RRS L-Plate for A900 pics

matthiaspaul wrote: So, it seems, RRS has the job to really do their stuff right in the first place... Did you hear back from them already?

I decided it was best to send an email with pictures illustrating the problem, but I returned from a trip a bit later than planned (I was at a seminar with Joe McNally) and won't have a chance to setup and take the shots until this weekend.

I also use the same cable for Fuji F30 an A700.

RobArtLyn wrote: It came in the box when they returned my camera today. I am seriously disappointed with one aspect of the design. I specifically loaned both my remote shutter release and the USB cable that came with the A900 to RRS so they could accommodate both connections in their design so that people who shoot tethered, as I do sometimes, could use the camera mounted vertically. They left a notch in the plate to allow sufficient clearance for the door over the USB & HDMI ports to be opened & closed with the plate mounted, but the strain relief portion of the USB cable extends too far and does not clear the plate. It is impossible to mount the camera vertically* on the ballhead clamp with the USB cable attached. I find this particularly frustrating because this was one of the primary reasons why I went to the trouble of loaning my camera to them. The A700 plate has the same deficiency, which I complained about at the time, because the person who loaned them their A700 didn't include the USB cable so that they could design the plate to accommodate it.

Further, some people in the studios or in sciences would want to use the L-plate in conjunction with the external DC power supply for the Sony Alpha DSLR-A900.

Web photos and product drawings showing the Sony AC Adaptor/Charger AC-VQ900AM indicate a rather massive plug (a proprietary 3-pin plug), apparently angled towards the front of the DSLR-A900:

http://www.nodevice.com/user_manual/sony/cameras2/ac-vq900am.html

I think RRS should take this into account as well when designing their L-plate...

Greetings,

Matthias

matthiaspaul wrote: I think RRS should take this into account as well when designing their L-plate... Greetings, Matthias

Matthias, I agree that RRS has to take a bunch of things into account during the design of their L-plate but unfortunately, the product is already designed and is on sale.

Kirk, the other maker of L-plates, has not even bothered to make one for Sony/A900. RRS was persuaded to make one, only after a lot of folks on this forum and elsewhere, tried to show them that there is a market for the product. They have not designed one for the camera/grip combo - since in their opinion, they don't see a market for it.

Bottomline, if this does not sell well enough, they, will not bother with a Sony product again, and will simply follow Kirk's lead. Your excellent suggestions notwithstanding.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Universal_Serial_Bus/Archive_4#Mystery_micro_plug

Edited by hotwire - 04 February 2009 at 04:58

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matthiaspaul wrote: Hm, yes. ;-) However, the question remains as to why they might not sell the current design in high numbers. Is it because there is no market for it, or is it because people expect a real solution to their problems, not yet another compromise.

Yes, and the answer to why they don't expect to sell the L-plate for the Sony mount in any significant numbers, is based on their prior experience with the A100 (Kirk also made an L-plate for Sony then). Basically, A-mount users' usage of exotic equipment like Arca-Swiss compatible L-plates and such, along with high end Arca-Swiss compatible ball-heads and high-end Gitzo type tripods, are next to nil.

If you happen to ask *most* A-mount users, on what an "Industry Standard" Arca-Swiss type ballhead is, they would shake their head in puzzlement. If you ask the same question to a Nikon D2X or D3X user, they probably have been using such equipment for a decade or more. Same with a Canon 1D type user. I have been using L-plates in the past, since I am a former Canon user.

Therein lies your answer on why RRS does not see a market for an L-plate for the Sony mount cameras.

However, I need to mention that the A900 is a whole different beast from any other Sony/Minolta Digital camera that had come before it. The A900 is the first such non-Nikon/Canon product, that a lot of high-end users, including from the Canon/Nikon fold, have been seriously giving consideration to.

Thus once such users come into the Sony fold as users, there is every possibility that the L-plate will sell in larger numbers and thus RRS will also seriously look at attracting Sony customers with a more dedicated effort in their L-plate design.

A chicken and egg scenario.

What GrahamB3 did on the a700 is a clever idea. The problem is, unless you pull the "L" bracket out away from the camera, you still won't be able to slide the bracket into the receiver, as the rubber door sticks out beyond the bracket when you put a cable release in. You can put it in an Arca type receiver by opening it up all the way and placing the bracket in. However you will bend the door to the cable release when you tighten the receiver.

I realize it is rubber, but I wonder how much strain it will take before it breaks.

Anyone else know of just a plain quick release bracket with some kind of an anti-twist feature for the a700.