Which Arca-Swiss plate for a Z9

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steigw

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While I typically have a longer lens on the Z9 that has its own Henjar foot, I'm finding I need the ability to put the Z9 directly on the tripod. I don't believe I want to go with an L bracket, they seem bulky and awkward, although I've not actually used one. So for me at least, I'm looking for an arca-swiss plate for the base of the Z9. Which one do you have and why did you choose it?
 
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Well, where to start. There are dozens of possible option. I assume you are looking at Arca.
My best advice is look for one that doesn’t block access to your battery door.
I use a Peak Design V3 plate which came with the Clutch hand strap. On the D500 and an L bracket on the D850.
 
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@steigw Do you plan to only shoot horizontal photos with the shorter lenses? If you plan to do any verticals you will want an L bracket. This allows you to mount the camera in a vertical orientation while keeping the tripod head upright. If you don't have an L on the camera you will have to flip the tripod head sideways with the camera hanging off the side. This is much less stable and for a large gripped body like the Z9 seems a bit risky.
 
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Steve W said:
Well, where to start. There are dozens of possible option. I assume you are looking at Arca.
My best advice is look for one that doesn’t block access to your battery door.
I use a Peak Design V3 plate which came with the Clutch hand strap. On the D500 and an L bracket on the D850.
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I hadn't thought about battery access, thanks for the reminder.
 
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MrFotoFool said:
@steigw Do you plan to only shoot horizontal photos with the shorter lenses? If you plan to do any verticals you will want an L bracket. This allows you to mount the camera in a vertical orientation while keeping the tripod head upright. If you don't have an L on the camera you will have to flip the tripod head sideways with the camera hanging off the side. This is much less stable and for a large gripped body like the Z9 seems a bit risky.
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I hadn't give much thought to portrait vs landscape, but it would seem that an L bracket would future proof things. I was sort of hoping to avoid one. Can you recommend a particular brand for the Z9?
 
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I use this one from RRS: NIKON Z9 Modular L-Plate. I find that it is rock solid and accommodates all of the side port access panels and battery access quite well. "I've heard" that you might encounter some play/movement with some of the other competitor's products. This might have been more of an issue in the early days of the Z9 before RRS and others had a chance to engineer their solutions and get them to the marketplace.

Kirk and ProMediaGear are also reputable and might be worth checking out. Try to buy from a place where you can return it if you are not happy with it
 
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I got the RRS L bracket. Excellent quality. You can get the bottom plate alone and if late you want the L bracket you can purchase that piece separately. Highly recommend RRS lates and Brackets
 
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If you do not get an L bracket the Arca Swiss fitting has an obvious weakness of not being very wide, providing a small footprint to prevent twist.

The Gizo plates are 2 inches across on the top surface and resist twist better.
 
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The only camera plates I’ve ever had twist were those using cork between the clamp and body. Fitted and torqued correctly, there should be no problem.
The other plate worth looking at is the Wimberley P-5. It’s 3” wide and has safety stop at each end.
 
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Steve W said:
The only camera plates I’ve ever had twist were those using cork between the clamp and body. Fitted and torqued correctly, there should be no problem.
The other plate worth looking at is the Wimberley P-5. It’s 3” wide and has safety stop at each end.
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Here's an example video where Hudson Henry demonstrates the play/flex in a SmallRig L-Bracket: HH ATS 192 (starting around the 23:55 mark).
 
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SoCalRick said:
Here's an example video where Hudson Henry demonstrates the play/flex in a SmallRig L-Bracket: HH ATS 192 (starting around the 23:55 mark).
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All the youtubers and so called influensers I’ve seen complaining about the play/flex with the SmallRig L-bracket have removed the metal loops for the strap from the camera, also Hudson Henry has done this.
There is a cut out in the L-bracket for this loop to be pointing upwards (see photo).
I have it this way and there is little to no play/flex as the L-bracket is supported by this loop.
IMG_0588.jpeg
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StevieJSmall said:
I use Kirk Photo exclusively. I recommend the L Bracket personally but the Camera Plate would work for your original ask.

Z9 - Nikon - Camera Mounting | Kirk Photo

Kirk Photo is a manufacturer of camera parts and equipment including camera monopod, gimbal & ball heads, mounting equipment, brackets, rails and more!
kirkphoto.com kirkphoto.com
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How does the L bracket allow vertical mounting on a tripod? Does the plate mount to the L bracket so I’d end up getting both?
 
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steigw said:
How does the L bracket allow vertical mounting on a tripod? Does the plate mount to the L bracket so I’d end up getting both?
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The L Bracket has the arca swiss machining on the bottom plate and on the side that runs up the left side of camera (assuming you’re looking at back of camera).

If you got the L Bracket, you wouldn’t need the bottom plate separately unless you just wanted it for the times you didn’t want to use the L bracket.

While you could take apart the side piece on the L bracket and just use the bottom piece (it’s the same as the standalone on the site), they really put the screw fittings on tight and use something akin to loctite to bond so I’d advise against doing that.

The L Bracket is a more versatile tool in my experience and for the times you don’t want it, it’s easy enough to take off with the included Allen key wrench that snaps in place under bottom plate so you always have it with you.

I believe Really Right Stuff has the same implementation too as well.
 
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StevieJSmall said:
The L Bracket has the arca swiss machining on the bottom plate and on the side that runs up the left side of camera (assuming you’re looking at back of camera).

If you got the L Bracket, you wouldn’t need the bottom plate separately unless you just wanted it for the times you didn’t want to use the L bracket.

While you could take apart the side piece on the L bracket and just use the bottom piece (it’s the same as the standalone on the site), they really put the screw fittings on tight and use something akin to loctite to bond so I’d advise against doing that.

The L Bracket is a more versatile tool in my experience and for the times you don’t want it, it’s easy enough to take off with the included Allen key wrench that snaps in place under bottom plate so you always have it with you.

I believe Really Right Stuff has the same implementation too as well.
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Does the L bracket allow the screen to articulate in both directions?
 
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It does articulate to the left, but not as far. More concerning is that the edge of the screen protrudes over the edge of the camera a bit. I guess that is why I've read that L brackets impact the articulation. Probably not a big deal, but a data point to consider.
IMG_9451.jpeg
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Kjellis said:
All the youtubers and so called influensers I’ve seen complaining about the play/flex with the SmallRig L-bracket have removed the metal loops for the strap from the camera, also Hudson Henry has done this.
There is a cut out in the L-bracket for this loop to be pointing upwards (see photo).
I have it this way and there is little to no play/flex as the L-bracket is supported by this loop.
View attachment 61303
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Hi,
Could not agree with you more , have mine set up exactly this way and there is no flex at all it fits like a glove. Sure if you want to place all of your body weight and press down on it, it flexes a little bit but so does my fridge ?

I just returned from South of France on windy moutaintops taking 4 minute long exposure images and they were tack sharp.

This flex issue is a ‘tempest in a tea pot.’ Set it up just like Kjellis recommends and you will be fine. It is just YouTubers trying to have something to say, saying it “ all works great “ makes for a very short video.
 
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lancej said:
Hi,
Could not agree with you more , have mine set up exactly this way and there is no flex at all it fits like a glove. Sure if you want to place all of your body weight and press down on it, it flexes a little bit but so does my fridge ?

I just returned from South of France on windy moutaintops taking 4 minute long exposure images and they were tack sharp.

This flex issue is a ‘tempest in a tea pot.’ Set it up just like Kjellis recommends and you will be fine. It is just YouTubers trying to have something to say, saying it “ all works great “ makes for a very short video.
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I have used the L-bracket in vertical position shooting landscapes and long exposures and it works like a charm. It just goes to show how much influencers and youtubers can hurt a product/brand publishing misinformation...
 
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