A new quick-release plate called the "Magic Plate" has made its way onto Kickstarter, where it claims to be the easiest way to quickly switch between portrait and landscape mode without having to remove your camera from your tripod.
Here's a simple tip that could come in handy: put a metal washer on your keychain for the purpose of tightening your tripod quick release plate.
About a month ago, we shared a Kickstarter for something called the Fusion Plate. The product made it easy to go from using a sling-style strap -- something many photographers prefer to the traditional -- to using a tripod without having to mess with screwing anything in.
The Fusion Plate has since far-surpassed its funding goal, but if you didn't get a chance to buy one of those, or if the $65 price tag was just a little out of reach, the folks at JOBY have announced a more affordable alternative.
About a year and a half ago, photographer David Fliger of Fusion Photo Gear found himself in a field, rushing to mount his camera onto a tripod in order to get a shot of a tractor in the fading light. There was only one problem: he already had his sling-style shoulder strap attached via the accessory loop that was sitting where his quick release plate would normally be.
It was a problem he ran into all too often (both used the 1/4" accessory hole on the bottom of his camera) and one he made up his mind that day that he would solve. That's when the Fusion Plate was born.