Quick Release Camera Plate???
 

Hello,

I am trying to use a Canon XL1 with a Glidecam V20. The V20 is normally used with larger cameras like Betacam, but I am going to weigh down and XL1 and give it a try.

The main problem seems to be the lack of a quick way of mounting the XL1. Normally, I would screw the camera plate onto the Glidecam and snap a camera on and off...easy!

But the XL1 does not have a mount plate. So, I always have to completely remove the glidecam head and unscrew the XL1.

Any Ideas? I called my local camera shop and they only thing they could think of was to butcher a tripod and steal the quick release off of that.

Any Ideas Are Appreciated.

Shame on your camera shop. There are any number of quick-release base and plate combinations available in the still photography world. Velbon makes a very nice magnesium one, see the Articles section of the XL1 Watchdog site for the review I wrote on Harold Greene's SP-7 Pro shoulder mount. It uses one of these. Hope this helps,

Ok, Found it.

Yes... definately shame on my Camera shop. They sell all kinds of tripods, cranes and jib equipment and still werent able to help.

However, I did get a reply from Glidecam regarding the issue and they pointed me towards a Universal Sliding Plate from Bogen.

I couldnt find one by Bogen here in Toronto, but Monfrotto makes one and I figure its just as good.

Thanks for you advice and I hope this helps someone else as well.

Pooh-

Bogen and Monfrotto are basically the same company...taking the head on and off of the rig is a wickid bitch...when i got my V8 last year the first thing i did was buy a Bogen universal quick release and machine a little mount to keep the base permanently attached to the V8's head. I cannot tell you how much time this saved...it also adds a "crude" adjustment to the head, so you can get the camera's center of gravity roughly over the center of the post, and then make any fine adjustments from there.

We typically outfit our Glidecam demo models with these quick releases, its a shame we dont actually ship our rigs with them built in though. (Hey I just build em, not my fault). =D

But i've noted lots of other people having the same problem, so I may bring this up and see what can be done about it.

Got a model number and an idea of price on that Bogen-Manfrotto piece? Sounds like just what the Dr. ordered for me, since I am constantly switching the camera from tripod to shoulder brace. (Some of you may recall my squawking about the off-balance form factor of the XL1 making it a misery to hand-hold, so I use a modified Vanguard shoulder rig to transfer the weight from my right hand to my belly)

Twirling that 1/4-20" thumbscrew tends to get old, and does slow me down when I want to be ready for "run & gun" to say nothing of it's a hallmark of a "consumer" camera.

Try part no. 3296, Quick Release Adapter Assembly.

Here is the Manfrotto version. This store is located in Toronto, Canada, but they do ship...

Or you can take a look at it and find it elsewhere.

http://www.vistek.ca/video/viddetail.asp?SKU=129758

I have to complain about one thing. The knob that is used to tighten the plate is about 1mm too big in diameter. You cannot mount the plate on a flat surface larger than the plate itself because the knob lifts up one side.

Very stupid design mistake... especially because it almost works... very frusterating.

I have spent the day trying to file it down. I would replace it with a screw, but that would defeat the purpose of a quick release wouldn't it?

Wow, quick info, guys!
Chris, there's a dealer in Austin TX, Precision Camera & Video selling it for $39.95
Pooh can you tell me the dimensions of this?
I guess I would need 2 bottoms, one for the tripod and one for the shoulder pod, right? Wonder if they sell that separately ot I have to go for 2 whole units.

I wonder...

Would it be possible to do the same thing with the Varizoom shoulder brace, and to make sure that the dimensions match the head on my Manfrotto tripod?

That'd be mighty convenient...

The Manfrotto plate is about 5.5inches long, 4.5 inches wide and not even an inch high.

I gave up on filing the knob. I went to home depot and bought a bolt which does the job nicely. I cant quite grab it to tighten it well with my bare fingers, but I keep a swiss army knife with pliers on me anyway. It will do for now.

In case you need it... It is a metric thread bolt... M6

pooh, about the knob, i played with it trying to figure it out too....its poorly designed in that respect....what i ended up doing was making a 1-inch high "riser" that was the same dimensions as the base, and putting that in between the glidecam head and the plate base...

i just used a dense plastic material i had lying around the shop...i dont know if this is a workable solution for you but it worked out perfectly for me.

Also I talked to the president of my company today, he currently has no plans to release the Glidecam rigs with Quick Release Plates, which is unfortunate for the operators. But evidently this could cause delays in shipping, added costs etc. Same reason they dont ship with a C-Stand and sand bags included in the package I guess. Not to mention that some people already have these items.

Understandable...but I'll bet that if he were to offer these for sale separately as accessories he'd sell some.

No doubt they'd sell very well, as from what I've seen there is a large enough demand for an easy mounting solution to our rigs.
Currently on our plate is the finalization of the Gold Series sled design...perhaps after this is completed the company may consider adding these as accesory options.

OK so does anybody think I might be able to get an extra lower half for the bogen 3296? (one for the tripod, one for the shoulder rig)