Re: [Leica] RRS M plate #B30?

[Chuck Kennedy <cwk@pressroom.com>]

You know I may have said the LL Rue site meaning Kirk Enterprises for 
alternatives to the RRS plate. My beef with RRS is the annoyance of 
conducting business with RRS. In the past they refused phone orders, and 
credit cards. All had to have been done by mail. The clamp system does 
make for a sturdy connection but I don't agree that it is all that fast. 
Plus, I find the size of the plates in most cases to be excessive.  When 
you find yourself locked in to carrying them on several lenses AND 
several bodies it adds up. Never mind the fact that all those edges and 
corners are sharp and are not forgiving when they inevitably hit another 
piece of gear. 

That being said... I do LOVE the B1 ball head, so much so that I had my 
clamp replaced with a Sachtler Quik release system for both the head and 
mountaineer monopod. Sachtler no longer sells this item, though the 
former US distributer (www.bromwell.com) bought the design and has them 
manufactured in the US. The plates are much smaller... and it holds a 
Canon 300 2.8 very nicely. He also has an intruiging line of Italian ball 
heads I've never seen before.

>Anyone purchase Really Right Stuff's Leica M plate? Would be keen on hearing
>opinions, pro and con. I have no plans to buy an M grip, and my camera won't
>take a winder, so that's not a factor, either.