Photography: Quick Release System

You can attach your camera or lens to a tripod head with the head's screw. Fastening and loosening takes some time and you may have the risk of the screws loosening up with the camera or lens falling. So most people prefer quick release plates. These are small pieces of metal that are tightly attached to the camera or the lens. Some can be attached, specially to bigger lenses, with two screws. These plates are then in turn attached to the tripod's head. They do speed up attachment and removal and often offer a more secure attachment.

You will need such a plate for each lens and camera you have, as you will normally keep them attached to the camera or lens. Personally I keep them attached to my bigger lenses only. I don't keep them attached to my cameras. There are several different systems but basically there are only two real good systems, the Arca Swiss system and the Manfrotto hex system (Manfrotto is sold in the US under the name Bogen).

The discussion which of the systems is best keeps coming back. Personally I like the Manfrotto hex system very much. You can attach the lens with just one click, using just one hand. You just put the plate into the head and you hear a big loud click. Then you know it is tight. The system is rather "binary", it's either opened or closed, nothing inbetween. There is also another handle to extra secure the system, so that it can not be openend accidentally. With the newer versions, this handle is closed automatically.

Most people however seem to like the Arca Swiss QR system, which has become kind of a standard. With this system you slide the plate into a clamp and then tighten the clamp with a screw. This system seems more "analog", there is loose and tight with an infinite number of positions inbetween. The main advantage of the AS system is that you can slide the plate through the clamp and thereby adjust the balance of the lens/camera combination. Another advantage is this system is the availability of dedicated plates for most cameras and lenses.

Both brands sell (ball)heads with their system already attached, but they also sell (ball)heads and QR clamps seperately. So you can use both systems on any brand of tripod or (ball)head. You can fix a Manfrotto head with the AS system and you can fix an Arca Swiss B-1 with the hex system. I have fitted both my Arca Swiss B1 ballheads with a Manfrotto hex clamp.

AS-style universal plates are available from Arca Swiss and many other manufacturers. There are two companies (Kirk and RRS) that have designed custom AS-style plates for each camera and lens. These plates are very nice and high quality. They are however very expensive ($45-$65). Hex plates are available in much less different variations. The normal ones by Manfrotto (Bogen) cost about $15 each. Kirk does also make some special custom plates for the hex system at about $40.

	Top view of the Manfrotto 225 (Bogen 3296) quick release system. This unit costs about $35 and is sold with one hex plate. It can be attached to any tripod or tripod head with either a 1/4 or a 3/8 screw. It can also be attached with two M6 screws. In the middle there is another opening (not threaded) for any other kind of screw. To attach a hex plate you put two sides under the black edges (top of picture), then you press the other side on the brass pin. By depressing this pin, a spring coil clicks the grey lever in place. Another spring clicks a safety handle in place, which locks the grey lever.
	Bottom view of the same Manfrotto QR unit. You can see the holes which can be used to attach it to a tripod. The big brass screw on the right is an extra 3/8 screw for the hex plate. The plate is equipped with a 1/4 screw, but this can easily be exchanged for the 3/8 screw depending on your preference. Down left you can see the safety handle. When a hex plate is put onto the clamp, the lock closes and the safety handle automatically clicks in place. The lock can not be opened without first opening the safety handle. This system is foolproof.
	This is a top view of a hex plate. As you can see there is one hole in the middle for the screw that attaches to the camera or lens. This can either be a 1/4 or a 3/8 screw. The other holes in the plate give you the opportunity to add extra screws. Of course the location of these extra holes is fixed and universal. So they might fit for your equipment or they might not. Maybe you can drill an extra hole in the plate at the exact location you need. This may be easy but I have never tried it. As far as I know both the 030 and the 130 plate have these holes, but only in the flat 130 plate they are threaded and have screws.
	This is the 030 plate (030-14 with 1/4 screw, 030-38 with 3/8 screw) which has a long screw and an extra nut to tighten the screw. With this one you can really tighten the screw very firmly by hand. The disadvantage of this one however, is that the underside is not flat. You can't put a camera or lens equipped with this plate on a flat surface. It will keep bumping over.
	The 130 plate (130-14 with 1/4 screw, 130-38 with 3/8 screw) has a screw that is non-protruding. You will need a screwdriver to tighten this screw. But the plate is completely flat on the underside. So you can put it on a table or anything, where it will be reasonably stable. I found this very usefull many times at places where I can't use a tripod. The underside of the plate has three "cavities" to save weigth? The newer versions of the plate don't have this anymore. (note the three little screws in the plate)
	Manfrotto 030UNIV plate. This is a very large plate (6cmx12cm) used to attach big lenses or big cameras to the adapter. I use this plate for my 500mm lens. The plate is equipped with both a big 1/4 and a big 3/8 screw. Besides these two, there are several other smaller M6 screws. An advantage of this plate is that it can also serve as a small platform itself. Just put it onto any reasonably flat surface and the lens will be quite stable. A disadvantage is that is is quite big, so you won't like it when handholding a lens.
	Bottom view of the same big 030UNIV plate. You can see the the large screws. The one in the middle (here the 1/4) is used to attach the camera or lens, and the other one (here the 3/8) is just the spare. Though it may not look like it, the underside is flat. You can put this plate on a flat surface and it wil be very stable.
	This is the underside of the lens mount of my old Canon FD 300/2.8L lens. You can see the big threaded hole for an 1/4 inch screw. Around this hole are four other holes. If you look carefull, you can see that they are used for screws that attach the lenscollar. The little screws in the hex plate can be screwed into these holes. They are not threaded, but do provide a very solid grip. A plate attached with little screws into these holes will certainly not twist or pivot. The nice thing is that the diameter of the holes exactly fits the diameter of the little screws. Otherwise of course it wouldn't work very well.
	The underside of my old Canon FD 500/4.5L has the same basic layout. It is just bigger with the addition of a second 1/4 inch screw. It will be best to attach a plate using both 1/4 screws, but it could also be done by making use of one or more of the four little holes.