arca swiss type plate, set screws?

abruzzi · Dec 18, 2021

I'm just curious, I was looking through a long list of arca swiss type mounting plates both on B&H and on eBay, and I don't think I saw a single one that had set screws to hold the camera in place and keep it from twisting. All my Manfrotto hex plates have that which is very useful when mounting an 8x10 camera with 60cm of leverage.

Am I looking in the wrong place or do they just not make them? I did find a bunch with the raised edge which will probably for with the camera I need a solution for at the moment, but what about cameras with a circular base? How to you hold them in place? Or should I stick with Manfrotto hex plates for those cameras?

Rick A · Dec 19, 2021

My 8x10 Nagaoka has two mounting holes so I purchased a 100mm plate that has twin mounting bolts that span them and locks down without any twisting.

abruzzi · Dec 19, 2021

darr said:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B091DLW21H/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_WNJD150PGXHXS0E3X2E2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Just a quick search on Amazon.
You can find older RRS plates on eBay that can have set screws on the side of plates.
I use an older RRS 3/8 plate with a ridge on one side for my partial circular tripod mount on my Cambo Wide 650 that I found on eBay.

Good Luck!

Those don't look like set screws to me--they don't pass through to the underside of the camera, so they're not going to help fight twisting. I saw lots of plates like that, but I don't know what those screws are for.

EDIT: you can see the three set screws on Manfrotto hex plates here:

Rick A · Dec 19, 2021

darr said:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B091DLW21H/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_WNJD150PGXHXS0E3X2E2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Just a quick search on Amazon.
You can find older RRS plates on eBay that can have set screws on the side of plates.
I use an older RRS 3/8 plate with a ridge on one side for my partial circular tripod mount on my Cambo Wide 650 that I found on eBay.

Good Luck!

All those set screws do is keep the mounting plate from sliding out of the pan or ball head once you've clipped it in.

4season · Dec 19, 2021

Sometimes a ready-made solution doesn't exist and you have to get creative, by either fabricating one from scratch or (easier) by modifying an existing part. In the case of Darr's plate, drill and tap existing screw holes through the entire plate, find replacement screws which are long enough to make contact with the base of camera, and you are set (no pun intended). Modifying existing stuff is how I was able to create a custom-fit Panasonic GM5 l-plate, starting with plate originally made for GM1, and combination plate + strap lug for Soviet FT2 panoramic camera out of another plate which I wasn't using.

MattKing · Dec 19, 2021

Manfrotto have/had a couple of "architectural" versions of their plates, that added a sliding plate designed to be in contact with the front edge of the base of a camera and thus prevent the camera from twisting.
I'm not sure how that might be implemented with a view camera.
If I had been all powerful and all seeing at the time, I would have tried to convince camera manufacturers to implement the shoe into the construction of the base plates of cameras.

fiddle · Dec 19, 2021

I ended up being a plate that had a lip on it. There are a bunch on Amazon.
Dep ding on the camera of course, but mine had an edge the lip sits against and prevents it from twisting.

abruzzi · Dec 19, 2021

MattKing said:
Manfrotto have/had a couple of "architectural" versions of their plates, that added a sliding plate designed to be in contact with the front edge of the base of a camera and thus prevent the camera from twisting.
I'm not sure how that might be implemented with a view camera.
If I had been all powerful and all seeing at the time, I would have tried to convince camera manufacturers to implement the shoe into the construction of the base plates of cameras.

that would have been nice. Everyone follows the flash shoe the same (more or less) if there was a well engineered camera mount standard that would be nice.

Dirb9 · Dec 19, 2021

Generally I've used long plates and multiple screws if the camera has multiple mount sockets to prevent rotation on large cameras. I think some people are averse to the set screw method as opposed to the lip as the set screws can mar the bottom of the camera. That being said, there are a number of Arca compatible plates that have holes tapped all the way through for numerous 1/4 and 3/8 holes, like this Kessler crane plate; you could get one of those and pick up some flat headed set screws to use the same method that the Manfrotto plates use.

arca swiss type plate, set screws?

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