought a batch of RC2 plates and and fitted them to all my supports. Some are from Manfrotto but others are clones. They all seem to work equally well for my needs.

View attachment 275901
Click to expand...

Be careful with cheapo Chinese RC2/PL200 plates. Dad had one that came with an expensive binocular telescope and the plate pretty much crumbled on the first use. Luckily, I had hold of the 'scope so it didn't fall and I also had a genuine Manfrotto plate in my bag so we could mount the 'scope (having checked that the platform wasn't as crap as the QR plate!)
 
JohnX said:
Other than clearing up your confusion, is there a purpose in mind? Do you want to standardise? If so, Arca Swiss is probably the way to go, although watch out as Arca Swiss plates and heads from different manufacturers might not be as good together as those coming from the same manufacturer. Tolerances!
Click to expand...

Yes, I do have a purpose. I have a Peak Design Capture, which allows me to attach my camera to my back pack belt. But if I want to take out one of my tripods, currently I would have to remove the Peak Design Plate and attach the Quick Release Plate for whatever tripod I'm using, which is a bit of a faff. I was thinking it would be nice if I could use one plate for both jobs. Peak design manufacture plates that, if I understand correctly, would allow me to do this:

https://www.peakdesign.com/collections/clips/products/dual-plate

https://www.peakdesign.com/collections/clips/products/standard-plate-v3

I have the Standard Plate, which according to Peak Design, is Arca Compatible, but it certainly doesn't fit any of my heads, making me wonder what Quick Release Plates I actually have.

The Peak Design Dual Plate looks as if it may fit my RC2/PL200 plate.
 
Uncle Fester said:
The Peak Design Dual Plate looks as if it may fit my RC2/PL200 plate
Click to expand...


According to the blurb, it should fit most RC2 platforms. If it doesn't fit yours, send it back as unsuitable for your purposes (or wait for "normality" and buy it from a real shop if it does fit!)
 
Box Brownie said:
Yes, that has the appearance of an Arca Swiss type clamp. Can you measure the plate because as mentioned AS is not a standard, so knowing the dimension of the bit that is held by the jaws of the clamp means it can be compared to others described as AS
Click to expand...

I've just tried measure the plate, and as far I can tell (my eyesight isn't perfect) it's 53mm x 44mm.

Thanks.
 
The problem is plates are only quick release if you have the same plate type on every bit of kit you use a plate on. Manufacturers havent standardised on a single plate type (a bit like phones and charger socket types). Arca Swiss is seen as kind of an unofficial standardisation. Its the standard that most photographers settle on but if you want to use stuff like Peak design then you need to work out what’s the most compatible standard for you. It seems their standard plate is arca compatible. They also do a plate that is compatible with manfrotto RC2 heads. sadly you end up purchasing several peak design plates to get compatibility with your other kit. it seems you can get the Peak design and manfrotto to share the RC2 plate format.

The best thing to do is chose one plate type, modify what you can to that plate type and sell any kit on that you can’t modify to that plate type. Or just live with changing plates as/when you need to.
 
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I've used the Manfrotto system for years; solid, tough, reliable. Click in and it's secure. Bought a little lightweight carbon legged 'travel' tripod last year; it has the popular Arca Swiss style system. Which I don't like as much, tbh. Although it is smaller and lighter so suits the travel needs better. This head does have a sprung safety bolt that prevents the plate from slipping right out of the head, but most don't. It is also a lot more fiddly than the Manfrotto system.
 
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rob-nikon said:
The problem is plates are only quick release if you have the same plate type on every bit of kit you use a plate on. Manufacturers havent standardised on a single plate type (a bit like phones and charger socket types). Arca Swiss is seen as kind of an official standardisation. Its the standard that most photographers settle on but if you want to use stuff like Peak design then you need to work out what’s the most compatible standard for you. It seems their standard plate is arca compatible. They also do a plate that is compatible with manfrotto RC2 heads. sadly you end up purchasing several peak design plates to get compatibility with your other kit. it seems you can get the Peak design and manfrotto to share the RC2 plate format.

The best thing to do is chose one plate type, modify what you can to that plate type and sell any kit on that you can’t modify to that plate type. Or just live with changing plates as/when you need to.
Click to expand...

Thanks.

Although, as you say, PD say that their Standard Plate is Arca compatible, it doesn't fit any of my heads including the one that looks as if it may be Arca compatible i.e. the middle one, the PD Standard Plate is below:

View media item 107787
I'm reading this section on the PD website, but it isn't making things clearer for me!

https://support.peakdesign.com/hc/e...What-kinds-of-tripods-does-Capture-work-with-
 
rob-nikon said:
Arca Swiss is seen as kind of an official standardisation. Its the standard that most photographers settle on.
Click to expand...
Do you have any numbers to back that up? I've looked to see if there are sales figures on line but there don't appear to be. My own guess would be that the RC2 plate has a large share of the market, going by the number of third party suppliers of clones. Among cheap manufacturers the Velbon "pyramid" platform seems very popular. I've aquired three very cheap tripods over the last few years and they all use this type (and they're interchangeable).


Atlantic Alfa 3 tripod head and camera platform GX7 P1140470.JPG
 
Uncle Fester said:
Thanks.

Although, as you say, PD say that their Standard Plate is Arca compatible, it doesn't fit any of my heads including the one that looks as if it may be Arca compatible i.e. the middle one, the PD Standard Plate is below:

View media item 107787
I'm reading this section on the PD website, but it isn't making things clearer for me!

https://support.peakdesign.com/hc/e...What-kinds-of-tripods-does-Capture-work-with-
Click to expand...
Their standard plate is compatible with arcs Swiss but you don’t have any kit that uses that. They do a dual plate that’s supposed to be compatible with manfrotto rc2 which you have. The velvon and hahnel is where you have issues as they are manufacturers own type of plates. The only option you have there is to see if can modify the heads or get rid of them. I’d see if you could unscrew the head from the legs and only replace the head with a manfrotto rc2 compatible head.

https://www.peakdesign.com/collections/clips/products/dual-plate
 
AndrewFlannigan said:
Do you have any numbers to back that up? I've looked to see if there are sales figures on line but there don't appear to be. My own guess would be that the RC2 plate has a large share of the market, going by the number of third party suppliers of clones.
Click to expand...

I have seen sales / usage figures (sorry don't have a link right now) and the RC2 plate is well in the lead. From my own experience with other photographers / studios I largely see the RC2 and the Manfrotto hex plate. They definitely dominate.

I've used the RC2 system with various heads almost exclusively for the last 15 years and not really had a problem until recently where I've had a particular nice large run of work, that means constantly having the camera at about a 45-70ish degree angle and constantly moving the camera. With a 1 series quite honestly the RC2 was struggling to cope. You can buy custom 1 series plates for the arca swiss system, so I swapped over to that, along with a new head and totally solved my problem.
 
AndrewFlannigan said:
Do you have any numbers to back that up? I've looked to see if there are sales figures on line but there don't appear to be. My own guess would be that the RC2 plate has a large share of the market, going by the number of third party suppliers of clones. Among cheap manufacturers the Velbon "pyramid" platform seems very popular. I've aquired three very cheap tripods over the last few years and they all use this type (and they're interchangeable).


View attachment 275913
Click to expand...
Sorry it should have said unofficial standardisation and I meant by photographers rather than manufacturers. Most photographers who try to do this seem to settle on arcs Swiss as a one plate option. That’s mainly because things like L brackets and longer plates to balance big lenses on gimbals seem to mainly be arca Swiss and easier to use in regard to those points.

I’m sure there are manufacturers that produce their only plates in higher volumes than some manufacturers that use arcs Swiss but high volume doesn’t necessarily mean best option for the end user.
 
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In regards to RC2 versus Arca Swiss I always find it interesting that Manfrotto mainly use RC2 plates whilst Gitzo (part of the same company but produces higher end tripods) use Arca Swiss plate. Where RC2 has the advantage is in its compatibility with products like the peak design capture. Arca Swiss could be a potential hazard as if it slipped straight through the clamp.
 
rob-nikon said:
Sorry it should have said unofficial standardisation and I meant by photographers rather than manufacturers.
Click to expand...
If Paul @riddell is correct (and I see no reason to doubt him) the RC2 is the most commonly made, sold and used system, which accords with my own experience. Without numbers to fall back on that's all we can go by.
 
Uncle Fester said:
These are the heads I have:
View media item 107782
Click to expand...
You have three proprietary systems... L-R is Manfrotto RC-2, Hahnel "dovetail", and Velbon. Because they are proprietary they will not interchange. The Hahnel's dovetail *looks like* arca swiss, but there is nowhere I can find that says it is actually arca swiss compatible... probably trying to take advantage of arca swiss's popularity but w/o actually making it compatible.

Manfrotto is pretty ubiquitous at the mid-entry level (good price to performance) and have been around forever... all of the threads that ask "what tripod" will have many suggestions for Manfrotto, especially if there is a lower price restriction. It doesn't surprise me at all that they may be "the most common." Bogen (Manfrotto) similarly had a strong hold in the upper tier (i.e. hex plates, 405 plates, etc). But these days Arca Swiss is taking over.

IMO, you have two inexpensive choices... get the PD dual-plate; it will fit your Manfrotto heads. Or convert your heads to arca swiss with inexpensive arca swiss clamps... then the PD plate you have will (should) fit, as well as (almost) all other arca swiss plates.
 
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AndrewFlannigan said:
If Paul @riddell is correct (and I see no reason to doubt him) the RC2 is the most commonly made, sold and used system, which accords with my own experience. Without numbers to fall back on that's all we can go by.
Click to expand...

I agree that the RC2 is the highest by volume but there are some disadvantages to that plate. Those disadvantages may or may not affect you. When a photographer standardises to a single plate type they should standardise on what’s best for them and not what’s sold in the highest volume.

When I was choosing a single plate a few years back I went with what suited me best. To some extent it’s personal preference but function was very important to me. Balancing long lenses on gimbals is near impossible with the RC2, whilst L brackets are mainly Arca Swiss format. That’s the reason why I moved to all arca Swiss plates from RC2 and other formats I had.

Like I’ve said the OP would be best off using only RC2 plates because they want to use the peak design capture. It’s all about what suits you best and does what you need to do. What suits me won’t always suit someone else .
 
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rob-nikon said:
In regards to RC2 versus Arca Swiss I always find it interesting that Manfrotto mainly use RC2 plates whilst Gitzo (part of the same company but produces higher end tripods) use Arca Swiss plate.
Click to expand...
It's only recently that Gitzo has switched to AS clamps/plates. Previously they used a variety, but mostly the RC2 type. I think it's just a sign of the upper market/current trend where Arca Swiss is (becoming) the new standard.
 
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sk66 said:
You have three proprietary systems... L-R is Manfrotto RC-2, Hahnel "dovetail", and Velbon. Because they are proprietary they will not interchange. The Hahnel's dovetail *looks like* arca swiss, but there is nowhere I can find that says it is actually arca swiss compatible... probably trying to take advantage of arca swiss's popularity but w/o actually making it compatible.

Manfrotto is pretty ubiquitous at the mid-entry level (good price to performance) and have been around forever... all of the threads that ask "what tripod" will have many suggestions for Manfrotto, especially if there is a lower price restriction. It doesn't surprise me at all that they may be "the most common." Bogen (Manfrotto) similarly had a strong hold in the upper tier (i.e. hex plates, 405 plates, etc). But these days Arca Swiss is taking over.

IMO, you have two inexpensive choices... get the PD dual-plate; it will fit your Manfrotto heads. Or convert your heads to arca swiss with inexpensive arca swiss clamps... then the PD plate you have will fit, as well as (almost) all other arca swiss plates.
Click to expand...

Thanks that's very helpful. I'll get a dual plate for the Manfrotto heads and see if I can get another smaller RC2 compatible ball head for my Velbon tripod.

I must say, this is all confusing, for me at least. I know there are plenty of tripod reviews out there when buying, but this sort of incompatibility seems to get scant mention.

I appreciate every ones help - thanks.
 
One other thought. I tend to match heads/plates to kit, insofar as I have various Manfrotto tripods/monopods and heads that I use with my (heavier) DSLRs and lenses, but lighter heads/plates that I use with my mirrorless kit.
 
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sk66 said:
It's only recently that Gitzo has switched to AS clamps/plates. Previously they used a variety, but mostly the RC2 type. I think it's just a sign of the upper market/current trend where Arca Swiss is (becoming) the new standard.
Click to expand...
I hadn’t noticed it was a recent change. Looking at WEX gitzo do a square B plate that’s compatible with only 3 heads.

Uncle Fester said:
I must say, this is all confusing, for me at least. I know there are plenty of tripod reviews out there when buying, but this sort of incompatibility seems to get scant mention.
Click to expand...

You’re not the only one confused by it. It’s a hard decision trying to go to only one plate as it means you have to really think what in want now and in the future. When you make a decision you then have to stick to that plate, or just get used to changing plates all the time to use different bits of kit.
 
For most users who just want to put a camera on a tripod, Manfrotto's RC2 system does a good job. It's fast and secure, if a little bulky. Its rightly popular, though that probably reflects Manfrotto's dominant position in tripod sales as much as anything.

But if you want to do anything else, like fit an L-bracket, or a macro rail, balance a long lens on a tripod collar or use a gimbal etc, then Arca-Swiss wins hands down, with hundreds to choose from.

As a sign of the times, both Manfrotto and sister company Gitzo now offer Arca-Swiss compatible QR options. This is relatively recent as they resisted it for many years (decades?) but it's good news all round IMHO. Both brands make some excellent tripod heads but many potential customers were put off simply by the non-Arca-Swiss QR systems - you hardly ever saw a Gitzo head on a Gitzo tripod, for example. RRS, Arca-Swiss, Acratech, Kirk, Markins - anything but really.
 
HoppyUK said:
For most users who just want to put a camera on a tripod, Manfrotto's RC2 system does a good job. It's fast and secure, if a little bulky. Its rightly popular, though that probably reflects Manfrotto's dominant position in tripod sales as much as anything.

But if you want to do anything else, like fit an L-bracket, or a macro rail, balance a long lens on a tripod collar or use a gimbal etc, then Arca-Swiss wins hands down, with hundreds to choose from.

As a sign of the times, both Manfrotto and sister company Gitzo now offer Arca-Swiss compatible QR options. This is relatively recent as they resisted it for many years (decades?) but it's good news all round IMHO. Both brands make some excellent tripod heads but many potential customers were put off simply by the non-Arca-Swiss QR systems - you hardly ever saw a Gitzo head on a Gitzo tripod, for example. RRS, Arca-Swiss, Acratech, Kirk, Markins - anything but really.
Click to expand...

Just to add... it's worth repeating that it's usually easy and cheap to convert any tripod head to Arca-Swiss. Put 'Arca Swiss' into the eBay or Amazon search bar and loads of stuff comes up.

It's dead simple to bolt an Arca-Swiss clamp on to the existing QR plate, then fit an Arca-Swiss plate on to the camera and you're in business. It's not the most elegant solution but usually works well. Something like this does it for £12 for both clamp and plate. I have several of those clamps and they're excellent quality https://www.amazon.co.uk/Neewer®-Re...=1&keywords=arca+swiss&qid=1587463562&sr=8-18

Or it's often possible to replace an existing clamp with an Arca-Swiss type for a neat conversion, but you have to know what you're doing. Make sure that the threads are compatible, plus anti-rotation lugs etc, and be prepared to use some force as threads are usually Loctite'd in. There are some Arca-Swiss clamps specifically made to convert Manfrotto heads. It's a popular modification and often comes up on photo forums if you google.
 
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