Anyone try the $15 RSS Arca Swiss knockoff Plates on Ebay Yet?

Just curious how they compare....

Canon 6D Arca Swiss Plate - Ebay

You can expect the machining tolerances to be loose, most likely with the dovetail but possibly with the fit.

The idea with matched L-plates is they're extremely tight on tolerances, no wobbles or gaps. They simply live on the camera like they were meant to be there. If any of that is in doubt, you may as well get a generic L-plate.

I don't like the idea of buying straight knock-offs, either. I have my fair share of cheap Chinese plates, but they're not copies of any higher quality item.

This looks quite similar to the one I bought for may 7D. It is nowhere near as solid as my Kirk L-bracket for the 7D with battery grip. The reason is that the Kirk secures to the left strap lug as well as the tripod mount. That makes the Kirk impossible to rotate on the camera.

I added layers of tape to fill in the gaps and it still rotated easily. So I tightened it down way more than I think should be required. It is OK for light EF-s lenses now. Not sure about heavier lenses.

So for about 10% of the cost of a good L-bracket it is functional, with caveats.

Mike Deep wrote in post #17757064
You can expect the machining tolerances to be loose, most likely with the dovetail but possibly with the fit.

The idea with matched L-plates is they're extremely tight on tolerances, no wobbles or gaps. They simply live on the camera like they were meant to be there. If any of that is in doubt, you may as well get a generic L-plate.

I don't like the idea of buying straight knock-offs, either. I have my fair share of cheap Chinese plates, but they're not copies of any higher quality item.

The funny part is that Canon started off as a knock off company, making Leica copies.

The company we all know and love started off the same way.

I used to be a CNC programmer(machinist) and made several plates and macro stages for my cameras and lenses back in '95. I actually sold quite a few through some forums and considered doing it full time. Back then there were very few companies making Arca Swiss accessories and would have been much easier to get into the market than it is now. I just bought a small QR AS clamp from Ebay and was truly impressed by their quality and price. So much so that I just ordered a fitted L bracket for my newly acquired 6D and another QR clamp. I know the clamp is good, if the L bracket doesn't work, then I'll be out $15. Quite frankly, I believe RRS and Kirk's are way overpriced. Even if you take out the factor of low overseas production cost, RRS and Kirk are very pricey. Don't get me wrong, I would gladly sell you the very same parts for 10x what they charge, if I could

$15 I may just give one a try as well

I ordered this L bracket http://www.ebay.com/it​m/400930230538 on the 10/22 and received it on 10/27. The only drawback to it is that the cable release hits the ballhead's clamp if the bracket is secured touching the grip, problem is avoided if you leave a 3/16" gap. The bracket's base has two lips to craddle the camera and keep it from twisting. It's actually very nice, solid and well made-- $15 well spent

the $20 L plate for the A7rii, I prefer over the ~$200 RRS version.

I have ordered and used knock off Arca Swiss plates for years without any problems until recently. I bought two knock off plates from China last month and they are useless. They will not fit either of my Kirk or RRS heads. Both the clamps tighten up before they have tightened around the plate itself. Waste of money.

Brian500au wrote in post #17765457
I have ordered and used knock off Arca Swiss plates for years without any problems until recently. I bought two knock off plates from China last month and they are useless. They will not fit either of my Kirk or RRS heads. Both the clamps tighten up before they have tightened around the plate itself. Waste of money.

And that is the problem... with RSS/Kirk you know for a fact it'll be a perfect fit.

Only if you use lever type clamps - then the dimensions are very important. I use plates from a wide variety of manufacturers and, as all my clamps are screw type, there is no issue - though they are slower to use!