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A7II and A7rII L bracket
- Thread starter Guy Mancuso
- Start date
been reluctant to comment, but i have been making an A7 bracket, both for the camera and the vertical grip since the A7 came out.
milich.com.
it perturbs me to see the ridiculous low prices for asian parts, i can only imagine how they can do this. to give you an idea of the mfg. process in my shop where i make these 100%: (even RRS farms out all their machining; all they do in house is part development and order processing):
measurements are taken and Cad drawings are developed for each camera type, of course, typically an L-bracket is two piece. then profiles are cut out on the waterjet, the parts are screwed to a custom fixture plate so all surfaces can be CNC machined. a few holes may require a second setup and usually the part has to be reversed on the fixture plate to machine the bottom surface. then tapping and counterboring on another machine hand held. these are then deburred and buffed with a scotchbrite wheel then tumbled in a vibratory abrasive machine for an hour. then they get fitted to a rack and go into the anodizing process, takes about an hour an 30 minutes. remove parts and dry, and assemble takes a few minutes. recently, i've been using a folding wing-screw which i can buy for about $3.
then there is the order management, labeling, packaging and posting. USPS priority costs about $6, and there is a the paypal fee. i also have shop overhead, insurance, taxes and machine, shop costs (water jet and CNC machines and tooling are expensive and renting my shop space is not cheap)
of course in asia wages are 1/10 those in the US; i doubt they pay unemployment, worker's comp and liability insurance.
so much for the global market
milich.com.
it perturbs me to see the ridiculous low prices for asian parts, i can only imagine how they can do this. to give you an idea of the mfg. process in my shop where i make these 100%: (even RRS farms out all their machining; all they do in house is part development and order processing):
measurements are taken and Cad drawings are developed for each camera type, of course, typically an L-bracket is two piece. then profiles are cut out on the waterjet, the parts are screwed to a custom fixture plate so all surfaces can be CNC machined. a few holes may require a second setup and usually the part has to be reversed on the fixture plate to machine the bottom surface. then tapping and counterboring on another machine hand held. these are then deburred and buffed with a scotchbrite wheel then tumbled in a vibratory abrasive machine for an hour. then they get fitted to a rack and go into the anodizing process, takes about an hour an 30 minutes. remove parts and dry, and assemble takes a few minutes. recently, i've been using a folding wing-screw which i can buy for about $3.
then there is the order management, labeling, packaging and posting. USPS priority costs about $6, and there is a the paypal fee. i also have shop overhead, insurance, taxes and machine, shop costs (water jet and CNC machines and tooling are expensive and renting my shop space is not cheap)
of course in asia wages are 1/10 those in the US; i doubt they pay unemployment, worker's comp and liability insurance.
so much for the global market
V
Vivek
Guest
John, Your concerns are totally valid and I empathize with them. However, consider that the cameras are themselves are "farmed out" and manufactured in Thailand for economic reasons. It makes no sense for me to buy an L bracket anywhere else when I can get it delivered for a tenth of a price.
Stephen, yes, mine arrived yesterday (they were backordered). I chose it because I did not know Sunwayfoto had one that would fit an RRS clamp (the one for the A7R did not) and because it was recommended highly by a well respected photographer on another forum (I have found his opinion to be very valuable). The plate indeed looks like a tank, very well built, heavy, sturdy, has steel rods that allow extension of the vertical plate to a variable distance from the horizontal.
However, it is very fiddly, the actual plate looks different from the photos on the website and there are protrusions towards the camera side on the vertical plate that make no sense to me. There are some custom options that they include, like a flange for extra protection on the horizontal plate etc that to me are absolutely redundant.
Suffice it to say I did not like it and called them for a return. The service is superb as mentioned on the other forum too. They immediately emailed me a return shipping label, cost of shipping included.
So it may work very well for people looking for a really tough product but given the size of the A7RII, my needs are for the absolutely lightest plate I can find. I am hardly going to mount a huge lens without using the lens plate as the support for the tripod so I don't understand the need for a 'tank-like' contraption.
My Neweer plate is on its way from Amazon now.
regarding the basic camera plate:
the bottom has to be thick enough so that with the tripod clamped on, the LCD can still fully articulate; i start with a 3/8" thick plate. i sixe and test all my plates to fit the RRS lever clamps
i hate the "folding wing screws", but they are toolless...i much prefer an allen key
also sliding the bracket works for USB access, but i don't like that either, and the half height L-plate maybe solve half the access problem and is wimpy.
i have a design where the L-plate portion is on the right side of the camera instead and has enough cutaway to allow card access. no sliding needed, seems to not interfere with gripping the body. may work one up
problems are worse with the vertical grip L-plate, no practical way to access the battery compartment without loosening and swinging the bracket, also requires sliding. not sure yet if a RH L-plate would work, which would avoid both problems
the bottom has to be thick enough so that with the tripod clamped on, the LCD can still fully articulate; i start with a 3/8" thick plate. i sixe and test all my plates to fit the RRS lever clamps
i hate the "folding wing screws", but they are toolless...i much prefer an allen key
also sliding the bracket works for USB access, but i don't like that either, and the half height L-plate maybe solve half the access problem and is wimpy.
i have a design where the L-plate portion is on the right side of the camera instead and has enough cutaway to allow card access. no sliding needed, seems to not interfere with gripping the body. may work one up
problems are worse with the vertical grip L-plate, no practical way to access the battery compartment without loosening and swinging the bracket, also requires sliding. not sure yet if a RH L-plate would work, which would avoid both problems
MikeEvangelist
Member
Thanks for pointing that one out.
I had ordered the Sunwayfoto version a few days ago, and sent it back minutes after it arrived. (the vertical mounting portion of it was not parallel to the camera body.) Paying fifty bucks for a Chinese knock-off, I at least expect it to be properly aligned.
And like you, I prefer a design that covers the entire bottom of the camera. (Interesting that RRS is going back to that style - they must have gotten some backlash about their previous strange design.)
I ordered the cheap neewer l-bracket as I have a few trips coming up and definitely need the vertical capability. I originally thought that I wouldn't need vertical extension for cables as I have been using a wireless remote but I realized that I wanted to plug in an external battery. So once RRS completes their new design, I'll take another look and might get a different plate.
It turns out that my 5DII l-plate actually almost works on the A7RII. The back lcd needs about 1mm of additional clearance for the LCD to articulate which I could probably get with some cork spacer. But I would also have to get l-connectors for any ports I want to use.
It turns out that my 5DII l-plate actually almost works on the A7RII. The back lcd needs about 1mm of additional clearance for the LCD to articulate which I could probably get with some cork spacer. But I would also have to get l-connectors for any ports I want to use.
Eoin
Member
Feeling slightly "done by" RRS now. They decided the bracket design for the A7II wasn't quite good enough and redesigned it to what it should have been in the first place.
The good in all this, is the interesting links to other rail and camera support system manufacturers, it will definitely colour my next plate/rail purchase.
The good in all this, is the interesting links to other rail and camera support system manufacturers, it will definitely colour my next plate/rail purchase.
My cheap neewer l-bracket arrived and frankly i'm impressed with it given that it's only$20. Seems well made and is not over engineered.
I only have a few minor complaints: the cutout for the camera lug is off center and might rub under flexing, and the camera is not quite aligned vertically. But for the cost (and considering it's for the A7II) it's reasonable. I still might order the RRS version (or another makers) later, but this will be serviceable for now.
I only have a few minor complaints: the cutout for the camera lug is off center and might rub under flexing, and the camera is not quite aligned vertically. But for the cost (and considering it's for the A7II) it's reasonable. I still might order the RRS version (or another makers) later, but this will be serviceable for now.