What's new
DPR Forum

Welcome to the Friendly Aisles!
DPRF is a spin-off of dpreview. We are a photography forum with people from all over the world freely sharing their knowledge and love of photography. Everybody is welcome, from beginners to the experienced professional. From smartphone to Medium Format.

DPRF is a community for everybody, every brand and every sensor format. Digital and film.
Enjoy this modern, easy to use software. Look also at our Reviews & Gallery!

Arca Swiss style QR plate for RTS III

I

ibex

Hello everyone !

One question for RTS III owners - has anyone tried a Kirk Enterprises quick release plate PZ-33, that is supposed to fit RTS III bottom ? I'm reluctant to order it for I discovered they advertise this plate to be compatible with other brands/camera models as well (Nikon N8008/F801, N70/F70, Canon EOS Elan7, Minolta Dynax 5,7,9xi...). I'm not sure camera bottom shapes of these cameras are anywhere near to that one of RTS III, so I suspect it's only a "close" fit - read: NOT good enough.

Regards

Sebastian
 
Hi Sebastian,

I haven't tried the Kirk plate but I have a plate of similar design but for my RTS II, made by Really Right Stuff. By "similar design" I mean that it has a slotted hole for the fixing screw, and a lip at the rear edge that prevents any rotation once the plate is fitted. Nothing wrong with it at all, but these days I'm tending to go for the Wimberley P5 generic plate on most of my bodies because it is more versatile and seems to be able to take as much torque as my heaviest lenses can throw at it:

http://www.tripodhead.com/Camera-body-plates.html

I like the Wimberley double safety stops better than the single end stops used by RRS and Kirk, and I also like the very smooth low-profile build of the plate and its rounded corners. I've got it on my EOS-1v (with booster) at present and it can handle the 135/2L lens in vertical orientation without fear of twisting, as long as the screw is firmly torqued. I've never tried it with the 135+extender but that might start to test the limits of its abilities. Anything beyond that and you should really be using a tripod collar anyway.

HTH

-= mike =-
 
I haven't used the Kirk PZ-33, but I've successfully used the RRS B-20 (which is listed for the Nikon F4). It has to be set to the side a bit more than center, but it works like a charm. The bottom of the RTSIII has a rubber mat which compresses a little when mounting the plate.

Unless you're mounting 300mm or more on your RTSIII, I believe the plate will be good enough.

Regards
Gary
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top