| MOUNTING
THE B1 ON A 3021 TRIPOD
Removing the 3047 was easy and mounting the B1
on my Bogen 3021 aluminum tripod was a breeze.
Just screw it on the 3/8” stud.
There is no lock on the 3021, however, so there has
been one instance where the head had slightly unscrewed itself
out of the platform.
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| Bogen
3021 (Manfrotto 055CLB Classic) tripod |
The
legs do come with three short screws that you screw in from
underneath the mounting platform to hold the head.
I have hesitated to do this just yet.
Because the underside of the B1 is smooth metal, the
three screws will have nowhere to go but dig into the surface.
I’m not prepared to do that.
Not yet. My
B1 is too new. For now, I have resorted to just manually tightening the head
onto the 3021. So
far it’s working.
A
VISE-LIKE GRIP!
As
opposed to the Bogen’s fixed-cavity design, Arca-Swiss employs
a quick-release mechanism that is of an open-channel type.
It is nothing more than a basic clamp that secures
a plate the camera is attached to.
The plate can be positioned and locked anywhere within
the open channel of the quick-release clamp.
Companies such as Really Right Stuff (RRS), Kirk Enterprises
and Markins have added a stop-screw at one end of the body
plates to minimize the risk of the plate sliding through the
clamp when vertically oriented.
| The
same paranoia I had when mounting my camera on the
3047 spilled over to the B1 clamp.
And for good reason.
It happened during one of the first outings
I had with the ballhead.
I slid the plate in (or so I thought), then
tightened the bolt on the clamp, and started to use
the camera.
Imagine my surprise when the camera started
to tip over, it was good I was slightly holding on
to it! |
. |
 |
Apparently
the plate had not engaged one of the clamp’s jaws, and the
camera was practically simply sitting on top of the clamp!
Although I attribute that to my inexperience with the
Arca-Swiss clamp, I would suggest for anyone to check if the
plate’s seated correctly within the clamp before shooting.
As
quick-releases go, the Arca-style clamp is a tad slower than
the Bogen’s 3047 design.
After sliding the plate in (that alone takes some practice),
you would have to turn the clamp’s locking knob a few turns
to lock the jaws on the plate, whereas the Bogen (Manfrotto)
only needed cocking the lever and snapping the plate into
the cavity. You
can reduce the number of required turns by not unlocking the
clamp too much when removing the camera, but only just enough
to allow the plate to slide out.
RRS
has recently introduced a new clamp they call B2-Pro LR quick
release clamp. This
does away with the locking knob and replaces it with a cam-locking
lever that can go from fully closed to fully open with one
quick action. No
more turning knobs to lock and unlock the jaws.
On paper, looks like this may prove to be the ultimate
quick-release clamp.
Once
the clamp is tightened, it is set.
The rigidity of the ballhead + clamp + camera inspires
confidence. There
is absolutely no chance of twisting since the clamp jaws act
as an anti-twist feature. If
used with body plates that have flanges, especially those
that were machined to conform to the camera body, there is
absolutely no chance of twisting. The clamp performs
its function marvelously.
It would be very hard to move that camera from its
base. In fact,
I now find myself slinging the tripod over my shoulder with
camera and lens attached.
In this regard, I have more confidence with the Arca-style
QR than with the Bogen QR I used. |
