Nikon Z50 tripod mounting plate

Mike.

I have tried several plates and L-brackets for my Z50. Because of the narrowness of the body, there is no Arca-Swiss compatible plate that will not interfere with either the LCD screen moving down or the FTZ. You can have one or the other clear, but not both.

My best suggestion is to get a plate with two slots and mount it so that then LCD can move. When you want to use the FTZ, move the plate to the FTZ.

I wish Nikon would design another FTZ without the foot on the bottom for mounting to a tripod. It is in the way, even to a certain extent on the full frame Z bodies.

Thanks Mick. That's what I was afraid of. After I posted I realized that I do have a very small Kirk PZ-130 plate that has the clamp notches on the sides instead of front/back that I had used on my recently sold V1 that could possibly work. It has a small lip on the front to keep it from rotating and is only an inch wide from front to back.

You could go with the l bracket from 3leggedthing.
https://www.3leggedthing.com/zayla Im not sure about if the FTZ hits or not.
or if you have the peak design gear, they make the zayla-pd With that you could actually mill down the front lip so the ftz adaptor isn't getting hit.. and use the Peak design as your Arca Swiss plate.

I only use the FTZ with both of my Z50's (no Z glass yet). I use a Mega Gear half case that makes the body "level" with the FTZ. This works with the Area-type plates that I use--attaching them to the FTZ. I like the plates from Breakthrough Photography. Here's the Amazon link:

https://www.amazon.com/Universal-Hand-Adjustable-Stainless-Breakthrough-Photography/dp/B014TPGJH4/ref=sr_1_1?crid=232JYDMBO2HU8&dchild=1&keywords=breakthrough+photography+arca+swiss+plate&qid=1603236106&sprefix=breakthrough+photography+area%2Caps%2C152&sr=8-1

And the half case:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B082Y9DSQ8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I haven’t seen Really Right Stuff listed in this discussion, but is from where all my plates come. I didn’t look for Z50, but here is the page for the Z7. If you look closely, there are a bunch of different plates.

https://www.reallyrightstuff.com/z7-plates?quantity=1&custcol50=1

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If you need to use the FTZ on the Z50, you are probably using a lens that would be better supported either by the FTZ itself or the lens foot.

For instance when using the 300mm f4 or the 70-200mm f4, I would rather have the support point on the lens foot. Better balance & less strain on the body's mount.


Christian,

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Thanks Christian. I would probably mount the FTZ adaptor to the tripod when using it like you said. So I may need a plate for each unless I just keep switching it.

For now, what I've settled on are the Haoge 28mm Universal Quick Release QR Plate. I put one on the body and one on the FTZ adapter. They are the only one I could find that fit well. They are $14.99 CAD each, so a minimal investment.

I tried the Acratech adapter for the FTZ lens and they are not compatible with the Z50. The plate hits the grip of the camera when you are mounting the lens so that it will not mount. I let Acratech know and they are getting a Z50 and coming up with a new design.

If I'm using the FTZ adapter, I use the plate on the adapter. For the bigger glass, I used plates on the lens collar.

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00XK2790Y/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I finally got my new Z50 kit over the weekend and what a remarkable camera. The pictures from it are amazing with the two kit lenses, and it just handles incredibly well. This will be a great compact camera for travel, hiking, and family pictures.

Anyhow, the Kirk PZ-130 plate works perfectly on the Z50 with or without the FTZ adaptor (see photos). You can see in the second photo there is just enough clearance between the plate and the FTZ adaptor to not cause any issues mounting both at the same time. I also put the PZ-130 on the adaptor and it works well on that too. The only difference between the PZ-130 and larger plates is that you mount it in the clamp side to side instead of front/back, but that's not a very big deal other than the clamp screw is off to the side instead of the back. I'm going to go ahead and get a second PZ-130 for the FTZ adaptor so I don't have to keep switching the plate back and forth.

Attachment#1 (jpg file)
Attachment#2 (jpg file)

For anyone still interested in what plate to use for the Z50, I ended up buying the 3 legged thing Ellie bracket, and it works great. While it is a small universal bracket, you can use it with the FTZ adaptor too. The L bracket that the company makes specific for the Z50 cannot be used with the FTZ adaptor from what I have read.