Really Right Stuff L plate for Sony Alpha 900

[aformaphoto]

Hello to David and to all the people!
I'm just joined and this is my first post, but I have been following this very interesting site and the articles David wrotes for a lot of time.

I started to shoot with Minolta film cameras back in the 1990 (manual focus X-700, XM and SRT-303; autofocus AF9000, Dynax 7) and I make an intense use of a Konica-Minolta 7D. My current Minolta AF lenses lineup is: 24/2.8, 35/2, 50/1.7, 100/2, 300/4 APO, 17-35/2.8-3.5, 28-75/2.8, 24-50/4, 24-105/3.5-4.5, 35-70/4, 70-210/4, 100-300/4.5-5.6 APO D. I have a Sigma 12-24/4.5-5.6 too.

I'm buying the new Alpha 900 to shoot landscapes. I think some very good tripod and head are needed, in order to obtain all the sharpness the Alpha 900 and the Minolta lenses I own are capable. I want to buy an L plate for Arca-Swiss type clamp ball-heads.

Really Right Stuff already makes an L plate for the Alpha 700 and it is a very fine piece of tool. This is the link to the item: http://reallyrightstuff.com/rrs/Itemdes ... DL&eq=&Tp=

There are many advantages in shooting with an L plate, how everyone can argue reading the RRS tutorial: http://reallyrightstuff.com/QR/05.html

So I asked Really Right Stuff guys about an L plate for Sony Alpha 900. This is the answer:
We are still contemplating whether or not we are going to design a plate for the A900. You are only the 9th person I know of that has asked us to make a plate. We must have more demand for that plate before we can justify spending the $10-$15k for R&D on a new plate... The more buzz generated about this camera the better your chances will be that we will make a custom plate for that A900.

Are there someone interested in the L plate for the Alpha 900? Here are the e-mail addresses for ask RRS guys to make the plate:
[email protected]; [email protected]

Regards

[David Kilpatrick]

Great post- welcome! You have a superb set of lenses for the 900 there.

I'm surprised the A700 L-bracket does not fit as the baseplates of the two cameras are so close in size.

David

[plevyadophy]

..... what's the big deal about this RRS (Really Right Stuff) thingy?

I mean, I have a Sony Tripod that enables me to mount my cam and position it in the portrait orientation. So what is this RRS thing gonna do for me that my Sony tripod can't?

Am I missing something here? Can someone enlighten me.

Thanks in advance.

[Dr. Harout]

A welcome from me too Aformaphoto

[aformaphoto]

Great post- welcome! You have a superb set of lenses for the 900 there.

I'm surprised the A700 L-bracket does not fit as the baseplates of the two cameras are so close in size.

David

Thank you very much David.
I have been waiting a 9 series camera like the A900 for years and years... I was tempted to switch to Canon 5D sometime and sell my lenses, but Minolta design are rational and intelligent: so I have always been faithful to the brand since the beginning. The A900 is a true Minolta with Sony logo. I can make to notice, for example, the interchangeable focusing screen with grid for the A900 is the "L" type. Minolta focusing screen with grid was "L" starting in the XM/XK era, following with the X-700, AF9000, Dynax 7 and 9 and so on. This is a sign that Sony has preserved the inheritance of the past...

I think the A-700 L-bracket don't fit, but I will check it. I have found an oriental manufacturer, Mestos from Korea, wich seems to make to go out in the market a L plate for A900 , but its site is written with the Korean characters and I can't understand the meaning correctly.

Regards

[aformaphoto]

A welcome from me too Aformaphoto

Thank you so much!

[aformaphoto]

..... what's the big deal about this RRS (Really Right Stuff) thingy?

I mean, I have a Sony Tripod that enables me to mount my cam and position it in the portrait orientation. So what is this RRS thing gonna do for me that my Sony tripod can't?

Am I missing something here? Can someone enlighten me.

Thanks in advance.

The long lenses like the Minolta AF APO 300/4 have a collar and so is easier to pass from the landscape orientation to portrait, keeping the load centered over the head, so minimizing the vibrations and therefore the loss of sharpness.

Without an L-plate, a short non-collared lenses, like 24mm or the beercan, needs to drop the camera body and the head, passing from the landscape orientation to portrait: the picture must be recomposed and there is an higher risk of vibration and sharpness loss.

The L plate benefits with short non-collared lenses are:
1. No need to recompose and to drop the camera when passing from the landscape orientation to portrait.
2. The load remains centered over the head and optimum vibration damping of the entire support system is assured.

Using an L-plate on the camera body solves shortcomings that arise when composing in vertical aspect. You can quickly mount the camera in horizontal or vertical aspect, directly atop the tripod’s apex, avoid gross positioning shifts, and retain best vibration damping.

I hope this will be useful.
Regards

[springm]

I mean, I have a Sony Tripod that enables me to mount my cam and position it in the portrait orientation. So what is this RRS thing gonna do for me that my Sony tripod can't?

The L-Plate allows to quickly mount the camera in portrait or landscape position. If you use your tripod often and do vary the orientation of pictures for different usage it is really handy. The RRS plates are extraordinarily fine examples of craftmanship, tightly fitting the camera body they are designed for, with recesses for the flash and DC socket, and fitting the Arca/Swiss quick mount system. If you have spent a lot of money on a good tripod and matching head, this can eliminate one further source of slop. From my experience I can only recommend it.

The difference to portrait mode with the help of the ballhead is that the center of gravity remains over the ballhead in both shooting modes and you don't have to readjust when switching orientation.

Markus

[aformaphoto]

Really Right Stuff is NOW ACCEPTING PRE-ORDERS!
See the link http://reallyrightstuff.com/rrs/items.a ... =1&Tp=&Bc=

Regards
Antonio

[David Kilpatrick]

They are a bit of a cult accessory. You still have buy a very expensive Arca Swiss head, and if my Arca Swiss ballhead (almost $500) is anything to go by, they are not long-lived when used with heavy equipment. I usually work with a pan and tilt head giving more than 90 degrees of flip (vital, many cheap ones do not) as this enables very quick portrait/landscape orientation switches when equal alignment (axial) is not needed - as for most distant subjects.

This is, I think, a more elegant solution that the L-brackets for maintaining axis alignment and very fast operation, no shoe to lock in, camera never leaves the tripod:

http://www.bellwood.co.uk/flashbrackets.shtml

The £74+VAT (£85.10) camera rotator for cameras without battery grip is probably a very good fit for the Alpha 900. I'll get one from Mike Bellwood to have a check up on. The price exported to the US is about $112 so I would assume that as it is US-made, it will be even cheaper in the US, but no:

http://www.hahnphotographic.com/custome ... hp?cat=426

Looks as if you can reimport from Bellwood and save yourself money... silly exchange rate situation right now. It can not last and I am sure the Bellwood price will rise by 30-40% in 2009, I think I'll get myself one right now.

I've used the Saunders system and the Justrite rotator in the distant past. One benefit is that if you buy this, it fits your A700, A900, A100 or KM7D or Nikon D300 or whatever - it is not camera specific, almost generic within each range A or B fit.

David

[mdcromer]

My experience with Arca-Swiss ballheads consists of a photo trip to the Smokies in April of 2005. Our small group had day-hiked about 3 miles, mostly uphill, to the hidden jewel of White Oak Sink. The most heavily-laden of our group was carrying a Nikon film SLR system in a full-sized backpack with MANY lenses. Somehow the pack weighed well north of 60 pounds -- even though he certainly wasn't toting a 600/4 or anything of that nature. . . I was carrying a Shen Hao 4x5 system with a few dozen quickloads, and my pack was less than 1/3 of the weight.

In any event, we all set up before sunrise, even the Nikon shooter (who had lagged far behind by the end of the trail). Suddenly, a stream of curses emerged through the air. His Arca-Swiss ballhead had locked up utterly and completely. Over the next hour, the rest of us captured some exquisite images



From the sink, while our unfortunate companion jerked and twisted on his tripod head, finally sitting down on a rock with his head in his hands. . .

[PhotoTraveler]

L brackets and acra-swiss I think is something that you have to learn the hard way.

Thom Hogan has is tripod support article which covers the cycle we all did (admit it) until we got our act together.

In the end, you learn what you want is modularity and commonality. You buy legs separate from heads, and you standardize your quick release. And the closest thing to a standard is Arca Swiss (basically as standard as MS Word.doc is to text editing/documents). It's an expensive first step. But once you do it. You have high quality gear and can add bits over time, and get them from multiple companies. The quality and function is excellent. Once you are going, you just buy new brackets when you get a new camera. The plates will outlive the gear. And the function is beauty. Pull out your tripod and connect your camera in seconds. And connect it so solid you will fling your camera with super expensive telephoto over your shoulder connected to the tripod with no worries. I've spun my 70-200 and A700 around at the end of my monopod on a RSS bracket. No worries. You want to go to vertical. Click, turn, Click and you are their in seconds, and then back again. Switch camera, again in seconds.

Others make quick release plates. But non-Arca Swiss stuff isn't standardized, and they change it randomly. Loose the plate, and you are toast. Go to a different tripod, out of luck again.

All my cameras have RSS plates. 2 lenses too. I can switch it all around without an issue.

An RSS L bracket is just part of buying a camera for me. I won't buy a camera until the RSS plate is available. Otherwise I have no way to use a tripod with it.

The massive family of add ons is also big. RSS makes all sorts of stuff, macro rails, flash brackets, spinning things. You can just add. And if they don't make it, someone else will and you can connect it together. Legos for photographers.

[Dr. Harout]

Legos for photographers.

I like that.

[aformaphoto]

They are a bit of a cult accessory. You still have buy a very expensive Arca Swiss head, and if my Arca Swiss ballhead (almost $500) is anything to go by, they are not long-lived when used with heavy equipment. I usually work with a pan and tilt head giving more than 90 degrees of flip (vital, many cheap ones do not) as this enables very quick portrait/landscape orientation switches when equal alignment (axial) is not needed - as for most distant subjects.

This is, I think, a more elegant solution that the L-brackets for maintaining axis alignment and very fast operation, no shoe to lock in, camera never leaves the tripod:

http://www.bellwood.co.uk/flashbrackets.shtml

The £74+VAT (£85.10) camera rotator for cameras without battery grip is probably a very good fit for the Alpha 900. I'll get one from Mike Bellwood to have a check up on. The price exported to the US is about $112 so I would assume that as it is US-made, it will be even cheaper in the US, but no:

http://www.hahnphotographic.com/custome ... hp?cat=426

Hello David,
thank you for the suggestion.
I have seen the CAMERA ROTATOR. It seem a very fine piece of tool for studio work.

For landscape photography, I think, an L plate is a better tool, because is so small and portable attached to the camera into a bag.

When I go off to the mountain I must to walk by foot for several miles, on difficult ground, before arriving on the place to shoot. My equipment is into the bag for the greatest part of the time, to the shelter from bumps, dust, damp. Sometime I put off the camera to shoot with when I find the best spot for the best view. A quick release is fundamental in my work.

At now I make use of a Manfrotto/Bogen 055 aluminium tripod, with a sturdy but massive Manfrotto ball-head; the weight is at around 4,5 Kg: TOO HEAVY.
After spending some weeks in testing the A900 I think the best tripod-head-plate sistem is required to work in the outdoors.
The A900 doesn't forgive the scarce technique and underlines every lack of attention in shooting.
I have for example realized that the beercan at 210mm produces high quality images but it asks for the maximum attention to exploit the whole sharpness of which the lens is able. I have found mirror lock-up drive mode is better than 2 second delay self timer, an so on.

Products from RRS are expensive but are very fine tools. I'm planning to buy:
1. Manfrotto 055MF3 (3 section legs) Magfiber Pro;
2. RRS BH-55 ball head;
3. RRS L plate.

Regards
Antonio

[InTheSky]

There is in USA the Alzo company too, who is desingning durable and not expensive support too :

http://alzodigital.com/online_store/alz ... lipper.htm

I have two of this equipement : Small Soft box with L plate mount : http://alzodigital.com/online_store/fli ... ox_kit.htm


Thoses are my best friend, because in a small bag i can carry two small stand and use the soft box as small studio, or i can at the same time mount one on my camera to get good portrait shot .

Regards,

Frank