camera plates (for tripod, flash bracket) - confusing!!

I'm very confused about all the talk about camera plates!

Is it possible to buy a camera quick release plate for a series of purposes, such as for a ballhead and quick release clamp, and for a flash bracket such as the Wimberley F-2 macro bracket?
Are they camera model specific - eg EOS 400D or can you get ones that fit any model?
I don't have a good tripod & ballhead set yet, and am looking into this and getting a flash bracket too. I also might upgrade cameras in the near future, and don't want to have to get a new camera plate unless it's really necessary (they're not exactly cheap!!).

Is there one system I should get over the others for ease of compatability?

Since you mention the Wimberly, I assume you are referring to A-S QR plates?
All L-plates and a lot of camera plates are camera specific. However, there are also 'generic' plates, that will fit any camera / lens.

IMO the advantages of an L plate make them worth the cost. It's possible to get a good deal on a used one on e-bay, if you have some patience. My L plate cost me 60 euro's

Most common brands are RRS and Kirk.

I just got my RRS BH-40 and the L-bracket for my 40d.
I don't have it (YET!), but they, RRS, has a flash bracket that works with the L-system.
If you get it...please let me know what it's like!

René Damkot wrote in post #5819883
Since you mention the Wimberly, I assume you are referring to A-S QR plates?
All L-plates and a lot of camera plates are camera specific. However, there are also 'generic' plates, that will fit any camera / lens.

IMO the advantages of an L plate make them worth the cost. It's possible to get a good deal on a used one on e-bay, if you have some patience. My L plate cost me 60 euro's

Most common brands are RRS and Kirk.

Do the generic camera plates fit any QR system too (Arca-Swiss type release systems), or are they company specific?
Wimberly sells one that fits any camera body, but will that fit a Kirk or RRS quick release clamp?

The RRS Lever QR won't accept all brands of Arca style plates. Novoflex for instance will not fit. I think (but check with RRS) that Kirk and Wimberly will fit.
Any RRS plate (generic or specific) will fit any RRS clamp however.

The "screw knob" type Arca QR clamp will accept any Arca style QR. (But I've seen a few posts where some (chinese?) knock offs had a pin or something that might interfere a bit.)

When I was looking to get a new tripod, I already had a Manfotto and Bogen combo and the 488RC plate fit both tripod heads. That made so much more sense to me since I bought 2 extra plates when I got my first tripod (the first one was very heavy for travel). Now I have 4 plates for the 2 cameras and 2 lenses I have that mount on either head.

It seems the plates are head specific so I think no generic, but they are not very expensive. I would pick a system and stick to it.

Thanks for your responses.

I've been doing a bit of research over the last few days, to narrow down what kind of ball head (near future) and flash bracket (now) I'm looking for (same or compatable brands) - to avoid having a collection of camera plates etc.

In the future, I'll probably get a Markins m-10 ball head, and lots of people have been raving about the RRS clamps to go with that.

Right now, I'm looking into getting a macro flash bracket that could double as a general purpose flash bracket to go with my big duffy flash (strong, flexable options), and the Wimberley F-2 macro bracket looks great for this purpose.
It sounds like the RRS camera plates work with the Wimberley clamp, does anyone have any experience with this?

yabbie wrote in post #5832293
Thanks for your responses.

I've been doing a bit of research over the last few days, to narrow down what kind of ball head (near future) and flash bracket (now) I'm looking for (same or compatable brands) - to avoid having a collection of camera plates etc.

In the future, I'll probably get a Markins m-10 ball head, and lots of people have been raving about the RRS clamps to go with that.

Right now, I'm looking into getting a macro flash bracket that could double as a general purpose flash bracket to go with my big duffy flash (strong, flexable options), and the Wimberley F-2 macro bracket looks great for this purpose.
It sounds like the RRS camera plates work with the Wimberley clamp, does anyone have any experience with this?

I use the RRS camera plates and L-plates with Wimberley clamps and they work really well together. I like the fact that the RRS plates (other than the L-plates) have stop screws on them just like the Wimberley plates do.

PacAce wrote in post #5833707
I use the RRS camera plates and L-plates with Wimberley clamps and they work really well together. I like the fact that the RRS plates (other than the L-plates) have stop screws on them just like the Wimberley plates do.

Ah, good, that's a relief!