Arca-Swiss style Q/R plate for my A-S 4x5

[Josh Root]

Well, give a monkey a 4x5 and he'll bother you until the end of time with questi ons.

While doing a studio assignment for school today, I noticed that my Discovery tw ists around on my bogen (3047) hex Q/R plate. Today's assignment was a series of shots that consisted of a cube with light at different angles. Easy and simple, this should've taken just a few minutes, since once everything was set up, all I had to do was change the lighting and take another meter reading. But due to t he twisting, I had to re-compose almost every shot. No matter how careful I was putting my film holder in. I don't have enough cash for a A-S ballhead (nor am I sure that a ballhead would be best for me). But what is the best way for me to get a non-twisting (arca st yle) Q/R system on my Bogen head? And what plate would I need for my Discovery? The RRS web site isn't any help. The Kirk site is better, but everyone is so sto ked on RRS I thought I should at least compare the two.

I just hope that someday I'll be able to contribute something to this forum othe r than questions.

[Ellis Vener]

Really Right Stuff sells Arca style QR in several lengths. You might also want to try the Bogen /Manfrotto # 410 geared head instead of your current head.

[Ivo Chao]

Hi Josh! If I understand your question right, your problem is twisting between the rail and the Q/R plate, not between the Q/R plate and the head. I also use the bogen hex Q/R plates and had the problem of twisting between rail and plate. I'm not familiar with the Arca Discovery, but my Arca B 4x5 rail has two holes for mounting (3/8 and 1/4). So I drill a second hole in the hex Q/R plate to fix the rail with two screws. No twisting anymore.

I'm not quit sure, but there is a hex architectual plate (bogen 3267) and maybe you can fix your rail from the side. I have not seen this plate, but maybe it's works and prevent twisting.

Sorry about my bad English, but I hope you understand what I try to say.

Good luck

Ivo

[Sean Donnelly]

RRS makes a Arca-Swiss-compatible quick release for retrofitting to other tripod heads. It may be possible to remove the existing quick-release from your Bogen head, then fit the RRS release. I recommend that you call RRS and discuss this with them.

[Steve Singleton]

Bogen sells a hex plate with a lip on it that prevents camera twist. It should work egually well (read on) for 35mm through 8 x 10. Two problems with it are that a) the lip blocks the opening of 35mm camera backs like my FE2/FM bodies; and b) the thumbscrew on the bottom prevents the plate/camera combination from resting flat when dismounted from the head. The Kirk hex quick release plate solves both problems and I have used it on Nikon, Mamiya and Arca cameras with equal success. The RRS might do as well, though I have no experience with it. Why Manfrotto can't figure this out for themselves is one of nature's mysteries.