Ending Our Love-Hate Relationship With L-Brackets: A Double Review of New Options From SmallRig

L-brackets are very helpful tools that are loved by many photographers of different genres, but for as long as we have been using them, imperfections in how they fit or work with certain cameras have been hard to ignore. These two new mounting tools from SmallRig just might change that.

Accessories for photography often fulfill both or either of two functions. Either they should help protect precious camera gear, improve how we use them, or both. In recent years, L-brackets, cages, rigs, and other camera mounting accessories have exponentially gained popularity and as more camera manufacturers update their lineup of imaging gear, manufacturers of support accessories have also been keeping up.

The Problem That L-Brackets Solve

L-brackets are simply made to mount the camera onto a tripod just like how the typical tripod plate would. The only difference is that when using a normal tripod plate one would have to tilt the camera on the tripod head 90 degrees to the side to be able to shoot vertically. For the simplest applications, this is not even an actual problem when shooting quick stills, as long as the tripod and the head can securely hold the camera.

For other photographers, the mere thought of tilting the head onto the side feels risky because of the uneven weight, especially if the camera and lens are quite heavy. On top of that, if the shooting process would involve panning and stitching images later on, the fact that the camera is inches away from the axis of rotation would result in distortion of the image.

L-Brackets as Solutions

Simply put, an L-bracket make it easier and safer to mount your camera onto a tripod vertically. It eliminates the imbalance in weight and helps keep the camera in a more comfortable angle of view. In a way, the L-bracket also provides added protection on two out of the six sides of the camera body. This means that if in case the camera falls hitting the bottom part or the left side, the bracket would take some of the impact. There are L-brackets that were made to fit a wide selection of cameras with adjustable or sliding mounting screws, and there are also L-brackets that were designed specifically to fit specific camera models. The benefit of using the latter is that the photographer can just keep the L-bracket on the camera even when not in use and rarely have to remove them since the holes for the battery door and side ports are properly aligned.

Ergonomic Challenges

For decades, L-brackets have proven very convenient to use for a multitude of shooting scenarios. Whether you are using a universal version that you would take out and install from time to time or one that is fitted to your camera, it always offered undeniable convenience.

In recent years, as vari-angle flip screens have gotten more and more popular, especially for cameras that are used for video and vlogging, the presence of the side plate of the L-bracket became an ergonomic obstacle. Most, if not all flip screens flip outward to the left side of the body, the rotation of tilt of the screen would also rotate on the same side, and the side plate of the bracket is obviously a hindrance for those kinds of movement. At the same time, the side plate would cover the ports for accessories on the side and would have to be unlocked from under to be able to have a bit of space by sliding the side plate further away from the side of the body. This would then mean that the camera now takes up more space and if the screen is directed towards the person in front of the camera, the side plate would become an obstruction. Most manufacturers of mounting solutions have played around with different ways to get past this challenge.

The Foldable L-Bracket

This new variant of the L-bracket from SmallRig definitely solves the problem, but with the added step of folding and unfolding the side plate. When folded, the side plate of the SmallRig folding L-bracket acts as the surface on which the quick-release clamp of the Arca Swiss type mount would latch. This plate has two buttons at the back. The one on the right would unlock the side plate from the folded configuration allowing the joint to rotate counterclockwise to have the side plate in place, and the button on the left unlocks that position to fold the side plate back onto the bottom part of the camera. The same mounting screw can also be loosened (even just partially) to slide the side plate outwards to add some space on the side for access to the ports similar to how older versions of the bracket do.

Considering that this new version works exactly the same way and only solves problems about using flip screens and side ports, it automatically can be considered a huge improvement of product design. In my opinion, it can be improved simply by having a separate lock and slide mechanism for extending the side plate instead of having to unlock the mounting screw to create space on the side.

The Rotating Camera Mount

Another option that has recently been made available is this rotating camera mount plate kit that makes use of a lens collar with a foot that acts as the tripod plate. This collar is then connected to a bottom plate that was specifically made for the camera. At the moment this is only available for the Sony a7R V, a7R IV, a7 IV, and a7S III, but the brand did say that options for more camera models from most camera brands will be made available soon.

The tripod plate connected to the collar is both Arca Swiss type mount and Manfrotto RC2 compatible. The collar is made up of two layers that rotate internally, which means that no moving parts are in contact with the barrel of the lens. In fact, the collar is not at all in contact with the lens but simply acts as a path for the rotating internal part.

The rotation of the collar is limited to 90 degrees, which only allows shifting from horizontal to vertical one way but also conveniently assures getting the right angle if the initial position was in proper level. On the bottom left of the collar is an extension of the lens release button for assured access, and on the other side is a knob to control the friction or simply lock the rotation collar in place. At the bottom of both the tripod plate and the camera plate are additional screw threads with varying sizes in case one would have to use it on a different quick release mount type or if the user would like to mount additional accessories onto the camera.

The rotating mount allows for all the side ports to be accessible in any shooting configuration and ensures no obstruction to the range of motion of the flip screen. Overall, this seems to be the most practical solution to the challenges that were originally being addressed by L-brackets and also seems to be the most effective.