Nikon Z9 L bracket

[Darrellhar]

I'm hoping to receive my Z9 this week and in anticipation of that I wanted to purchase a L Bracket for it. I typically get RRS but they are only offering a modular design for it and they also have no ETA on when they will start shipping them. Kirk has a more slim design and it appears they will be shipping in late March early April. Does anyone have any positive or negative things to say about Kirk L brackets. I have a lens plate from them but that is obviously different. I don't plan on needing to access the side ports at all so it would be overall build quality that I would be more interested in. Both offer hole for QD system which I love using.

I know there is supply shortages for a lot of material but I was really surprised that RRS and Kirk didn't have plates already available. I know Z9's are in short supply but they have been out for a few months now and assume many purchase brackets for their camera although maybe not as many with this style of camera since it more sports/wildlife than landscape. Still I don't recall them ever being this far behind with offering brackets for new cameras before. With how hot the Z9 is you would think they would want to be out ahead of that.

Oh well any feed back on Kirk L brackets would be appreciated. Thank you

 

[John Navitsky]

afaik, Kirk stuff is considered legit

 

[Nimi]

I'm hoping to receive my Z9 this week and in anticipation of that I wanted to purchase a L Bracket for it. I typically get RRS but they are only offering a modular design for it and they also have no ETA on when they will start shipping them. Kirk has a more slim design and it appears they will be shipping in late March early April. Does anyone have any positive or negative things to say about Kirk L brackets. I have a lens plate from them but that is obviously different. I don't plan on needing to access the side ports at all so it would be overall build quality that I would be more interested in. Both offer hole for QD system which I love using.

I know there is supply shortages for a lot of material but I was really surprised that RRS and Kirk didn't have plates already available. I know Z9's are in short supply but they have been out for a few months now and assume many purchase brackets for their camera although maybe not as many with this style of camera since it more sports/wildlife than landscape. Still I don't recall them ever being this far behind with offering brackets for new cameras before. With how hot the Z9 is you would think they would want to be out ahead of that.

Oh well any feed back on Kirk L brackets would be appreciated. Thank you

If access isn't critical, the RRS D6 integrated L works great and I use that. It does limit access which is not an issue in the field but a pain in the studio for tethering so when the new one arrives I'll go back and forth (I never shoot vertical in the studio).

Looking at the left side of the body, I can't imagine being able to construct a super-rugged integrated grip due to the number of ports and battery.

 

[bjanes]

afaik, Kirk stuff is considered legit

I have used Kirk and RSS L-brackets and they are very good, but they don't yet have a bracket for the Z9

I bought the Smallrig L-plate for my Z9 and like it. it is compact and well machined. It fits well on the camera. I had to order mine from China, but they are now available in the USA. Adorama has it in stock. It has received very favorable reviews.

 

[Darrellhar]

I have a RRS L bracket for my D850 with grip so I may check to see if that would fit in short term until others become in stock. RSS is module with sliding design and Kirk appears to have two screws that would allow you to remove L portion of bracket. I'd rather have one solid piece like my other brackets but that may not be available for a while or ever so I may end up ordering Kirk or RRS. RRS is just not giving any information on availability at this time. I haven't heard anything bad about Kirk just always went with RRS without thinking about it. I appreciate everyones input.

 

[Darrellhar]

I have used Kirk and RSS L-brackets and they are very good, but they don't yet have a bracket for the Z9

I bought the Smallrig L-plate for my Z9 and like it. it is compact and well machined. It fits well on the camera. I had to order mine from China, but they are now available in the USA. Adorama has it in stock. It has received very favorable reviews.

Kirk says on their site that they will be shipping end of March, early April. RSS has no information list at all other than allowing you to preorder. According to reviews on their site the price has gone up since they first offered it for pre-order as well.

 

[John Navitsky]

I bought the Smallrig L-plate for my Z9 and like it. it is compact and well machined. It fits well on the camera. I had to order mine from China, but they are now available in the USA.

yah, i got the smallrig cage and l-bracket for mine, but i don’t have enough experience to really say much about them. i’ve heard others say the Kirk l-brackets are better, but probably doesn’t make much difference to me considering how infrequently i use a tripod

 

[Nimi]

Kirk says on their site that they will be shipping end of March, early April. RSS has no information list at all other than allowing you to preorder. According to reviews on their site the price has gone up since they first offered it for pre-order as well.

This is the Z9 and RRS D6. It fits perfectly and it's available from BH.

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[Darrellhar]

Thank you Nimi. That is actually in stock at B&H too so I might order from them and just return if I don't like how it fits. I'm also close enough where I could take a trip down there to see it in person before buying.. I know RRS says that their stuff doesn't fit other cameras but often times they do so thanks for heads up on that option.

 

[Marty K]

I just received my Kirk Z9 L-Bracket (I preordered in November). For comparison, I have the Small Rig as well. The Kirk fits the camera better without requiring the use of an anti-twist pin. The Kirk is completely rigid when snugged up against the Z9 body using the vertical mount. It feels a bit more rigid then the Small Rig when the mount is away from the camera body. The notch for the 'triangle' strap mount fits the camera better without any interference. The only challenge is accessing the Focus Mode button on the left hand side of the camera. Although the bracket has a finger notch, it's a tight squeeze with my large fingers. Fortunately, once I have set the Z9 the way I like it, I don't have a need to access that button very often. In my opinion, based on the shape of the bracket, the access to the battery door is more accessible. It‘s great to have the QD attach point as well!

Marty

 

[Nimi]

I just received my Kirk Z9 L-Bracket (I preordered in November). For comparison, I have the Small Rig as well. The Kirk fits the camera better without requiring the use of an anti-twist pin. The Kirk is completely rigid when snugged up against the Z9 body using the vertical mount. It feels a bit more rigid then the Small Rig when the mount is away from the camera body. The notch for the 'triangle' strap mount fits the camera better without any interference. The only challenge is accessing the Focus Mode button on the left hand side of the camera. Although the bracket has a finger notch, it's a tight squeeze with my large fingers. Fortunately, once I have set the Z9 the way I like it, I don't have a need to access that button very often. In my opinion, based on the shape of the bracket, the access to the battery door is more accessible. It‘s great to have the QD attach point as well!

Marty

Is it possible to pull out the battery? Access to USB port? Thanks!

 

[aolander]

Kirk products are topnotch in my opinion.

 

[Butlerkid]

Indeed, Kirk products, in my opinion, are every bit as good as RRS. I've bought both for years. I have already received my Kirk L bracket for the Z9. Top tier manufacturing, QD attachment compatible, etc.

 

[Darrellhar]

I just received my Kirk Z9 L-Bracket (I preordered in November). For comparison, I have the Small Rig as well. The Kirk fits the camera better without requiring the use of an anti-twist pin. The Kirk is completely rigid when snugged up against the Z9 body using the vertical mount. It feels a bit more rigid then the Small Rig when the mount is away from the camera body. The notch for the 'triangle' strap mount fits the camera better without any interference. The only challenge is accessing the Focus Mode button on the left hand side of the camera. Although the bracket has a finger notch, it's a tight squeeze with my large fingers. Fortunately, once I have set the Z9 the way I like it, I don't have a need to access that button very often. In my opinion, based on the shape of the bracket, the access to the battery door is more accessible. It‘s great to have the QD attach point as well!

Marty

Hi Marty
Thanks for your input. I didn't realize that Kirk had shipped some already. I will be using the focus button a lot so that is an important thing for me to know. I didn't catch the twist pin being missing for the Kirk either (RRS does seem to have one) so that will factor in as well. Might be worth a trip to B&H once they both come into stock to test them both.

 

[Butlerkid]

Hi Marty
Thanks for your input. I didn't realize that Kirk had shipped some already. I will be using the focus button a lot so that is an important thing for me to know. I didn't catch the twist pin being missing for the Kirk either (RRS does seem to have one) so that will factor in as well. Might be worth a trip to B&H once they both come into stock to test them both.

The anti twist pin is unnecessary. ALL my RRS L brackets in the past did NOT have a twist pin. The L bracket fits so tightly along the body of the camera that there is no way for the bracket to move! As I said, I have already received the L bracket for the Z9....

 

[Darrellhar]

The anti twist pin is unnecessary. ALL my RRS L brackets in the past did NOT have a twist pin. The L bracket fits so tightly along the body of the camera that there is no way for the bracket to move! As I said, I have already received the L bracket for the Z9....

I'm honestly more concerned about the access to the focus button than I am the twist pin. Might be because I've had the D800 series bodies and not the larger integrated gripe ones but all of my RRS brackets have/had twist pins. Necessary or not its is nice to have the added support. It looks like I was responding to Marty the same time you wrote your post so I didn't see yours before responding to him.
Sounds like it would be best for me to take trip down to B&H once they are in stock and compare them. Thank you for your input.

 

[bjanes]

I just received my Kirk Z9 L-Bracket (I preordered in November). For comparison, I have the Small Rig as well. The Kirk fits the camera better without requiring the use of an anti-twist pin. The Kirk is completely rigid when snugged up against the Z9 body using the vertical mount. It feels a bit more rigid then the Small Rig when the mount is away from the camera body. The notch for the 'triangle' strap mount fits the camera better without any interference. The only challenge is accessing the Focus Mode button on the left hand side of the camera. Although the bracket has a finger notch, it's a tight squeeze with my large fingers. Fortunately, once I have set the Z9 the way I like it, I don't have a need to access that button very often. In my opinion, based on the shape of the bracket, the access to the battery door is more accessible. It‘s great to have the QD attach point as well!

Marty

It is good news that the Kirk bracket is now available. I think I will wait until the RSS bracket comes out and then decide if I should upgrade to one of these. I didn't want to wait and bought the SmallRig since my investment was not that large and I could afford to write it off should I decide to upgrade.

Bill

 

[Butlerkid]

FWIW...when shooting wildlife I very rarely use the L bracket. I am either hand holding with a medium telephoto (100-400, 500 PF, 80-400 AF-S) or putting the camera on a gimbal or bean bag with my long lens.

For me, the L bracket is handy for landscape and architectural images and when using lenses that don't rotate - thus requiring the camera to rotate to portrait orientation when needed. YMMV............

 

[PKW]

I’ve had Kirk L brackets on every Nikon body I’ve owned and have never had any problems with them. All Kirk brackets fit snugly on the body with no hint of twisting or any kind of movement and they allow access to the battery, cards, and ports. They also tend to be a few dollars cheaper than their RRS counterparts.
As far as the Z9 being a two-piece design, I think I prefer that for this camera--besides having an L-bracket on my camera bodies for use on a ballhead it also offers protection for the body. I don’t anticipate using the Z9 on a ball head much since I’ll be using it primarily with long lenses, so I‘ll remove the side bracket section and leave the bottom bracket section on the camera which protects the camera bottom from scratches and other damage.
BTW, I haven’t received my Z9 yet, ordered on announcement day from my local camera store, but I have been ordering things like an extra battery and battery cover for when I actually get it. This thread reminds me to order the L-bracket….

 

[Nimi]

I'm honestly more concerned about the access to the focus button than I am the twist pin. Might be because I've had the D800 series bodies and not the larger integrated gripe ones but all of my RRS brackets have/had twist pins. Necessary or not its is nice to have the added support. It looks like I was responding to Marty the same time you wrote your post so I didn't see yours before responding to him.
Sounds like it would be best for me to take trip down to B&H once they are in stock and compare them. Thank you for your input.

Another view of the D6 bracket showing focus button (no issue).

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[JohnW]

I'm hoping to receive my Z9 this week and in anticipation of that I wanted to purchase a L Bracket for it. I typically get RRS but they are only offering a modular design for it and they also have no ETA on when they will start shipping them. Kirk has a more slim design and it appears they will be shipping in late March early April. Does anyone have any positive or negative things to say about Kirk L brackets. I have a lens plate from them but that is obviously different. I don't plan on needing to access the side ports at all so it would be overall build quality that I would be more interested in. Both offer hole for QD system which I love using.

I know there is supply shortages for a lot of material but I was really surprised that RRS and Kirk didn't have plates already available. I know Z9's are in short supply but they have been out for a few months now and assume many purchase brackets for their camera although maybe not as many with this style of camera since it more sports/wildlife than landscape. Still I don't recall them ever being this far behind with offering brackets for new cameras before. With how hot the Z9 is you would think they would want to be out ahead of that.

Oh well any feed back on Kirk L brackets would be appreciated. Thank you

Have used Kirk “L” brackets for all my digital cameras from the D100, D200, D800 and now the Z7. Have had no issues and all have fit perfectly. Wish I had known about L brackets back when shooting film. Pretty much 1st thing I add when purchasing a new body and the Kirk brackets quality wise are every bit as good as the RRS but at a slightly lower cost. Wouldn’t hesitate adding a Kirk L bracket.

 

[Marty K]

Is it possible to pull out the battery? Access to USB port? Thanks!

Yes, the battery and ports are easily accessible with the Kirk L Bracket. I am very pleased with this bracket. I have been pleased with everything I have purchased from Kirk.

Marty

 

[Charles]

I had an L-bracket and just a bottom plate for my D4s, both of which fit my D6. I just tried both on my Z9 after reading this post and they fit perfectly, not sure about ports but they look to be accessible, battery, no problem. I won't be waiting on RRS after all.
Charles
Steamboat, CO.

 

[RichF]

RRS is very slow at releasing new products. Now that the worse of Covid is behind us, perhaps their supply / timing will improve

 

[Steve W]

+1 for Kirk. Never found issues with any of their products and a bit cheaper than RRS too.