3 Legged Thing Releases a Low Cost & Lightweight Universal L Bracket

[Canon Rumors Guy]

3 Legged Thing, the maker of some nice and affordable tripods has released a new universal Arca style L bracket that will fit most Canon DSLRs. I moved to a universal L bracket as I got tired of buying a new bracket with each camera I purchase. This universal bracket will be great for any DSLR that that isn’t equipped with an external battery grip or full size EOS-1D bodies.</p>
<p>The QR11-L is a well thought out design that makes changing orientation from portrait to landscape really quick. All of the ports on your camera should be easily available with the L bracket attached, be sure to check the compatibility information after the break.</p>
<p>The QR11-L will retail for £49.99/$49.99 and will begin shipping on August 1, 2017.</p>
<p><strong><a href="https://www.3leggedthing.com/affiliates/banner/list/?acc=42a0e188f5033bc65bf8d78622277c4e">Learn more about the 3 Legged Thing QR11-L Universal L Bracket</a></strong></p>
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<p><strong>A GUIDE TO COMPATIBILITY</strong></p>
<p>One of the most common questions we receive is about compatibility with cameras. This guide is designed to show you what you should expect. The QR11 fits most modern cameras, but may require some adjustment or compromise.</p>
<p><strong>Full compatibility.</strong></p>
<p>The following cameras support the QR11, and enable full access to battery and cable doors.</p>
<ul>
<li>CANON – 760D, 80D</li>
<li>NIKON – D3300, D3400, D5300, D5500, D5600, D500, D610, D700, D7000, D7100, D800, D810</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Very compatible.</strong></p>
<p>The following cameras support the QR11, and with a small adjustment, enable access to battery, cable door, or both.</p>
<ul>
<li>CANON – 5D II, 5D III, 5D IV, 6D, 7D, 7D II, 700D, 750D</li>
<li>NIKON – D750</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Partial compatibility.</strong></p>

<p>The following cameras support the QR11, but access to the cable and battery doors is impeded.</p>
<ul>
<li>CANON – 100D, 1300D, M3, M5</li>
<li>NIKON – 1V3, 1J5</li>
<li>SONY – A68, A77, A99, A99ii, A5000, A6000, A6300, A6500, A7, A7ii, A7r, A7s</li>
<li>FUJI – X100/S/T, X-E2/S, XT1, XT2, XT10</li>
<li>OLYMPUS – E-M1, E-M1 II, E-M10 II, E-M5 II, E-PL7, E-PL8, PEN-F</li>
<li>PENTAX – K-1, K-3 II, K-50, K-70, K-S2</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>3 Legged Thing QR11-L Universal L-Bracket</strong></p>
<p>The new QR11-LG Quick Release Plate comes with a 110mm base, side bracket with cable access and 1/4”-20 accessory mount, compatible with standard Arca Swiss® clamps and heads. Designed to make the switch from landscape to portrait quick and easy, and with a side mount for optional accessories, the QR11-LG takes L Bracket functionality into the 21st century.</p>
<p><strong>SO, WHAT’S IN THE KIT?</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>QR11-LG Quick Release L Bracket</li>
<li>Stagsden Stainless Steel camera screw</li>
<li>Retaining bolts (2.5mm hex) for horizontal axis security</li>
<li>Toolz – Multi Tool, hex key, coin key, key ring, carabiner and bottle opener</li>
<li>Tough drawstring bag</li>
<li>Elevated Street Credibility (not guaranteed)</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>FEATURES</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Two piece L Bracket, that can be disassembled for when stowage space is limited</li>
<li>1/4″-20 side mount, for adding accessories (monitors, microphones etc)</li>
<li>Precision engineed plate profiles for secure connection to your tripod head</li>
<li>Base slot for strap attachment or Peak Design® Anchor connection</li>
</ul>
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[candyman]

I welcome a solution that saves me money.
I agree with the benifits of the L-bracket. I use a sunwayfoto L-bracket for my 6D for landscape photography. And it is a stable setup and easy to switch to portrait mode.

But what about the vari-angle screen. I see they support the Canon 80D. But will it give me the all the angle freedom while using this L-bracket? Can someone that uses the 80D with a L-bracket share some experience here?

 

[aceflibble]

I wish someone would make a 1) good and 2) reasonably-priced arca-compatible L-plate for 1D/gripped bodies. 90% of my work shooting over the last decade has been with a 1D body in portrait and it'd sure be nice to be able to stick that on a tripod or monopod without using a wonky head tilted off to the side, or an absurd top-suspending arm. I object, on principle, to paying £200+ for a lump of metal from Kirk and the like 'cause that's just plain customer-insulting price-gouging, but all the generic cheap-o brackets you get strip down within months if not weeks. (Or in one case in my experience, days; you don't want to trust a £4000 body + whatever lens to a bracket which can't survive 'til the end of the first week.)

 

[Pookie]

I wish someone would make a 1) good and 2) reasonably-priced arca-compatible L-plate for 1D/gripped bodies. 90% of my work shooting over the last decade has been with a 1D body in portrait and it'd sure be nice to be able to stick that on a tripod or monopod without using a wonky head tilted off to the side, or an absurd top-suspending arm. I object, on principle, to paying £200+ for a lump of metal from Kirk and the like 'cause that's just plain customer-insulting price-gouging, but all the generic cheap-o brackets you get strip down within months if not weeks. (Or in one case in my experience, days; you don't want to trust a £4000 body + whatever lens to a bracket which can't survive 'til the end of the first week.)

Hard to understand this mentality... you shoot with a 1 series body £4k + ~ £1-3k lens and you're complaining about spending £200 on a L-plate ?!?! So you're looking for a cheaper alternative that performs like a £200 plate but cost less for thousands of dollars in gear to sit on.

With that rationale... I want a 1 series body that cost the same as a Diana F+ and performs just as well as my 1DX.

 

[Zv]

Hmmm I'm not convinced this would be a good replacement to my trusty RRS L plates. While the cost of a new L plate does make me wince I'd still rather have the reassurance of having an L plate that is built to the exact specifications as what my ballhead requires.

Though it is still nice to know there are cheaper options out there that would likely benefit non RRS users.

 

[fentiger]

I wish someone would make a 1) good and 2) reasonably-priced arca-compatible L-plate for 1D/gripped bodies. 90% of my work shooting over the last decade has been with a 1D body in portrait and it'd sure be nice to be able to stick that on a tripod or monopod without using a wonky head tilted off to the side, or an absurd top-suspending arm. I object, on principle, to paying £200+ for a lump of metal from Kirk and the like 'cause that's just plain customer-insulting price-gouging, but all the generic cheap-o brackets you get strip down within months if not weeks. (Or in one case in my experience, days; you don't want to trust a £4000 body + whatever lens to a bracket which can't survive 'til the end of the first week.)

you know the proverb, buy cheap, pay twice.

 

[jeffa4444]

Danny Leniham at Three Legged Thing is a smart cookie and will no doubt soak up feedback and add / improve as he moves into the plate & adaptor market as well as heads & tripods. His workshop / warehouse is on a farm at Stagsden which is a lovely rural village in England and taking on the "big boys" from such a humble position is not easy. Good luck to him.

 

[niels123]

The L-bracket looks interesting and I'd buy it I would use it with a 6D (IR modified) and a 5D III. There's one concern for me: I very often shoot landscapes with a remote. In the video on 3leggedthing.com (a vimeo clip) is a shot where the bracket is attached to the body where you can clearly see there's no room to attach the angled remote control.

Am I wrong or is there a solution to this?

 

[TexPhoto]

Cool, but so what? I can buy near identical generic L brackets for $7 on ebay. I have one. This is $50.
The orange one is cool. https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1347311-REG/3_legged_thing_qr11_lc_copper_110mm_l_bracket.html

niels123, you can attach an L bracket like this so the vertical piece is about 1/2 inch away from the camera. This will allow the release to be attached. (maybe attach it first, and snug the bracket up against it.)

 

[privatebydesign]

The trouble with 'universal' L plates is that they don't, generally, include any kind of anti rotation lip to stop the body/lens moving on the bracket. Fine for smaller lighter cameras like the M's, but start putting f2.8 zooms on a full sized dslr and I have found you need to tighten the mounting screw way too much and they still 'drift'/sag.

I just got the RRS modular 1 Series L-Bracket and whilst it isn't perfect, when you consider the value of the body and lens hanging off it I am happy to spend the extra money. I did notice the linked plate is modular, which is a nice feature.

 

[NancyP]

The model specific Kirk L bracket for Canon D60 allows the screen to be swung out to the left "video" position when the closed screen is facing inwards (my usual storage mode). Up or down tilt is not available with the L bracket on. That's the only tilting screen camera I have.

 

[aceflibble]

Hard to understand this mentality... you shoot with a 1 series body £4k + ~ £1-3k lens and you're complaining about spending £200 on a L-plate ?!?! So you're looking for a cheaper alternative that performs like a £200 plate but cost less for thousands of dollars in gear to sit on.

With that rationale... I want a 1 series body that cost the same as a Diana F+ and performs just as well as my 1DX.

As I said, I object to it on principle. The 1DX justifies its price tag. The 70-200s, Sigma Arts, and 500mm f/4s justify their price tags. £200 for a lump of metal is not justified. Just because someone has spent more money on other things does not mean they should be happy about being gouged and pissing money away.

 

[privatebydesign]

Hard to understand this mentality... you shoot with a 1 series body £4k + ~ £1-3k lens and you're complaining about spending £200 on a L-plate ?!?! So you're looking for a cheaper alternative that performs like a £200 plate but cost less for thousands of dollars in gear to sit on.

With that rationale... I want a 1 series body that cost the same as a Diana F+ and performs just as well as my 1DX.

As I said, I object to it on principle. The 1DX justifies its price tag. The 70-200s, Sigma Arts, and 500mm f/4s justify their price tags. £200 for a lump of metal is not justified. Just because someone has spent more money on other things does not mean they should be happy about being gouged and pissing money away.

I think your principles are misplaced. As far as I know all these plates are machined not cast and that costs per machine minute, the more complex the shape and size the more it costs irrespective of the price of the metal blank it is made of. A 1 series camera is pretty large, in the context of cameras, and there is a lot of machine time in the manufacture especially for the modular style L-plates.

Don't get me wrong, I'd rather pay less, but I don't think they are particularly overpriced when you consider the work, the finish and the comparatively low production runs for these things, that last point means the R&D has to be spread over a fewer number of end users.

The value of the camera it is attached to is close to irrelevant but as a percentage of the cost of a 1 series and 'normal' lens used with that kind of camera the l-plate cost isn't outside the box.

My personal peeve is that RRS sell the same L-plate for the 1DX and the MkII and they shouldn't, the MkII needed a remodel.

 

[awair]

Hard to understand this mentality... you shoot with a 1 series body £4k...

As I said, I object to it on principle. The 1DX justifies its price tag. The 70-200s, Sigma Arts, and 500mm f/4s justify their price tags. £200 for a lump of metal is not justified.

...As far as I know all these plates are machined not cast and that costs per machine minute, the more complex the shape and size the more it costs irrespective of the price of the metal blank it is made of. A 1 series camera is pretty large, in the context of cameras, and there is a lot of machine time in the manufacture especially for the modular style L-plates.

Don't get me wrong, I'd rather pay less, but I don't think they are particularly overpriced when you consider the work, the finish and the comparatively low production runs for these things, that last point means the R&D has to be spread over a fewer number of end users.

I purchased two 3rd-party plates (Sunwayfoto from Amazon), one base only, and the other a 2-part L-plate for the 1DX/1DC.

While I would agree that the machining time would be a major cost, and R&D needs to be recouped over a smaller run on the premium brands, the build quality of the plates I received is more than satisfactory.

However, I would disagree as to where I'm trusting the reliability for the safety of my camera/lens - it's not the plate, which I believe is more than capable - it's the screw that attaches this to the camera body or the two flimsy little ones that convert the base to an L-plate!

With a well-known support provider, I believe that these screws would be reliably sourced and proven. One cannot be assured of this for a $20 bracket or $70 'L'.

I only use these for the smaller lenses (up to 85/1.2) - anything larger, and the lens is mounted instead of the body. So until I read this thread, I had no qualms about using the cheaper brand!

On the usability side, I can attach a cable release with the L, but not the WFT, which is a nuisance, so I'll be looking for another solution anyway - which excludes both the Kirk & RRS design.

 

[privatebydesign]

On the usability side, I can attach a cable release with the L, but not the WFT, which is a nuisance, so I'll be looking for another solution anyway - which excludes both the Kirk & RRS design.

The RRS design accommodates the WFT. It has two mounting holes on the L-Plate section that you can put in the 'standard' position (picture 1) or a second one that gives clearance (picture 2).

P.S. The Kirk L-Plate achieves the same thing by having the entire mount screw in a slotted hole so you can mount the L-Plate to camera left, as you use it, to give clearance for the WFT.

This is similar to the earlier RRS models that had two mount holes for the entire plate. Having owned both styles I prefer the modular design, not least because it saves money and space over getting both types (which I used to do).

 

[symmar22]

Same here, I do 95% of my pictures on a tripod, and this is the most essential part of my gear after the cameras and lenses. No way I'd skip here, since this is the difference between using your tripod or not. Tripod, head an quick release are all an essential part of my workflow, so after years of struggling with cheap or badly designed quick plates, I bit the bullet years ago and invested in RRS gear. Never looked back, it's just perfect and saves me a lot of energy on assignment.

I am an adept of the lever type locking system (vs the screw type) that is much faster therefore I am stuck with the same brand (RRS) for all the plates, but once I swallowed the price tag (I am in Europe so it's even more expensive) I never regretted any of my RRS accessories.

I've got the plates or L brackets for : 5DSr, 5D2, EOS 1v, 100mm Macro L, 70-200 L, and my Leica R and Olympus film cameras. Everything is perfectly fitted, I just grab my tripod and any camera or lens with a tripod collar, I don't even have to think about it, and IMO it's worth every cent. My RRS quick lever clamp is 7 years old now and works like on the first day.

I could work with less lenses or a cheaper camera, but not without my RRS system.

 

[AvTvM]

I have had camera-specific RRS L-brackets in the past. While nice, they are way too expensive, as they are "single use" items, to be thrown away [or sold for close to zero] with every new camera purchase.

So I have long ago stopped buying RRS brackets and plates. Now using carefully some nicely made, really inexpensive [40 €] China plates. Body-specific, 1-piece L-bracket for my 5D III with no-twist lip. Fits fine, no issues whatsoever. For EOS M I just use universal China plates/brackets. Also no issues. Arca-compatible plates also from China. Also no issue.

I would attach 20 kg on any of these brackets and plates and am confident they all would hold it securely.

 

[symmar22]

I agree that other brands work too, after all it's only a piece of aluminium. The problem with Arca style plates is that every brand has its own specifications. The are inter-operable as far as you use a screw type clamps. I much prefer the lever type clamp, since when I work, I spend my time putting my camera on and off the tripod, screw type clamps are not acceptable for my use.

If you want a lever type clamp, here you must look for a well designed one, and the RRS one is a masterpiece, ultimately, this is much more important than the L-bracket itself. The drawback is that you are then stuck with one brand, and, agreed, RRS is anything but cheap.

I looked first for the best possible lever clamp (IMO RRS), and went with the L and lens plates that fit with it.

Of course if you prefer the screw type clamp, then your choice is almost unlimited, that's the main advantage of it.

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

I noticed that a slight adjustment is required to be able to access the battery door.

Is this a one time adjustment, or must one carry a hex wrench around to be able to access the battery? Being a skeptic, I don't take anything for granted, even though it seems likely that its a 1 time adjustment.

 

[privatebydesign]

Interesting wingeathon on Petapixel from the designer.

https://petapixel.com/2017/07/21/photo-gear-costs-costs/