![\"lwinkel-4\"](\"http:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/lwinkel-4.jpg\")
<\/a>For me an L-brackets has improved the everyday experience of my Sony Alpha 7 and I think too few people know about L-brackets so I want to share my experience in this post.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
How does it work?<\/h1>\n
Lets have a look at some images:<\/p>\n
Here you see my a7 with attached L-bracket on a tripod<\/p>\n
Most l-brackets are compatible to the Arca Swiss system which is used by about any better tripod head.<\/p>\n L-brackets have two rails so you can mount them either in landscape orientation as shown above or in portrait orientation as shown here:<\/p>\n There are universal L-brackets which can be used on my cameras and L-brackets which are made for a specific camera model. The one I used is of the sencond kind.<\/p>\n In this image you see that it increases the grip area, my little finger rests much more comfortable on the camera when the L-bracket is attached.<\/p>\n My L-bracket limits the downward movement of the LCD screen by a few degress,\u00a0I would guess that you can move it downward by 45\u00b0 without and 40\u00b0 with the L-bracket attached.<\/p>\n It also makes the camera heavier and bigger. If you just spent $800 for a the Zeiss 2.8\/35 to keep the camera small and light\u00a0it doesn’t make much sense to attach a 130g peace of metal which adds Xmm of height and Xmm of width to the camera.<\/p>\n For my landscape photography always use the L-bracket, I sometimes use a tripod and I always have a camera bag with me so the weight isn’t a problem. <\/p>\n I use a cheap adapter from a company called Mengs which I have never heard of before and \u00a0it seems to be available only in Germany. I paid 50\u20ac for it because I was a bit hasty, today it sells for 30\u20ac at Amazon.de<\/a> (affiliate link) I\u00a0wouldn’t be surprised if all the cheaper models in the $20-$50 bracket\u00a0came from the same Chinese factory but that is speculation.<\/p>\n I am very happy with my copy, it fits very well, the machining is done well and I haven’t really found a flaw\u00a0in the year I have used it now.<\/p>\n I think the precision of the production and the engineering is much less critical with\u00a0a L-bracket than with adapters, and based on my experience I see little reason how a more expensive product could\u00a0improve my experience.<\/p>\n You can buy a much more expensive model from \u00a0Really Right Stuff which has a fancy mechanism which makes it possible to use a HMDI cable even when the camera is mounted in portrait orientation. But to be honest I can’t imagine one application where that is needed and it makes it more heavy and expensive. If you can imagine such a scenario please tell me.<\/p>\n The 50\u20ac I spent on my L-bracket were a very good investment<\/strong> and today you can get one for half that much<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The L-bracket has improved the\u00a0handling of my Sony a7<\/strong> quite a bit and makes especially the handling of larger and heavier lenses weighting more than 500g easier.<\/p>\n I also like that\u00a0I don’t have to worry about quick release plates<\/strong> any more.<\/p>\n For those benefits I paid only a few bucks<\/strong> and I have to deal with a bigger and heavier camera<\/strong> but in most scenarios this is not an issue and when I want just the a7 and a small lens I can detach it in 30 seconds.<\/p>\n Writng article\u00a0like this requires a lot of time and effort. You can support my work by using one of these affiliate links at no additional cost to you.<\/p>\n I think the Neewer L-bracket available in the US is very similar to the one I use. You can by it at Amazon.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n In Germany I can recommend the Mengs L-bracket<\/a> which I own<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\nLimitations<\/h1>\n
\nI detach the L-bracket when I wan’t to bring the camera to a social event where I usually have my camera in one \u00a0pocket of my jacket and a smaller normal lens in annother pocket.<\/p>\nCheap vs. Expensive Models<\/h1>\n
<\/a>Conclusion<\/h1>\n
Support my work<\/h1>\n