Really Right Stuff L-bracket for Canon EOS R5

They just released a video this week on their L-bracket for the R5 (https://www.reallyrigh​tstuff.com/canon-eos-r5-r6). I've noticed their design (and Kirk's design, as well), look like you can damage your screen when you need to swivel up or down. RRS confirmed this yesterday in an email. ProGearMedia is making their L-bracket so that the vertical portion can be adjusted to translate forward and looks like it allows for full swivel. They'll be releasing more info soon.

An L-bracket is critical to me for the kind of photography I do. Would like to hear input from others on this design. I surely don't want an L-bracket that will likely damage the screen over years of use. As careful as I am with my equipment, it doesn't look like it would take much to accidently bump the screen into the metal L-bracket.

For my style of use I find it easy to remove the vertical portion of the L-bracket whenever I think I’ll need the tilt range of the LCD. Many or most of the manufacturers are making them 2-piece, for this reason I think!

Removal takes all of 30 seconds. I don’t have a bracket that stores an allen hex wrench in the bracket, but I have it always in the bag, and it’s pretty darn fast.

Of course I wish I didn’t have to do that... but I’ve never felt that I was subjecting my LCD to long-term risk of damage.

My typical portrait orientation shot is a head or head & shoulders shot, mostly about eye level, where I don’t need to fold out the LCD. High and low-angle tilt works just fine with the L-bracket attached when vertical.

But for high or low angle shots in landscape orientation the vertical part of the bracket is off and in the bag. Mostly I travel that way, and just attach the vertical when I know I’ll want portrait orientation on the tripod.

I’d be interested to look at the PMG solution... but suspect that the bracket gets bulkier, and harder to get the cam in and out of the bag quickly. Since I work with a fairly small bag that’s a potential issue for me, and this is another reason the vertical part of the bracket is usually detached.

YMMV - that’s just my style & workflow when I’m shooting.

Thanks for your input. Which L-bracket do you use. Here's a screenshot of the only pic PMG has so far.

I believe my current bracket is a 2-piece from Kirk. My previous, which sometimes goes on an 2nd camera body, is a much older 1-piece from RRS. Both are excellent and well-made of course. I’m using these without battery grips.

When I got a hand strap I loved it, and still do, but the first time I took off the 1-piece bracket for some tilting LCD action I was unhappy that the strap had to come off too. Then, I had a tethered project - same thing! Camranger - same thing! The 2-piece has really solved those problems of access to the USB, HDMI, and Mic jacks. (It’s stills *and* video for me)

The PMG looks very cool! The first thing I saw in the picture above was how it cleared all the connectors... The second thing was the added bulk of it and the battery grip; neither of them are for me

Thanks for the info. I'm not using the battery grip either. Evidently PMG made an L bracket for previous cameras with a tilting & swivel LCD & they solved the problem, looks like very nicely. https://www.promediage​ar.com …ng-LCD-screens_p_416.html

As good as RRS is, I'd like to know why they opted for a different design that allows for the screen to hit the metal L bracket.

dougsturgess wrote in post #19134072
...As good as RRS is, I'd like to know why they opted for a different design that allows for the screen to hit the metal L bracket.

Well, a standard bracket without the cutout allows almost no tilt of the LCD. The cutout versions allow at least some tilt when needed!

Apparently I had it backwards. My current bracket with removable vertical is a 2nd gen RRS. I think 2nd gen = removable vertical plate, but, allen wrench does not store in the bracket (3rd gen).

Which makes my older standard bracket a Kirk.

With all of my current gear, I have gone all PMG because I found their design to be the best for my needs. Once I get the R5, I'm going to order an L bracket from them, as well. Their design is also modular, i.e., you can detach and attach different parts of the L-bracket to suit your needs. One additional thing I love about the PMG L-bracket as well as their plates is the Plug Connector for Camera Strap. With this unique design, I can plug or detach my camera strap instantaneously from the L-bracket (or any of their plates with the connector port). With their modular design, I can actually even place my camera on a tripod without even having take the strap off.

I contacted PMG directly to inquire whether their L-bracket for the R5 will have one designed for the battery grip and one without. Here's their response:

"We’ll have both L-brackets available for the Grip and Non-grip Canon R5.

The PLX3T is the vertical part of our L-bracket for the new Canon R5, just modified version. It allows full articulation for screen by adjusting it to move it out of the way. The bottom plate is the same with PLCBGE22 bottom plate we use for EOS R which doesn’t cover the battery compartment.

The only difference between the grip and non-grip R5, the one for just the camera body will come with both QD option (for RRS strap port) and SS2 (for PMG strap port) but the Canon R5 with battery grip will be the same plate which we already have which is the PBCBGE22 (the plate we use for EOS R) and it won't have a QD option, only SS2. We will have an adapter mountable on the side that will have the QD option.

The custom-designed L-bracket will be available by the end of this month, October 2020.

You can also sign up to our waiting list for the R5 to get notified once it’s available.

https://www.promediage​ar.com/PLCR5--L-Bracket-Plate-for-Canon-EOS-R5-R6-Mirrorless-Camera_p_475.html"

For those who already have the bottom plate for EOS R, this means you'd only have to purchase the vertical portion of the new L-bracket since their L-bracket design is modular.

Then..... I just ran across this L-bracket from the Facebook group, CANON EOS R5 Users Group:

https://www.smallrig.c​om …P1Gh57f6VE0W2bl​51rrPG34aA

At a fraction of the cost, $29.90, in comparison to RRS or PMG, it certainly looks interesting.

Unfortunately this has the same design of the RRS & Kirk L bracket that was confirmed by RRS to have the potential of damaging the LCD screen when swiveling within that vertical opening.

The Sunwayfoto PCL-R5 L plate has a detachable vertical piece, which might help depending on your use case. I havent bought one, as there is not yet a UK dealer with it in stock, so cant comment directly. However, I've had Sunwayfoto stuff before, including an L plate for my 5DsR and it is well made for a good price, considerably less than my RRS L brackets for the 5DIII and 5DIV, although they are a little more swish. I wont be getting the RRS L plate for the R5 as I want to be able to leave the vertical piece off when not needed (which is much of the time for me)
Chris

Following up after testing both the RRS & PMG L brackets for the R5, I returned the RRS. The PMG is superior in that there is NO chance to damage your LCD screen when swiveling. That is a huge headache I don't have to worry about. I was really hoping I'd like the RRS better but not with that design. The PMG is equal in quality to the RRS as far as the build. Highly recommended.

dougsturgess wrote in post #19158727
Following up after testing both the RRS & PMG L brackets for the R5, I returned the RRS. The PMG is superior in that there is NO chance to damage your LCD screen when swiveling. That is a huge headache I don't have to worry about. I was really hoping I'd like the RRS better but not with that design. The PMG is equal in quality to the RRS as far as the build. Highly recommended.

One additional incentive for me to go with PMG is that they don't inflate their product prices like RRS.

Since my last post here, I did receive their L-bracket for non-grip, and I liked it so much that I decided to order one for the grip version, as well. Unfortunately, the grip version isn't available until Dec. 3, so I ordered the bottom plate first (arriving today) and pre-ordered the vertical part separately. PMG is offering a 15% Black Friday discount (continuing, as far as I can tell) on all their products, so I took advantage of it by ordering their latest ball head, as well. I already have the RRS BH-55 ball head, and it'd be interesting to compare both now.

Their products are of highest quality workmanship, design that's innovative and esthetically pleasing, yet not as price inflated as RRS.

Congrats. I really think RRS has shot themselves in the foot by not thinking/going with PMG's design for swiveling LCDs. I know that if I were to go with the RRS version, there would be sometime in the field where I tripped, was bumped or did something else unforeseen that would push that vertical portion of their L-bracket into the screen & damage it. Not something you want to do with a $4K camera. The PMG's design is perfect. Easy to reach the lens button to change lenses. Works like a charm.

dougsturgess wrote in post #19159188
Congrats. I really think RRS has shot themselves in the foot by not thinking/going with PMG's design for swiveling LCDs. I know that if I were to go with the RRS version, there would be sometime in the field where I tripped, was bumped or did something else unforeseen that would push that vertical portion of their L-bracket into the screen & damage it. Not something you want to do with a $4K camera. The PMG's design is perfect. Easy to reach the lens button to change lenses. Works like a charm.

Just received the bottom plate portion of the PMG's L-bracket for R5 with the grip, and it's perfection. Their sense of detailed engineering is another thing I really appreciate. The way they accomplished the plate from any play or twisting is by custom fitting a solid piece of tiny steel into the hole under the R5 body. The same with the one for the grip, except the hole under the grip is much larger. With the built-in stop, there's no way the bottom plate will twist or play. I also very much appreciated the built-in cold shoe. Wished they had added this earlier with the L-bracket for my 5D IV. Their modular design allows their L-brackets to be multi-functional, for example, you can add two additional strap ports to the L-bracket in case you want to avoid using the bottom center strap port. Either of these two additional strap ports allows you to keep the strap on the camera while using it on the tripod. I also use s Spider Holster pin on my L-bracket for those times I need to use a holster belt (for my studio work when I need to have both of my hands free to move and adjust lighting equipment).

I love their well thought out designs, so when I first learned of this new product by Wimbley called "MonoGimbal," i.e., a Gimbal for monopods, I wanted to get it as I do 90% bird photography using my monopod. One thing that prevented me from getting it was I didn't care for their off-centered design. I immediately thought of PMG. So I contacted them to see whether they'd be interested in making their own version of the MonoGimbal. To my pleasant surprise, they said it is in the works in terms of engineering phase, but it won't be available until 2021 without any more specific info. So, that's something I'm really looking forward to.