Toyo 45AII quick release plate

[Casey]

Hi All,
I've just purchased a 45AII and would like to know what quick release plates you all are using on your toyos. Any suggestions?

RRS has a plate for the 45A. Anyone have any experience with it?

Thanks!

[Barry Wilkinson]

Hi Casey,

I have a Toyo 45AII fitted with the RRS suggested plate. I believe that it was designed for a Nikon camera but it does the job. It has a small flange on one end which is meant to stop the plate turning, I found that the plate needs to be quite tight if you dont want the flange to damage the camera body.

I have not found any other plate manufacturer that makes a plate specifically for the Toyo 45AII.

Barry

UK

[Brian Ellis]

Unless there's something peculiar about the 45AII (I've never used one) any flat plate with the right size screw should work fine with your camera. The important thing with view cameras usually isn't matching the plate to the camera, it's matching the plate to the tripod head. I've bought a lot of plates from Kirk Enterprises over the years and they've always been very nicely machined and made plus the people have been helpful. I tried to buy something from RRS one time but the owner had an attitude that I didn't care for. I think there may now be a different owner, that was a long time ago.

[Jeff Dyck]

Like Barry, I am using the recommended RRS plate on my 45AII (used with an Arca Swiss B1) - works well. About the only complaint I have with it is that the plate is very small and does not allow you a lot of front to back movement in the clamp. This becomes evident when you want to access the plastic locking knobs on the bottom of the camera (i.e. to unlock rear swing /extend the back), which can be hard enough to turn at the best of times. The knob on the tripod clamp tends to sit in exactly the wrong place - I find that if I want to extend the back, I often have to loosen the release, slide the camera back almost out of the clamp, loosen the plastic knob under the camera, then slide it back forward and clamp it in. That being said, I have tried generic flate Arca plates, but had the usual problems with the plates wanting to spin - the RRS is still the preferable option for me.

[darter]

Don't bother with the RRS plate for the AII, it is way too small and clearly not designed for a field camera.. It actually encourages vibration and twisting. I suggest a Bogen pan head with a hexagonal plate, or alternatively, the low-profile head with accompanying large rectangular plate. The hexagonal one has set screws. I did not find the Arca Swiss B1 a good combination with a field camera, although others do. The best accessory for the AII is the folding monocular hood.

[Ted Harris]

One more vote for the 'Arca System.' Over a number of years I have used the Bogen hex plates and rectangular plates, the Horseman QR system and the Arca system. I had too many near disasters with the Bogen system in terms of difficulty locking things up and and difficulties keeping 'em that way, found the Horseman system to be terrific but waaaaaay too heavy for field use.

Two points here, as long as your plate is well machined and the right size it doesn't matter who made it. There are a number of small machine shops that make and sell generic plates for about 1/2 to 2/3 the price you pay for the name brands. They are just that, plain generic straight plates with no lips or special fittings for one camera or another, which is just what you need for a field camera. Many of them also make clams that are also perfectly functional and will cost you about half of the name brands again. All you need for the AII or any field camera for that matter is a plate that is long enough to give you plenty of support. A four inch plate should work fine and even a three inch plate should be ok.

The beauty of the Arca system is that it is so widespread thta these less expensive alternatives are available. Additionally, other 'name' companies, such as Foba, have basically adopted the system. The manufacturer of the head really doesn't matter, nor does the type; just screw the appropriate clamp on top of your head of choice and go from there. I use an Acratech head in the field with their clamp attached; a Foba and a Majestic in the studio. The Foba has an Arca system clamp (from Foba) and the Majestic, which is used exclusively with my Horseman L Frame camera, has the camera screwed directly to the head, no QR, for added rigidity. I have an assortment of plates, all flat, nothing fancy, ranging in length from 2 to 4 inches that are mounted on every camera I own. With the exception of two Arca brand plates, all the rest are generic and none cost more than $25 each.

[Merg Ross]

Casey,

the Bogen (Manfrotto) 329Rc4 head with quick release plate works well on the Toyo A. I have used this setup for several years without problems or complaints.

[Bob Phipps]

Casey,
Kirk Enterprises makes a PZ - 32 which is a flat plate with a 1/4 - 20 in a long slot. They will add a second 1/4 -20 to the slot and send along a spacer to fill the second tripod hole [3/8th?]. You position both screws and tighten with the hex wrench they provide. This locks the plate into the base in two separate places so it will not move. I use this for my Toyo 45CF and it works great. It cannot rotated with both screws in place.

Just see their website and call. [ kirkphoto.com] Tell them what you want and they will have it on the way.

Goodluck,
Bob