RRS L-Plate -- with or without grip?

ChrisJ

I have a new 50D (replacing my old 20D) and I also got a battery grip for it. My dilemma is whether to get the RRS L-Plate to work with the grip, or without?

Anyone have pros and cons from actual operation? I know I'll have more battery life with grip, I'm more concerned about usability.

The price on the 50D L-Plate w/grip is $183 (!), compared with only $160 for the 40D. The non-grip is $140 for both.

pathfinder

Chris, I did buy the battery grip for my 50D and a RRS L bracket for the associated battery grip as well.

One of the reasons, is I anticipate using the Live View more frequently, now that AF is better with Live View, and Live View is hard on batteries.

I like the way the 50D with the battery grip feels/balances with larger telephotos also.

In the end, I think it comes down to whether you plan to use the battery grip all the time or not.

ChrisJ

pathfinder wrote:

Live View is hard on batteries.

Thanks, path... I'm still getting used to the battery grip. I had it on all the time until I needed to travel. Then I found the camera would not fit in my camera bag with the laptop going on top, so I had to take it off.

Live view has already proven useful to me in a couple situations. So that's a good point. Especially for night shots where it's cold and battery life is even more important.

Shootin1st

If price is a major issue, the 40D plates will work, you just won't have quite the access of the new, slightly larger plate.

Scott_Quier

I've been wondering the exact same thing. I'm thinking that without is going to work best for me. I'll be using the L-bracket with my shorter lenses (my longer lenses have their own tripod mount ring). The LB mounts to the tripod socket in the bottom of the battery grip. The mechanical linkage between the BG and the camera is not the most solid - there's some flex there ... at least there is with mine. So, if I'm trying to get good, solid mounting of the camera on the tripod, it doesn't make a lot of sense to me to purposely put a wink link in the chain.

So, I'll be getting mine for the camera without the BG and if I run into excessive battery drain - well, I'll just have to put up with swapping out batteries more often. At least my camera will be as stable as possible.

ChrisJ

Shootin1st wrote:

If price is a major issue, the 40D plates will work, you just won't have quite the access of the new, slightly larger plate.

One of the things I get slightly frustrated with is inserting/removing the remote switch on my 20D with the L plate. So I'm hoping that they've (Canon and/or RRS) have solved that problem. Since the price difference isn't huge, I'll probably go for the specific 50D plate.

ChrisJ

Scott_Quier wrote:

The mechanical linkage between the BG and the camera is not the most solid - there's some flex there ... at least there is with mine.

Hmm, I haven't noticed any instability in the grip connection, but I haven't had it too long. I'll carefully check that out. At the moment, my largest lens is the 70-200 f/4L, so I don't think I'm coming close to the limit of the BH-40, even with the added mass of the grip/extra battery.

Thanks for the input, Scott!

pathfinder

ChrisJ wrote:

One of the things I get slightly frustrated with is inserting/removing the remote switch on my 20D with the L plate. So I'm hoping that they've (Canon and/or RRS) have solved that problem. Since the price difference isn't huge, I'll probably go for the specific 50D plate.

By remote switch, I assume you mean the cable release? I agree the getting the cable release inserted, with the rubber gasket pulled back, it can be hard to mount the camera on the Arca Swiss clamp with the camera in the portrait mode. I think there is more clearance with the 50D bracket, than I had with the 5D bracket where is was frequently annoying - my 50D L bracket is for the battery grip also.

It is true that the battery grip screws into the bottom of the 50D tripod screw hole, but I have not noticed an insecure attachment than when the L plate is attached directly to the camera. My 40D does not have a battery grip, just a standard L plate - and I don't see one as more secure than the other. Scott, YMMV

Scott_Quier

pathfinder wrote:

By remote switch, I assume you mean the cable release? I agree the getting the cable release inserted, with the rubber gasket pulled back, it can be hard to mount the camera on the Arca Swiss clamp with the camera in the portrait mode. I think there is more clearance with the 50D bracket, than I had with the 5D bracket where is was frequently annoying - my 50D L bracket is for the battery grip also.

It is true that the battery grip screws into the bottom of the 50D tripod screw hole, but I have not noticed an insecure attachment than when the L plate is attached directly to the camera. My 40D does not have a battery grip, just a standard L plate - and I don't see one as more secure than the other. Scott, YMMV

By insecure I'm meaning not that it will randomly seperate but that the connection is not solid - there is slight wiggle at that juncture. It is not just one camera - I have two and two grips. Mixed and matched, they both have just a bit of wiggle. That would seem to defeat the purpose of using the L-bracket/BG/tripod combination - at least for me.