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Mike Mahoney
25-Apr-2001, 21:13
I'm eagerly awating my recently ordered Discovery kit and have seen a photo whic h shows the tripod mounting block as having that dovetail type of shape, presuma bly to slide into an Arca Swiss head. Is there a hole in the bottom of that plat e to accept the screw from a Manfrotto Quick release plate, or is the hole in th e monorail itself, or is there no hole at all?

Ellis Vener
25-Apr-2001, 23:36
Yes the Tripod block. Presumably it is threaded for the "European" (3/8") tripod thread.

Ellis Vener
25-Apr-2001, 23:36
Yes the Tripod block is threaded for a tripod screw. Presumably it is threaded for the "European" (3/8") tripod thread.

Jennifer Waak
26-Apr-2001, 00:16
I just put my new Discovery on it's tripod today (next is figuring out how to focus). It takes a 3/8" mount, not the standard U.S. 1/4" mount. I picked up an adapter today for my Bogen/Manfrotto head for $7 but am really going to need a plate that takes 3/8 natively since I find the adapter quite wobbly.

Allan Fontanilla.com
26-Apr-2001, 04:06
Unless you have an Arca head that mates with the mounting block, you will find that the threaded screw will never tighten down completely on a plain flat mounting plate, no matter how tight you tighten it. This is really apparent when you open the gg to insert the holder. It tends to twist the whole camera. Or when you have the camera tilted down at an angle, the weight of the camera will cause it to twist. It's an easy fix though. I just bought an extra quick release plate for my Bogan head, removed the rubber pad and machined a shallow recess into which the Arca mounting block fits. I leave it onpermanently and there is absolutely no twisting.

Ellis Vener
27-Apr-2001, 23:30
The problem is with the bogen head and plate. I never had problems tightening an Arca Swiss camera to a Gitzo Rationale 3B head (small platform), a big Gitzo 510 head, a Majestic head with a small all metal platform, or a Bogen 410 (the small geared head). These all preceded my acquiring an ArcaSwiss B2 Monoball.