Mounting a CC-401 to a 3LT Airhed Pro

[Jimmy Junco]

I am attempting to mount a Calumet 401 to a 3 Legged Thing tripod (Winston 2.0 with Airhed Pro head).

The tripod head has an Arca-Swiss compatible release as shown below.

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Who knows what the camera mount is. You can see it below.

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The bolt fits fine but as you can see below, the plate itself is too small and doesn't contact the sides of the camera foot. The bolt is the only thing holding the camera to the plate and there's a good deal of wiggle. It's this gap in between that proves problematic.

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I have a cheap plastic plate that's wide and long which gives good coverage over the camera foot. However, it's cheap plastic and it's a Peak compatible release which doesn't fit the tripod head.

Anyway, I'm looking for ideas about adapters or other kinds of plates I can use to combine these pieces of kit that are nearly 60 years apart from each other.

[Jimmy Junco]

I might have solved my own problem. Seems like this would fit just fine.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/802724335-USE/arca_swiss_802210_1_universal_long_camera_plate.html

It would rest against the "wings" on the base plate of the camera. So, maybe I'd want to put a little bit of rubber in between to minimize scratching and provide some friction.

Looking closer, it seems like there's a 3/8" to 1/4" reducing adapter in the bolt hole of the camera's base plate. If I could remove that, 3LT makes a longer plate that would sit inside of those "wings" nicely. What I don't want to do is damage that adapter trying to get it out.

[rfesk]

Recommend you buy a larger plate from another manufacturer to use in place of the too-small plate. That will be the the easiest and most efficient way of solving your problem.

Another possibility is to find or have cut a piece of 1/4" thick aluminum plate large enough to cover the base of the Calumet
and drill a 1/4" hole in its center. You then can replace the original screw (1/4-20) of your original with one 1/4" longer (from a hardware store.) Placing this plate between the original plate and the camera base should work fine. The worst problem you will encounter then will be keeping the camera from rotating on the plate.

I prefer to have metal to metal contact between a large camera and the tripod to reduce vibrations. Your existing plate has cushions which aren't good - in my opinion.

Edit: Looks like you found a solution while I was typing.

[Jimmy Junco]

I prefer to have metal to metal contact between a large camera and the tripod to reduce vibrations. Your existing plate has cushions which aren't good - in my opinion.

Thanks for your reply! This detail is good to know.

I think that plate I linked will do exactly what you described. It may need a longer bolt as you mentioned. I'll see how it comes together when it gets here in a few days.

Another option occurred to me as I was measuring this thing. It's about 37-38mm in between the "wings" on the base plate of the camera. If I were to remove the reducing bushing, a plate could sit flush against the metal between those "wings". It would then be attached with a 3/8" bolt. That plate would need to be 60mm or longer to have full contact. The wings could then act as anti-twist guardrails of a sort.

[LabRat]

Making an additional plate that screws on to the camera mount is a good idea... A 1/4" to 1/2 " thick aluminum oversize plate that screws with a counter sunk bolt, or hardwood block with a T nut that can screw to the tripod screw, and it just gets left attached to the camera during storage etc...

Steve K

[Offhand35]

I have a Calumet CC-400. I use a BENRO PU-60 plate for the Benro Arca Swiss quick release. It fits long-wise across. With the thin orange rubber in between to prevent slipping, it has been solid.
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[Duolab123]

I remember going through this 40 years ago with one of these lovely great cameras, I just made a thin aluminum spacer with a oversized hole, worked fine. I have a Calumet CC-4××? wide angle camera, love it. 65mm lens with a standard flat board. I use a Manfrotto plate, oversized rectangular, with the old hexagonal qr setup.

[MrFujicaman]

Duolab, the Calumet wide angle model is the 402.