PhreeZone 14 #1 January 21, 2008 I know there is a growing interest in the RRS L brackets for those of use shooting freefall stills that want to convert from landscape to portrait as needed. I ordered one for my XTi and have encountered a major issue I wanted to pass along. The bracket was designed for the weekend shooter with out shutter releases and is not able to be mounted fully on the clamp in portrait mode with the release plugged in unlike some of the higher end cameras have on their mounts. In speaking to RRS for over 20 minutes today they had a list of suggestions, the first and easiest was to look at the Kirk plates and clamps since they are designed differently and will allow for the shutter release to be used. The second was to take the L bracket to a machine shop and have them do some fairly specific work to the bracket to allow the cable to be used and fully fit on the clamp. Issue with this one is that if you screw this up the Bracket is only good for scrap metal so its a risk but the measurements are pretty hard to screw up for any machinist that knows anything about working on a mill at all. Downside is the anodized finish is ruined and you probally will never be able to sell the plate if you wanted to and it is slightly weaker. I'm trying to decide if its worth it to eat the $12 on shipping from them to me and the return rate plus the extra ~$20 for the larger and bulkier Kirk plates (roughy $50 in difference and shipping fees for me).Yesterday is history And tomorrow is a mystery Parachutemanuals.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pattersd 0 #2 January 21, 2008 I have the XTI with a RRS L bracket and lever clamp, and the way I handle this is to not slide the L-bracket all the way in. The L bracket is offset from the center of the clamp less than a 1/4", and you are losing about 1/8" of effective clamp length. route the cable so it exits at the top of the camera from the L bracket. I can attacha photo of it set up this way on a tripod later this evening, if you want. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PhreeZone 14 #3 January 21, 2008 Dave deleted his post I talked to the designer of the bracket for half the conversation about the history of the design and its limitations. I also talked to him about future designs and needs and the basic reply was the XTi family is really designed for people that never use a remote release, the 5/30/40D and better line is what I should be looking at instead. Too bad thats a whole body upgrade and a lot more weight to haul around They mentioned running the cable out the top of the bracket near the strap attachment point but that doesn't work for me since its going to be used far more in the field then on my helmet and I am not wanting to take the bracket on and off every time I want to change orentiations or to haul it out on the Tripod. They also mentioned off setting the camera so some of the L Bracket hangs out of the clamp but since I want to push the camera to be at the center points so thats not an option either. I'd love to see photos of how people got it to line up on a LLR II plate or similar at the center point without routing the cable out the camera strap area. Talking to a machine shop they want less then $15 to do the work, I know how to run the mill already so I am hoping to do it for free or for a beer. If its costing me money on the mill the Kirk bracket is looking good. Yesterday is history And tomorrow is a mystery Parachutemanuals.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pilotdave 0 #4 January 21, 2008 Well, I know someone using an RRS mount with an L-bracket that works perfectly with a tongue switch in either orientation. I don't know if RRS makes the L-braket or not, but they definitely make the piece on his helmet. It's really nice... Dave Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PhreeZone 14 #5 January 21, 2008 Kirk brackets do not fit in RRS clamps, already thought of that since I really like my RRS clamp. Yesterday is history And tomorrow is a mystery Parachutemanuals.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The111 0 #6 January 21, 2008 When I helped Bowen build his helmet (he posted about it recently) we were able to use his 40D on an RRS bracket in portrait. It's hard to explain but you were able to slide the camera "up" on the L-bracket a bit to create a space for the cable to come out. Maybe Bowen will post a picture explaining this. Not sure what the differences are between 40D and 400D RRS brackets.www.WingsuitPhotos.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PhreeZone 14 #7 January 21, 2008 40D and 400D are completely different bracket designs. The 40D has a cut out in the front of the L for the routing of the cable where on the 400D its a solid piece.Yesterday is history And tomorrow is a mystery Parachutemanuals.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The111 0 #8 January 21, 2008 Quote 40D and 400D are completely different bracket designs. The 40D has a cut out in the front of the L for the routing of the cable where on the 400D its a solid piece. Hacksaw! www.WingsuitPhotos.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PhreeZone 14 #9 January 21, 2008 Cutting it there weakens the design too much and turns the L into a tuning fork The 40D plate has beefed up corners to be able to have that much of the front missing where as they told me doing that to the 400D plate will lead to the plate warping and not fitting correctly anymore and they will not say if the clamp will hold the camera anymore. I'm really thinking a 5D looks good about now... Yesterday is history And tomorrow is a mystery Parachutemanuals.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LouDiamond 1 #10 January 21, 2008 Eric, I am not familiar with the side of your camera but I cannot imagine that the remote switch location would be much different from where it is on the digi-rebel or is it drastically different? If you decide to go the 5D route let me know, I know where several are available right now and you can get one for a very good deal if you move soon."It's just skydiving..additional drama is not required" Some people dream about flying, I live my dream SKYMONKEY PUBLISHING Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pattersd 0 #11 January 22, 2008 I just tried it with mine. with the canon remote I can slide the L bracket all the way onto the clamp (at least to where it is centered) the remote cable is squeezed, but not so much that I would worry about it shorting the wires, you can still get the cable to slide with a gentle pull. With the conceptus tongue switch, the cable is tight, you have to open the clamp all the way and place the plate into the clamp from the top, you can't slide it into place, it leaves marks in the outside of the cable where it is squeezed, the marks disappear after just a couple of minutes after removing from the clamp, this would worry about causing a short in the wires inside the cable eventually. a couple of strokes with a rat tail file or seconds with a dremel and grind stone attachment would remove more than enogh material from either the L bracket or clamp to let the cable fit without worrying about shorting the wires. Yes this would hurt the resale value of whichever side you decided to modify, but I doubt it would hurt the integrity of either. The other alternative is to make a short male to female cable and plug the male into the camera route the female between the camera and L bracket at the back top of the L bracket secure the female end of the adpter cable to the L bracket, then plug the remote switch into the female end of the adapter cable. the clamp I am using, is the new style with the cutouts in the base that allow positioning screws to locate correctly for some of their accessories, if you have bought a lever clamp from them in the last two or three years it will be this style. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MrHips 0 #12 February 8, 2008 I have set up my 400d using the L plate and the B2 LLR II. I used a right angle 2.5mm stereo jack I bought here (sorry couldn't work out the clicky thing - http://jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=PP0104&CATID=&keywords=2%2E5+angle+plug&SPECIAL=&form=KEYWORD&ProdCodeOnly=&Keyword1=&Keyword2=&pageNumber=&priceMin=&priceMax=&SUBCATID= I have no trouble at all in putting the camera in either orientation. I can post pics if anyone wants to see them. Cameron[url] Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
