Tripod mounts don't matter...until they do

[Whoozit]

I've been doing increasing amounts of landscape photography the last couple of years. I finally understand the pain of battling underperforming tripods. And specifically, clip-in plates and turning the ball head sideways.

I've now upgraded to an Arca-Swiss plate plus L bracket, and it's night and day for the handling. I can take the slight increase in overall camera size, given the ease of switching between landscape and portrait, without having to reposition the tripod to get the same framing, adjust the legs because it's now off balance, or being worried "is it really tight in".

Any similar experiences and tricks to share?

[RobDickinson]

First thing I do to any camera is add an L plate.

IMO the screw locks are better than level locks if you use a variety of plates - theres small amount of size difference between brands

[Simpo Two]

I don't use ball heads because the moment you release them you lose all axes. I always use a 3-way head.

[toohuge]

I'm not a ball head fan, they're ok... but I prefer a geared tripod head instead. My cameras are heavy and I can't stand tripod head creep.

[RobDickinson]

eh geared heads for landscapes drive me nuts too slow, dont have any creep on my ball heads but then they are decent ones.

[C&C]

Whoozit said:

I've now upgraded to an Arca-Swiss plate plus L bracket, and it's night and day for the handling. I can take the slight increase in overall camera size, given the ease of switching between landscape and portrait, without having to reposition the tripod to get the same framing, adjust the legs because it's now off balance, or being worried "is it really tight in".

Funnily enough, I'd been considering an L bracket for a while, and only today agreed a price on one with a seller on Talk Photography, so will see how I get on.

Like Rob, I don't get creep on my ball heads as they are also pretty decent (although not expensive - Redsnapper).

Whoozit said:

Any similar experiences and tricks to share?

Although not relevant to landscapes, and more motorsport and wildlife, last year for the first time I got hold of a (2nd hand) Wimberley gimbal head. This was a revelation in terms of the ability to move a large heavy lens about very quickly.

Using it with a Canon 5D3 , Sigma 120-300 f2.8 zoom and 1.4x converter, tracking aircraft at an airshow was incredibly easy - something that would have been much harder with a ball head. I found it amazing you had the camera mounted very securely, yet with your little finger you are able to easily push it to point in almost any direction, then when you stop pushing, it just remains in its current orientation without moving, whether pointing up/down, left/right. Switching from horizontal to vertical in this instance was also quick using the tripod ring on the lens itself. About the only downside to the gimbal is that it is a fairly heavy additional weight.

[MarkMullen2020]

Geared heads and L brackets are a must for me.

[steveatesh]

I have the Manfrotto XPROB 55 and 804RC2 head.

Is there an L bracket that would fit this or do I have to get an Arca Swiss type, which I must confess I have no idea what that is!

Any recommendations please?

Camera Sony A7iii

[RobDickinson]

steveatesh said:

I have the Manfrotto XPROB 55 and 804RC2 head.

Is there an L bracket that would fit this or do I have to get an Arca Swiss type, which I must confess I have no idea what that is!

Any recommendations please?

Camera Sony A7iii

This is what one is
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1334066-REG...

Though I get ebay knockoffs for $10-20

Arca swiss is a spec of quick release, better than most anything else and pretty much cross compatible

afik the 804RC2 uses a Manfrotto QR plate, they used to have a generic L bracket and you can often use those plates on L brackets but far easier to move to an all arca setup long term.

[steveatesh]

RobDickinson said:

This is what one is
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1334066-REG...

Though I get ebay knockoffs for $10-20

Arca swiss is a spec of quick release, better than most anything else and pretty much cross compatible

afik the 804RC2 uses a Manfrotto QR plate, they used to have a generic L bracket and you can often use those plates on L brackets but far easier to move to an all arca setup long term.

Cheers Rob appreciate your help. Something else to spend on!

[RobDickinson]

I started with a MF head/QR system, still have some plates etc around lol. But well happy I switched to an arca setup far more universal