My tripod has a RRS Quick Connect clamp that I use to quickly mount and remove my Wimberely Gimbelhead. The base of the Gimbalhead has a RRS Arca-Swiss plate, and the two mate perfectly.
For a landscape photo trip I have planned for October, I have to be able to replace the Gimbalhead with a Ball-head because I’ll be using short lenses without feet and adjustable collars, and frequently will be taking vertical vice horizontal shots. By way of explanation, going from horizontal to vertical with a lens that has a foot and adjustable collar on a Gimbalhead is no problem. I just loosen the collar screw and twist, but on shorter lenses with no feet and adjustable collars, the camera body has to be directly attached to the Gimbalhead and I cannot twist the camera to a vertical orientation on the Gimbalhead. Additionally, I can’t use an “L” bracket on the camera because of the longitudinal direction of the Arca-Swiss grooved track, which makes it impossible to connect the camera to the Gimbalhead horizontally although it would attach vertically. A perfect case of you can’t have everything. Ok, back to the problem.
I have a Sirui Ball-head with a quick connect clamp for the camera, but the base of the Ball-head is designed to be screwed directly into the tripod, and does not have a fitting that will easily allow attachment of a quick connect Arca-Swiss plate that will mate with the RRS clamp I already have on the base of the tripod. The problem is the 3/4 and 1/4 reduction screw supplied with the Ball-head is both too large in diameter, and too long, to screw in to an Arca-Swiss plate.
So, with all this wind up, I’d like to know if any of you kind folks out there has a fix for the problem. In short, I’m looking for an Arca-Swiss plate that will accommodate the screw from the Ball-head, which I don’t think is likely, a combination screw that will fit in both the base of the Ball-head and the plate, or some other fix. I’d much prefer not to remove the RRS clamp fitted on the tripod, partially because I want to maintain the quick release system and partially because that clamp on the tripod is held in place with Thread-Lock. The more I’ve written the more I’m convincing myself that the RRS clamp is going to have to come off the tripod but I’m hoping someone will have engineered a fix. Thanks
For a landscape photo trip I have planned for October, I have to be able to replace the Gimbalhead with a Ball-head because I’ll be using short lenses without feet and adjustable collars, and frequently will be taking vertical vice horizontal shots. By way of explanation, going from horizontal to vertical with a lens that has a foot and adjustable collar on a Gimbalhead is no problem. I just loosen the collar screw and twist, but on shorter lenses with no feet and adjustable collars, the camera body has to be directly attached to the Gimbalhead and I cannot twist the camera to a vertical orientation on the Gimbalhead. Additionally, I can’t use an “L” bracket on the camera because of the longitudinal direction of the Arca-Swiss grooved track, which makes it impossible to connect the camera to the Gimbalhead horizontally although it would attach vertically. A perfect case of you can’t have everything. Ok, back to the problem.
I have a Sirui Ball-head with a quick connect clamp for the camera, but the base of the Ball-head is designed to be screwed directly into the tripod, and does not have a fitting that will easily allow attachment of a quick connect Arca-Swiss plate that will mate with the RRS clamp I already have on the base of the tripod. The problem is the 3/4 and 1/4 reduction screw supplied with the Ball-head is both too large in diameter, and too long, to screw in to an Arca-Swiss plate.
So, with all this wind up, I’d like to know if any of you kind folks out there has a fix for the problem. In short, I’m looking for an Arca-Swiss plate that will accommodate the screw from the Ball-head, which I don’t think is likely, a combination screw that will fit in both the base of the Ball-head and the plate, or some other fix. I’d much prefer not to remove the RRS clamp fitted on the tripod, partially because I want to maintain the quick release system and partially because that clamp on the tripod is held in place with Thread-Lock. The more I’ve written the more I’m convincing myself that the RRS clamp is going to have to come off the tripod but I’m hoping someone will have engineered a fix. Thanks
