The Wandering Lensman: Own an X-T1? Looking For An L-Plate (L-Bracket)? Is there a good alternative to the Really Right Stuff L-Plate?

What you receive when you purchase a Sunwayfoto L-plate (click to enlarge)

I needed to buy an L-bracket for my Fujifilm X-T1 but didn't really want to spend $135 + shipping for the defacto industry standard, the Really Right Stuff L-Bracket. I wondered if there was something out there that was as well engineered and constructed but at a much lower cost. I found the Sunrayfoto PFL-XT1R L-plate for $59.00! How good is it? Read on.

I normally buy an L-plate (or L-bracket as some may call it) for all of my cameras since I do a fair amount of tripod work. I find them highly convenient as they are Arca-Swiss compatible as are all the ballheads on my various tripods. The bracket makes mounting and removing my camera from my tripod very fast and easy. In addition, when mounted, the camera is very secure on the tripod. It won't torque or twist and doesn't come loose.

There is another important advantage I find by using an L-plate. For example, If I carefully compose a horizontal image, and position my camera exactly where I need it in space, left to right, higher to lower, slightly tilted up, down, left or right, it is for a specific composition I am trying to achieve. If my camera is mounted directly on a tripod head with the 1/4"-20 screw and I want to now change my composition to a vertical one, it totally screws up the camera's positioning because I have to physically move the head, resulting in having to start all over again to achieve exact positioning.

But when using an L-plate and needing to change my camera from horizontal to vertical, all I have to do is remove the camera from the ball head, rotate it 90° to vertical, then tighten it down. The position of the ball head never changes, unlike in the previous example. The camera stays in the same spatial alignment as it was when in a horizontal position. This makes life so much easier.

To get on with things... Every L-Plate I have owned in the past has been one of the Really Right Stuff (RRS) manufactured devices, which are as high quality as you can buy anywhere, in my opinion. Not only is the quality high, the engineering and design they put into them (as with all of their gear) goes beyond what most companies do so one never has to fight with the device or worry that using the device will be a compromise in anyway.

As good as the RRS plates are, I wanted to try to avoid paying $135.00 + Shipping U.S. I wanted to see if I could find an L-plate that would well serve my needs but at a lesser price. I found the Sunwayfoto PFL-XT1R L-bracket on Adorama Photo's website. You can see the page here. After looking it over and comparing it to other plates, I decided to buy one since it was not a huge investment, only $59.00 U.S. I ordered one and it came with "free expedited" shipping. The last L-plate I ordered from RRS had a shipping charge of $7.81 U.S., which would be a total savings of $83.81 U.S.! I received my package by UPS two days later.

When I opened the box I was impressed! It is CNC machined from high quality aluminum stock, it appeared well designed and machined, had a grip extension and a good fit and finish. All hardware was included and, in comparison to my E-M1's RRS plate, it seemed very, very similar in quality. The only overall difference was a small difference in the anodizing. The RRS was had just a bit more of a sheen to it. Both are probably called a "satin" finish but they are slightly different. I thought, well, it looks pretty good, let's try it out.

The Sunwayfoto plate came with something the RRS does not have and that is a grip extension. It was already mounted to the base plate when it arrived, so I just attached the actual L-bracket itself to the baseplate.

The fit with my camera body was perfect. One thing I immediately appreciated is that the 1/4"-20 bolt that attaches the base plate to the camera is made in such a manner as it has both the traditional hex (Allen) wrench socket but it also has slots so a slotted screwdriver will also allow you to attach or detach it. I love that feature. In the past, I have bought five or six extra hex wrenches to carry in my bags just in case I lose one and am stuck not being able to attach or remove my base plate when in the field. With the ability to do that with a coin the size of an American quarter (25¢ piece), no more worries! Every one should do that.

The plate is compatible with all Arca-Swiss type tripod heads. A flange on the side of the plate prohibits the camera from rotating so it stays in place without worry. They provide a small bolt to screw into a hole in the underside of the baseplate to act as a safety stop when mounted on your ballhead. This will prevent, if you had accidentally not adequately tightened down your camera, from sliding out of the ball head and onto the ground. There is a cutout for accessing the battery and there is a cutout for accessing the door on the left side of the camera.

Included in the kit are:

a) the form fitted baseplate
b) the aluminum form fitting grip extension
c) the vertical L extension
d) 4 hex keys (mounting bolt, L extension, grip, safety bolt)
e) 1/4"-20 mounting bolt
f) safety stop bolt
g) 2 hex bolts for attaching the vertical L extension
h) a 6-year manufacturer's warranty

The only thing that I have found that Sunwayfoto could have done better is that the edge of the baseplate slightly blocks the bottom of the LCD. You can pull out the LCD but you have to work at it by pulling out the top edge first, then maneuvering out the bottom. Once out, the LCD is fine. Also, it goes back in and easily reseats properly.

Other than that quibble, I think the plate is a heck of a bargain for $59.00 U.S. I also want to say, I have no connection with Adorama nor Sunwayfoto or any other manufacturer. I always research and purchase all my own gear. No one gives me a thing.

Here are some illustrative images I made of the plate and some comparison images with the RRS plate I have for my E-M1.

(click to enlarge)

Sunwayfoto makes L-brackets for many cameras. If I continue to feel that this bracket performs well over several months of use, I won't hesitate to buy more in the future.

Thanks for looking. Enjoy!

Dennis Mook

Many of my images can be found at www.dennismook.com. Please pay it a visit. I add new images regularly. Thank you.

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6 comments:

AndreaMarch 7, 2015 at 5:01 AM
I own the Sunway L bracket, PFL XT1R.

The reason why I bought this particular item was because it was affordable and available to me in the Netherlands.

I could buy it locally at a shop where I buy most of my photographic equipment without having to go through the fuss of buying it abroad which would, unfortunately, cause me to pay 21% VAT upon arrival and a mysterious and hefty “ handling through customs” fee which both courier or postal services charge for the privilege or doing something which is inherent in dealing with their busyness of working with post from abroad.

I am very happy about the bracket with two exceptions.

One is the type of screw to fasten the plate under the camera.In order to use the screw which is provided by Sunway you need to have some simple tools or, at the very least, a fitting coin at hand to screw and unscrew the bottom plate.

I replaced the screw which came with the bracket with one which has a small handle and can be fastened or loosened with your (bare or even gloved) fingers.

Not that one would want to necessarily do this very often! Unless weight is paramount ( let’s face it, it might have been one of the reasons why you bought this camera in the first place, right?). I have elected to leave the bracket in place at all times.

Which brings me to the other shortcoming of this L bracket, its front grip.

The front grip plate is small, too small, and it is not contoured and is as slippery as this metal could be!

Now the point of a “ grip” is to offer grip. This gives you almost none and in fact impairs the use for this purpose of the rubberized rib at the front of the camera.

I had to think long and hard and tried a few things but unsuccessfully, then I remembered that I had 4 very little adhesive black rubber hemispherical supports originally meant to go under an hard disk ( I think) to provide some soft surface to the aluminum case.
I glued the four hemispherical pieces of rubber onto the grip and from then on the grip has served the purpose to increase grip.

Other than that I have no problems with this bracket and would certainly recommend it. I would however say that when I wrote Sunway about the specific problem of the front grip they were very dismissive and not at all helpful. They told me essentially, we cannot please everyone, be happy about what you’ve got and deal with it. Utter and sheer denial!

Friday, March 6, 2015

Own an X-T1? Looking For An L-Plate (L-Bracket)? Is there a good alternative to the Really Right Stuff L-Plate?

6 comments: