Breakthrough Photography Universal Arca-Type Quick Release Plate
When I set out to review the hot new Breakthrough Photography X4 Circular Polarizer that everyone is talking about, I didn't know that the Arca plate even existed. However, the founder of Breakthrough Photography, Graham Clark, tossed one in for me to review.
At first glance I was like "meh, who cares", but I tossed it in my bag and actually forgot about it quickly. Then one day when I was deep in a mountain forest I found myself setting up my tripod and realizing I had forgot my Arca Swiss plate. During my frantic search I only found this 60mm plate that Graham had given me, so out of desperation I had no choice to use it.
I search my pockets for a nickel and my bag for my Swiss Army knife, but I didn't have either of those with me, so I was worried about how I'd get it on camera. I figured I'd just use my fingernail and do the best I can when I flipped it over and got a wonderful surprise:
Hand-Adjustable Stainless Steel Screw - Learn more at Amazon
It was a hand adjustable screw that made me shout for joy!
All of the plates I've ever owned haven't had this simple, but brilliant, feature so this was a revelation for me. What's more, the grips allowed me to get a firm grip to my camera where it stayed perfectly snug for the duration of my shooting - with two radically different camera bodies (a Canon 1D X Mark II and a Sony a6500).
In short, it worked well and I'm a big fan. While I still use the larger plates when I'm at home, when I travel this is the only plate I use for my camera bodies (although I still have plates for the tripod collar of my longer lenses).
The high quality of this plate and the handy screw feature makes me wish Breakthrough Photography would make more of these in larger sizes and in l-bracket varieties. If they did, I'd probably bid farewell to my overpriced Really Right Stuff plates and go with this brand moving forward.
Conclusion
I highly recommend this product. At $15 (at the time this was written) it's probably one of the best deals and cheapest plates you can buy - despite outstanding build quality.
Where to Buy?
CLICK HERE to learn more or buy today.
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Disclosure
If you make a purchase using links found in this article, I may make a commission. It doesn’t cost you a penny more, but it does help to support future articles like this.
While I am only loaned most products that I review, I was given this one to keep given its low cost.
