Re: [Leica] RRS plates

["Jeff S" <segawa@netone.com>]

- -----Original Message-----
From: John McLeod <johnmcleod@worldnet.att.net>
>After all this talk about how great Really Right Stuff camera plates are, I
>just priced out what I'd need from them to attach to my Linhof Profi II
>ballheads and Leica and Nikon cameras -- $431!!!
>
Well, if you actually need $431 worth of camera plates, you can't be doing
all that badly :-)

>level of investment (it would be less expensive if I had started out with
>the Arca B-1, but I actually prefer the Linhof Profi II's to the Arca
>ballheads).
>
Want to buy another Profi II for $140?? I really prefer using it with
heftier cameras than the M, and since I've got a brand-new B1 awaiting
camera plates, and have hopes of getting a baby Kaiser for the Leica M 'pod,
it's sort of just sitting around. Nice solid 8.0 condition--not minty by any
means, but nice and not worn-out.

Another QR that's kind of nice is the Perfected Photo Products clamp,and the
plates are just $7/ea! Looks like a pint-sized Arca-Swiss clamp, and works
directly with the stock Hasselblad camera plate. But...No custom plates, and
a little ingenuity is needed to secure the plates so that they do not spin
uselessly. Lousy fit on the Leica M (need to cut off the overhanging bit,
but maybe could be done at home, with good results), and a surprisingly good
one for some MF rangefinders, which can be tough to fit with a plate, due to
the need to clear the film spool spindles. For a time, I thought that
building one's own plates from aluminum stock and a milling machine might
make a nice beginner's shop project, but got lazy and won't have the $$ for
the Sherline for a bit anyhow.

In the past, I've just left QR plates on the cameras.

My main reason for liking QR is because in a burst of enthusiasm, I've
caught myself about to cross-thread the tripod socket before, and at such
times, thoughts of "worry about it later" creep in.

Jeff