Converting Manfrotto 410 to Arca style clamp/plate

**Peter De Smidt** · 22-Jul-2015, 05:52

If you do that, get a clamp where the bottom of the part of the clamp that moves doesn't reach all the way down to the bottom of the stationary part. That way you won't have to grind the head. Arca-style clamps are made both ways. Or you could always grind a little off the bottom of the moving part of the clamp, which is a much cheaper part than the head itself.

**dave_whatever** · 22-Jul-2015, 07:21

The heads are soft aluminium though which is much easier to file away and doesn't require much precision, whereas the clamps always seem to be made from much harder metal.

**Rolfe Tessem** · 24-Jul-2015, 13:20

I'm late to this thread, but allow me to add my voice to those praising the quality of the HejnarPHOTO adapter. Very well thought out and very well machined. Manfrotto should have made it this way in the first place...

Rolfe

**pine_cone** · 26-Jul-2015, 08:26

Same here, have converted my 410 head to Arca plates using the HejnarPHOTO adapter (standard 3.25 clamp). No issues.

**Kirk Gittings** · 26-Jul-2015, 09:03

Question. I have not had a problem because of this but as long as I am modifying the head..........one of the complaints about the 410 is the way the camera is offset and does not rotate around the tripod center axis. Could one cure this with a longer clamp or plate?

**dave_whatever** · 26-Jul-2015, 23:41

You would need the clamp offset in two directions, i.e. Sideways and backwards a bit to center it over the tripod. However, unless you're using this head for some sort of pano stitching (in which case you're using the wrong type of head) then its not a problem. I did worry about it before buying one, but since then never given it a second thought.

**Kirk Gittings** · 31-Jul-2015, 15:46

Originally Posted by dave_whatever

You would need the clamp offset in two directions, i.e. Sideways and backwards a bit to center it over the tripod. However, unless you're using this head for some sort of pano stitching (in which case you're using the wrong type of head) then its not a problem. I did worry about it before buying one, but since then never given it a second thought.

I think that is what this extended plate is supposed to do. http://www.hejnarphotostore.com/prod...410longf63.htm

**Kirk Gittings** · 31-Jul-2015, 15:48

BTW I got a Markins L-plate with my A7r when I bought it. I assume there are no known compatibility issues with a Hejnar clamp as they are both Arca knockoffs?

**Michael Mutmansky** · 3-Aug-2015, 17:04

Don't know on that one specifically Kirk, but I have experienced a few problems with non- A-S plates on an A-S design head in the past, normally it was a case of the plate being very slightly too small to be really tight when the head was tightened all the way down.

I actually made a mod to the Kirk head I have to help it clamp smaller, but even so, some plates are just a touch small. A piece of paper is really all that's needed to clamp those plates tight.

I have a Markins plate for my a7r and it is not a problem at all with the Kirk head I typically use it with.

---Michael

**Kirk Gittings** · 3-Aug-2015, 17:56

Thanks Michael. I received this Hejinar adapter today with the extension plate. A simple elegant, bulletproof conversion that took all of about 10 minutes to install. My Markins plate works perfectly with this clamp. It does indeed center my cameras dead on in the head over the pan axis. Nice. By rotating the clamp and using a longer plate one could easily find the nodal point on DSLR lenses for panos if need be. A bit beefier and heavier than I expected but rather that than on the slight side.