em5 iii tripod thread breaking?

[relic]

Way back in the Olympus DSLR days, I wrote a review of the Manfrotto 293 Telephoto Lens Support Bracket, which you can read here:

http://www.rahsoft.net/m293_bracket/

I don't know if they still sell it, but it does solve the problem of long lenses without tripod collars. You can get your camera and lenses perfectly balanced on the tripod, as described. Only downside is that the device is kind of heavy.

Here is what it looks like:

View attachment 825450

I have to say, the upcoming Oly 100-400 BETTER have the option of a collar, or I am going to be seriously bummed!! Of course, one wonders when/if this will ever actually be shipped, with COVID-19 screwing everything up; in 2 years, maybe?

I got one a long time ago when I was using an adapted long lens on my E-P1 (I had to reverse the front section as I think is described in the link to the review you provided). I checked, and both B&H and Adorama list it.

 

[travelbug]

Way back in the Olympus DSLR days, I wrote a review of the Manfrotto 293 Telephoto Lens Support Bracket, which you can read here:

http://www.rahsoft.net/m293_bracket/

I don't know if they still sell it, but it does solve the problem of long lenses without tripod collars. You can get your camera and lenses perfectly balanced on the tripod, as described. Only downside is that the device is kind of heavy.

Here is what it looks like:

View attachment 825450

I have to say, the upcoming Oly 100-400 BETTER have the option of a collar, or I am going to be seriously bummed!! Of course, one wonders when/if this will ever actually be shipped, with COVID-19 screwing everything up; in 2 years, maybe?

That's an interesting solution for those who have longer lenses with no collars. Thankfully, I got a collar for my pana 100-300ii. However, I'm still apprehensive of the whole em5iii tripod issue. Imagine having that thing fail on a 'normal' zoom like the 12-40pro while on a once of a lifetime landscape/travel trip.

I do hope we get definite confirmation on the strength or lack thereof of the tripod screw and mount on the em5iii.

 

[FrayAdjacent]

I've noticed that I can flex the base of my 5mkIII when on a tripod with a smaller square-ish mount plate on it... but not all that much. It is worse if the plate is slightly loose.

I'm wondering if one of those L shaped grip plates would add more stability by covering more of the base of the camera. Seems to me that it would. It might be a good idea for someone to try out one of the cheaper grip/base plate things and see how it goes. Heck, I might order one and see how it works out. I've got a Peak Design tripod on the way... should be here tomorrow... so I'll have that plate soon. I'll probably leave that plate on the camera the most, as I think it should work with my desktop tripod thing. I'll probably cease using my older tripod entirely and maybe only occasionally use my Sirui monopod thing.

 

[billca]

I've noticed that I can flex the base of my 5mkIII when on a tripod with a smaller square-ish mount plate on it... but not all that much. It is worse if the plate is slightly loose.

I'm wondering if one of those L shaped grip plates would add more stability by covering more of the base of the camera. Seems to me that it would. It might be a good idea for someone to try out one of the cheaper grip/base plate things and see how it goes. Heck, I might order one and see how it works out. I've got a Peak Design tripod on the way... should be here tomorrow... so I'll have that plate soon. I'll probably leave that plate on the camera the most, as I think it should work with my desktop tripod thing. I'll probably cease using my older tripod entirely and maybe only occasionally use my Sirui monopod thing.

If the tripod comes with the standard plate I'd appreciate it if you'd post what kind of flex you get when it's attached to the 5iii .
I have it permanently attached to the 10ii, It works well, low profile and doesn't get in the way of lenses or back screen.
Thanks

 

[FrayAdjacent]

If the tripod comes with the standard plate I'd appreciate it if you'd post what kind of flex you get when it's attached to the 5iii .
I have it permanently attached to the 10ii, It works well, low profile and doesn't get in the way of lenses or back screen.
Thanks

Will do... I SHOULD have it tomorrow... but I'm in Texas, and it shipped from California... and tracking shows it is in FLORIDA right now. Like down in the southern tip of Florida near Miami. UGH.

 

[runner girl]

thank you for all the tests, observations and tips. Im also hoping that a larger tripod plate or L-plate might give more support, thus preventing the breakages we've seen using the peak design mini plates and flex with other smaller plates.

ill ask my friend who uses the em5iii and a susbtantial tripod base plate to chime in. according to him, he has no issues with his camera/tripod setup.

My experience is the same. I use a standard plate and there is no issue.

 

[bassman]

Check out Hejnar:

http://www.hejnarphotostore.com/category-s/103.htm

 

[FrayAdjacent]

Got the PD tripod in today. The mount plate is very firm and feels solid. I screwed it on decently tight, but not overly tight. Put on the tripod, I don't feel any flex at all. The plate fits on on my little Sirui tabletop tripod with a ball head on it. It doesn't flex. I'm sure I could REALLY FORCE it and probably break things, but that wouldn't be a very smart thing to do.

I may order one of the camera clip things so I can have a second plate. I'll attach one to my extended grip as a semi-permanent thing. Then keep one on the body when I don't have the grip on it.

 

[comment23]

Got the PD tripod in today. The mount plate is very firm and feels solid. I screwed it on decently tight, but not overly tight. Put on the tripod, I don't feel any flex at all. The plate fits on on my little Sirui tabletop tripod with a ball head on it. It doesn't flex. I'm sure I could REALLY FORCE it and probably break things, but that wouldn't be a very smart thing to do.

I may order one of the camera clip things so I can have a second plate. I'll attach one to my extended grip as a semi-permanent thing. Then keep one on the body when I don't have the grip on it.

Interesting. I hopeful this indicates the issue may be assembly QC (resolvable) rather than design (much tougher to resolve). Please keep us updated.

 

[RAH]

Got the PD tripod in today. The mount plate is very firm and feels solid. I screwed it on decently tight, but not overly tight. Put on the tripod, I don't feel any flex at all. The plate fits on on my little Sirui tabletop tripod with a ball head on it. It doesn't flex. I'm sure I could REALLY FORCE it and probably break things, but that wouldn't be a very smart thing to do.

I may order one of the camera clip things so I can have a second plate. I'll attach one to my extended grip as a semi-permanent thing. Then keep one on the body when I don't have the grip on it.

So is the latest thinking here that a fairly large regular arca-swiss mounting plate (or Manfrotto compatible, or whatever) is sufficient to help guard against breakage of the mounting hole? I mean, instead of going the whole route of getting a 3rd party L bracket and then just using the bottom plate? I don't want to do that because I have been doing it with my E-M10II (just to give me a better grip), and prefer to leave the E-M5III unmodified (i.e. not bulked-up with an added full-length bottom plate).

Since I don't know what PD tripod you are talking about, I'm not sure what kind of plate it comes with. Is it just a regular arca-swiss plate, but just kind of big?

To further explain, a largish arca-swiss mounting plate would be something you could just use when you are mounting the camera on a tripod, just as part of your normal tripod mount thing (the way we've been doing things since before the E-M5III started to worry us!), whereas a full bottom plate arrangement sounds like something people might want to leave on their camera full-time.

 

[billca]

Got the PD tripod in today. The mount plate is very firm and feels solid. I screwed it on decently tight, but not overly tight. Put on the tripod, I don't feel any flex at all. The plate fits on on my little Sirui tabletop tripod with a ball head on it. It doesn't flex. I'm sure I could REALLY FORCE it and probably break things, but that wouldn't be a very smart thing to do.

I may order one of the camera clip things so I can have a second plate. I'll attach one to my extended grip as a semi-permanent thing. Then keep one on the body when I don't have the grip on it.

Thanks for the info.
You don't need to buy the clip setup to get a second plate. the plate can be purchased separately at PD and Amazon.

 

[Holoholo55]

So is the latest thinking here that a fairly large regular arca-swiss mounting plate (or Manfrotto compatible, or whatever) is sufficient to help guard against breakage of the mounting hole? I mean, instead of going the whole route of getting a 3rd party L bracket and then just using the bottom plate? I don't want to do that because I have been doing it with my E-M10II (just to give me a better grip), and prefer to leave the E-M5III unmodified (i.e. not bulked-up with an added full-length bottom plate).

Since I don't know what PD tripod you are talking about, I'm not sure what kind of plate it comes with. Is it just a regular arca-swiss plate, but just kind of big?

To further explain, a largish arca-swiss mounting plate would be something you could just use when you are mounting the camera on a tripod, just as part of your normal tripod mount thing (the way we've been doing things since before the E-M5III started to worry us!), whereas a full bottom plate arrangement sounds like something people might want to leave on their camera full-time.

The Peak Design travel tripod comes with their standard Peak Design plate.
https://www.peakdesign.com/collections/tripods/products/standard-plate-v3

 

[hoggdoc]

not at all, id be interested too. i use my camera in weird angles so this is important to me too. plus i wanna know if there is indeed some point of failure in that base plate. this was supposed to be my next camera as my em5ii is literally falling apart, but that issue has made me think twice since i use my camera with my tripod and tracker 90% of the time.

May I suggest you buy an EM1-MkII instead. So many reasons this is a better camera.

 

[hoggdoc]

Way back in the Olympus DSLR days, I wrote a review of the Manfrotto 293 Telephoto Lens Support Bracket, which you can read here:

http://www.rahsoft.net/m293_bracket/

I don't know if they still sell it, but it does solve the problem of long lenses without tripod collars. You can get your camera and lenses perfectly balanced on the tripod, as described. Only downside is that the device is kind of heavy.

Here is what it looks like:

View attachment 825450

I have to say, the upcoming Oly 100-400 BETTER have the option of a collar, or I am going to be seriously bummed!! Of course, one wonders when/if this will ever actually be shipped, with COVID-19 screwing everything up; in 2 years, maybe?

Yes the support is still available B&H sells them : https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...P20j3KiDLg8UAplclj2x9xR9H5OXJidxoCJjIQAvD_BwE

 

[hoggdoc]

The Peak Design travel tripod comes with their standard Peak Design plate.
https://www.peakdesign.com/collections/tripods/products/standard-plate-v3

Holy cow that's a bit pricey for a mounting plate nearly $20.00 USD!

 

[travelbug]

May I suggest you buy an EM1-MkII instead. So many reasons this is a better camera.

yes that's the alternative if I cannot sort out this em5iii issue, but as a landscape and travel photographer the em5 size is what I'd consider ideal for my purposes.

 

[travelbug]

Got the PD tripod in today. The mount plate is very firm and feels solid. I screwed it on decently tight, but not overly tight. Put on the tripod, I don't feel any flex at all. The plate fits on on my little Sirui tabletop tripod with a ball head on it. It doesn't flex. I'm sure I could REALLY FORCE it and probably break things, but that wouldn't be a very smart thing to do.

I may order one of the camera clip things so I can have a second plate. I'll attach one to my extended grip as a semi-permanent thing. Then keep one on the body when I don't have the grip on it.

Interesting. I hopeful this indicates the issue may be assembly QC (resolvable) rather than design (much tougher to resolve). Please keep us updated.

yes, as comment mentions, please keep us updated when using your your tripod out on the field and if you ever got to using the other PD product.

 

[Hendrik]

I had the occasion to mount the E-M5 III on a tripod (to run some AF Focus Adjust tests for the 12-100 at 100mm) and used the current standard PD plate. The focus target was the size of the standard single focus box and I had no trouble getting the camera aimed properly. In other words, no significant droop that had to be allowed for in the aiming of the camera before tightening down. It is still possible to induce minor flex, but I suspect a good deal of that is unavoidable due to the placement of the socket in the camera's bottom plate substantially forward of the centerline. Even so, I am satisfied that, with an appropriate plate, positioning the camera should be pretty straightforward.

That said, I intend to loosen the ball head more for the 5.3 than, say, for the E-M1. I'm satisfied that the E-M1 is sufficiently rigid to be positioned safely with a pre-tensioned ball. I'm not yet certain that is the case with the 5.3.

 

[saladin]

As far as I can find, all documented failures (four so far?) are with the peak design capture plate? (There is anecdotal mention of one failure on a "tripod" but no pictures or elaboration). A couple seem to have been whilst on a lanyard type setup?

I look at the peak design plate and the thing that strikes is that it's a pretty small contact surface, but also that the contact surface is a fair bit smaller than the plate mount. I wonder whether this would accentuate the leverage forces acting on the tripod screw surround?

Again, with my bigger standard tripod plate screwed snugly to the camera, the load surface is broad, spread well beyond the three fixing screws that seem to hold the plastic panel around the tripod thread and shows no sign of flexing or warping the mount with the 12-60 or 75mm.

The take away for me is to avoid small plates, particularly the PD capture setup, and not carry the camera via the tripod screw. Which is fine. I've never used that type of setup anyway.

 

[Will Focus]

As far as I can find, all documented failures (four so far?) are with the peak design capture plate? (There is anecdotal mention of one failure on a "tripod" but no pictures or elaboration). A couple seem to have been whilst on a lanyard type setup?

I look at the peak design plate and the thing that strikes is that it's a pretty small contact surface, but also that the contact surface is a fair bit smaller than the plate mount. I wonder whether this would accentuate the leverage forces acting on the tripod screw surround?

Again, with my bigger standard tripod plate screwed snugly to the camera, the load surface is broad, spread well beyond the three fixing screws that seem to hold the plastic panel around the tripod thread and shows no sign of flexing or warping the mount with the 12-60 or 75mm.

The take away for me is to avoid small plates, particularly the PD capture setup, and not carry the camera via the tripod screw. Which is fine. I've never used that type of setup anyway.

I think the issue may be that the plate on the bottom of the camera itself, the one held in place by the three small screws, actually stands proud of the rest of the bottom plate of the camera. I don't think that screwing a wider plate to the tripod socket does much to distribute the load, but may limit the amount of perceived flex to whichever it is attached by 'bottoming out' or limiting the movement of the outboard ends of attached plate. Perhaps if the plate that one would attach had some type of moderately hard but pliable rubber it may mitigate any 'flex' by filling the void that currently exists when a flat, rigid plate spans past the areas that stand proud of the camera's tripod plate.

Does that make sense or did I turn my attempt at a simple explanation into a science project ?