I have the Manfrotto Xpro ball-head with the cr2 quick-release plate, but last week i was using another photographers tripod which had a similar quick release plate to the Arca Swiss one, and found it a better system, so anyone one here swap the quick release plates to the Arca Swiss type plate, if so what did you go for?
Arca swiss / manfrotto
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Horoscope Fish
Senior Member
Just so I'm clear... Are you asking for a recommendation for a specific Arca Swiss QD plate?
If so, then my all time favorite plate is this one, from Breakthrough Photography: Breakthrough 60mm QD Plate.
There are cheaper options, as you are probably aware, but this is my favorite QD plate, by far.
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Horoscope Fish
Senior Member
Well my fiancée and I used to be all Manfrotto in our house, but after a couple near catastrophes related to the Manfrotto QD system failing on us, we switched everything over to Arca-Swiss. Just my opinion, and I still love my Manfrotto tripod, but I much prefer the Arca-Swiss attachment system over Manfrotto's. Also, Arca-Swiss is a brand, and yeah, their stuff can be pricey, but Arca-Swiss compatibility does not have to be expensive. Many, many ball-heads (assuming that's what you're looking for) on the market are 100% Arca-Swiss compatible and won't break the bank.
Just beware: Arca-Swiss STYLE does not always mean Arca-Swiss COMPATIBLE. Some manufacturers will say a tripod head is "Arca-Swiss style", or words to that effect. This usually means the item operates in a similar fashion but does use the same design specifications as Arca-Swiss; which means it is NOT Arca-Swiss compatible and you definitely want Arca-Swiss compatible stuff. Arca-Swiss uses very specific design elements, such as specific angles and depth of certain cuts, the width of the QD plate, etc. I learned this lesson the hard/expensive way, so I urge you to learn from my mistakes.
If you need specific recommendations for an Arca-Swiss compatible ball-head for your existing Manfrotto tripod, I'm sure we can all help with that. Knowing your budget would be helpful because ball-heads run the gamut when it comes to price.
Arco Swiss is very definitely the way to go, but you need more than a plate, you also have to replace the Manfrotto clamp with an Arco Swiss compatible one. Here are a few samples:
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=arco swiss clamp&N=0&InitialSearch=yes
One of those inexpensive ones says Manfrotto 200PL and Arco Swiss compatible, with some user comments. That means either plate should fit it, but I have no idea if that is same as cr2. (and I have no experience with it, but user reviews seem good).
Sometimes these clamps are firmly glued in with LockTite, and hard to remove. You might try removal as first step.
Horoscope Fish
Senior Member
As Wayne explains, assuming the clamp on your current ball-head is removable, you'll need an Arca-Swiss clamp for your new Arca-Swiss QD plate.
Something like this: Arca-Swiss 60mm Clamp.
If you can't remove the clamp you're probably looking at replacing the ball-head itself, which is what I had to do. But if you can get away with just replacing the clamp, so much the better (and cheaper).
Skene what Arca Swiss clamp did you go for. Brand & size please.
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To be honest it was a few years ago. It may have been something similar to this https://www.amazon.com/Desmond-Adap...d=1506929486&sr=8-8&keywords=arca+swiss+clamp