Concern regarding Arca-Swiss clamps.

Call me a spaz, but I tend to check and double check everything, especially when my body is no longer tethered to me and even more around water or sand. I also use a SunwayFoto lever/screw clamp. It doesn't have any mentioned stops, but it clamps down hard on my L-plate. I also have a BR RS-7 that I don't take off until I'm positive that I'm clamped down tight. I also have a safety tether on my RS-7. I love the fact that my L-plate slides in/out as easy as it does, it makes inverting quick and painless and is one of the reasons I switched to an L-plate and AS in the first place, any stops would annoy me. I also made a hand-strap out of paracord which includes one of those quick-snap buckles. If it came down to it I could connect that buckle to another one on my tripod and this would complete my spaz system. Worse case double check and then check again or as we say in woodworking measure twice and cut once.

johnf3f wrote in post #16915796
The problem would appear not to be the clamp but the QR plate. Under the Arca (compatible) banner there are a variety of safety devices designed to stop this happening. Unfortunately they are not all compatible! Some use 3mm Allen bolts, to act as stops, and others use various spring loaded studs that engage in THEIR Qr plates.
Which make/model of head/clamp do you use?

if you use a RRS self adjusting QR you can use a wide variety of plates. I bought a $10 plate for my 70-300L. works perfectly. you have to check though.

I could have bought the $50 or $60 plate from RRS but once they made the self adjusting QR those days came to a halt.

ed rader wrote in post #16916105
if you use a RRS self adjusting QR you can use a wide variety of plates. I bought a $10 plate for my 70-300L. works perfectly. you have to check though.

I could have bought the $50 or $60 plate from RRS but once they made the self adjusting QR those days came to a halt.

I am not familiar with the RRS self adjusting clamp - though being made by RRS I am sure it is good!
What I was on about was that there is not a single mechanism for stopping QR plates from sliding out. I have QR clamps from 5 different manufacturers (OOPS! just checked it is 6!) and they have several different ways of stopping the plate (and your gear) falling off. Some will work with QR plates that were not designed for them - others will.
It is just a matter of being careful when buying clamps and plates. However careful we are it is always a good idea (with the Arca system) to have a system to stop QR plates slipping out unexpectedly!

johnf3f wrote in post #16916168
I am not familiar with the RRS self adjusting clamp - though being made by RRS I am sure it is good!
What I was on about was that there is not a single mechanism for stopping QR plates from sliding out. I have QR clamps from 5 different manufacturers (OOPS! just checked it is 6!) and they have several different ways of stopping the plate (and your gear) falling off. Some will work with QR plates that were not designed for them - others will.
It is just a matter of being careful when buying clamps and plates. However careful we are it is always a good idea (with the Arca system) to have a system to stop QR plates slipping out unexpectedly!

Annoyingly my RRS L plate does not have safety stops and has no way of adding them. I don't understand why they would do this.

Sirrith wrote in post #16916216
I don't understand why they would do this.

Me either, it's really dumb. They do have the cutouts in the bottom of their plates though so if you use Acratech or Markins clamps the spring-loaded pin will catch in the cutout. The RRS L-bracket for my Sony NEX has a stop screw at one end but not the other.

I absolutely *hate* those damn stops. I taped the pin down on my Markins, and any plates with those damn hex bolts are removed the moment I get them in my hands.

The main reason to use screw clamps is for universal compatability. Sunwayfoto has a series of clamps that's pretty clever though: Screw on one end, lever on the other. The idea is you use the screw to adjust to fit your plate and then use the lever for quick release.

Anyway, back to the topic: Just like when you check your rear view mirror AND blind spots before driving off in your car, always ensure that everything is locked down properly before you take your hands off the camera. Been doing that for years, and even in the most hectic of situations I still haven't had a camera fall off for me.

A plug for the RRS self-adjusting lever clamp... even my narrowest plate (a 10+ year old Kirk plate) is held tightly... I am unable to make it move at all.

None of my plates have safety stops; they are too old. But the RRS clamp holds them very solidly. I was concerned when I first got it; I assumed I would replace the plates. Turns out to be a non-issue. I just make sure everything is tight before I let go.

yslee wrote in post #16919961
I absolutely *hate* those damn stops. I taped the pin down on my Markins,

There is a screw under the clamp for removing that pin. I have done it myself of course

I really like the spring-loaded pin on the Acratech and Markins clamps. I like it so much I had a slot cut out of the base of a Markins clamp so I could put it onto my Arca-Swiss Z1. So far, no accidents.

afoton wrote in post #16920309
There is a screw under the clamp for removing that pin. I have done it myself of course

Shows you what I know. Thanks for telling me. I'm off to find the right hex key to be rid of this bloody nuisance.

It's funny in a way because I was looking for a spring-loaded pin that I could install in the extra 1/4"-20 hole of my RRS lever clamp. I haven't found anything yet, but I might not be searching in the right places.

Some clamps and plates use safety stops....see Wimberley....to avoid just this kind of issue.

yslee wrote in post #16919961
I absolutely *hate* those damn stops. I taped the pin down on my Markins, and any plates with those damn hex bolts are removed the moment I get them in my hands.

The main reason to use screw clamps is for universal compatability. Sunwayfoto has a series of clamps that's pretty clever though: Screw on one end, lever on the other. The idea is you use the screw to adjust to fit your plate and then use the lever for quick release.

Anyway, back to the topic: Just like when you check your rear view mirror AND blind spots before driving off in your car, always ensure that everything is locked down properly before you take your hands off the camera. Been doing that for years, and even in the most hectic of situations I still haven't had a camera fall off for me.

I don't hate them but I also don't look for plates with safety stops. one flip of the lever and nothing is sliding. what am I missing here?

johnf3f wrote in post #16916168
I am not familiar with the RRS self adjusting clamp - though being made by RRS I am sure it is good!
What I was on about was that there is not a single mechanism for stopping QR plates from sliding out. I have QR clamps from 5 different manufacturers (OOPS! just checked it is 6!) and they have several different ways of stopping the plate (and your gear) falling off. Some will work with QR plates that were not designed for them - others will.
It is just a matter of being careful when buying clamps and plates. However careful we are it is always a good idea (with the Arca system) to have a system to stop QR plates slipping out unexpectedly!

if the QR is tightened nothing slides. if you are working fast and getting a little sloppy just leave your neck strap on. I always use my neck strap unless no one is around me and I'm doing long exposures.

My selection of "Arca compatible" clamps and plates is,. shall we say, eclectic. I used to own the first clamp made to handle stops ( hmm, was it the Graf Studioball?) But that clamp was no good, and it didn't fit many other "Arca compatible" plates.

I've got Wimberly, RRS and even that lovely new Sunway yslee mentions, with the adjusting screw AND lever (it's my only lever clamp) and a new small (tiny actually) fleet of Sirui heads all with their own very serviceable screw clamps, with the stops.

The stops don;t bother me, but I don;t love them either. I took them out of my long lens plates as they got in the way of making the adjustments for weight the long lens plate is made for ion the first place, but other than that left the stops.

I've culled the stuff that isn't compatible 100%,. but you'd be amazed (thus my "quotes" around "compatible" )

Anyway, I hope I never have that kind of accident.