Wimberley Professional Photo Gear - Universal Camera Body Plate Compatibility

P-5 Camera Body Plate

P-5 Camera Body Plate ($52.00) What's Included

We set out to design a simple Arca-Swiss style universal plate that provides the same quality of construction, solid connection, and anti-twist characteristics of custom plates. The result is the P-5 Universal Camera Body Plate.

Download Product Instructions - Blemished version available

Prerequisites

1- Your tripod head must have an Arca-Swiss style quick-release clamp (e.g. Arca-Swiss, Kirk, Really Right Stuff, Markins, Acratech, Foba, Studioball.)

2-The Camera (or other equipment) that you plan to mount the P-5 to must have a 1/4 threaded mounting hole. For cameras with a 3/8 threaded mounting hole you will need an adapter bushing, which you can obtain through us (BS-100- $3).

Camera Compatibility (Detailed Discussion)

Our P-5 Plate is primarily designed for 35mm SLR camera bodies, but its versatile design will work on nearly any camera body. The P-5 can be used for many other applications as well (camcorders, collared lenses, point-and-shoot cameras,etc.) You can use the P-5 on your camera body with or without the vertical grip attached. It is best suited for high-end cameras that have metal skeletons and metal threads. It will also perform well on less expensive, plastic-bodied cameras, but it is important to use caution and not over-tighten the plate on these cameras.

Battery compartment clearance - We are aware that in some cases, this plate interferes with the ability to quickly access the camera's battery compartment without completely removing the plate from the camera body. We do not know the attachment hole and battery compartment dimensions for every make and model of camera, so before you order your plate, it would be wise to check the measurements on the bottom of your camera to see if the P-5 will interfere with your ability to quickly access your camera's battery compartment.

Warnings:

Universal camera body plates such as the P-5 require that you tighten the plate snugly to your camera body to ensure that they do not twist. The design of the P-5 resists twisting with minimal clamping force; however, caution must be exercised when using any plate on camera bodies that do not have a metal skeleton, and especially for those with plastic threads.

Equipment	Warnings
Cameras with plastic threads	Only recommended for infrequent, light use. Use extreme caution when fastening plate to camera to avoid stripping the plastic threads.
Canon D-60	Use caution tightening the P-5 Camera Body Flex & the Canon D-60: The P-5 and many other universal plates have a shallow cut-out on the top surface of the plate that focuses the clamping force on the outer ends of the plate where the mechanical advantage is greatest. Plastic camera bodies will slightly flex into this cut-out when the plate is tightened. We have heard of rare occasions, with older first-generation plastic-bodied cameras, where this flex has caused problems. Generally, this does not occur with newer cameras; however, we learned of a customer who experienced a temporary malfunction of his Canon D-60 which may have been caused by camera body flex. We own a D-60 and have not been able to replicate this problem (even after over-tightening the P-5 plate). Thus, the incident may have been unique to the customer's particular camera; however, if you own a D-60, please be aware of this issue. Please contact us if you experience any such difficulties with the D-60 or any other camera body.
Digital Rebel XT and XTI and most newer digital Rebel models.	The P-5 will work on the original Digital Rebel, but it covers part of the battery cover on the Digital Rebel XT and XTI. The battery compartment of most newer style digital Rebels run along the bottom of the camera and not open along the grip like the professional models and therefore may interfere with battery access.
Arca-Swiss Z-1 with double-decker clamp	The safety-stop security feature of our plates does not work when used with the Arca-Swiss “double-decker” clamp. We recommend replacing the double-decker clamp with our C-12 modified clamp, or ordering the Z1 ball head without a quick-release clamp and installing our C-12, if this safety feature is important to you. Please contact us for details.

The "Arca-Swiss Style" Quick-Release Geometry The "Arca-Swiss Style" Quick-Release Geometry refers to the open-cavity dovetail quick-release system developed decades ago by Arca-Swiss for use with their Monoball ball heads and large format cameras. After the extreme popularity of the Arca-Swiss B-1 ball head in the 1990s, other companies began manufacturing custom camera-body and lens plates using this geometry. Since then, this geometry has become the industry standard for high-end tripod heads (particularly in the nature photography industry). The figure below shows the basic dimensions of the dovetail used in this system:

The Wimberley Head Version II, Sidekick, and other clamps use this quick-release system, so any lens that you wish to connect to our heads must be equipped with an Arca-Swiss style lens plate or replacement foot. Manufacturers that use the Arca-Swiss Style Quick-Release Geometry include:
Acratech Arca-Swiss Foba Giottos (only on their most recent line of ball heads & plates) Hejnar Jobu Kirk	Markins Novoflex (only on some of their products) Promediagear Really Right Stuff Studioball Wimberley

The "Arca-Swiss Style" Quick-Release Geometry The "Arca-Swiss Style" Quick-Release Geometry refers to the open-cavity dovetail quick-release system developed decades ago by Arca-Swiss for use with their Monoball ball heads and large format cameras. After the extreme popularity of the Arca-Swiss B-1 ball head in the 1990s, other companies began manufacturing custom camera-body and lens plates using this geometry. Since then, this geometry has become the industry standard for high-end tripod heads (particularly in the nature photography industry). The figure below shows the basic dimensions of the dovetail used in this system:

The Wimberley Head Version II, Sidekick, and other clamps use this quick-release system, so any lens that you wish to connect to our heads must be equipped with an Arca-Swiss style lens plate or replacement foot. Manufacturers that use the Arca-Swiss Style Quick-Release Geometry include:
Acratech Arca-Swiss Foba Giottos (only on their most recent line of ball heads & plates) Hejnar Jobu Kirk	Markins Novoflex (only on some of their products) Promediagear Really Right Stuff Studioball Wimberley