Choosing The Right L-bracket

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In days far past, when a photographer wanted to move a tripod mounted camera from landscape to portrait orientation, he or she would flip the camera to one side or another using capabilities present in most tripod heads. But flipping a camera using a tripod-mounted head can sometimes take precious time. It also means that the camera is no longer perfectly balanced on the top of the tripod causing the head to take more of the camera weight than is necessary. Also, depending on the size of the camera and the tripod being used, some photographers may find it difficult to achieve perfect 90-degree positioning. Finally, the photographer will likely need to recompose the scene after flipping the camera. Although you may think this particular problem is a trivial matter, reorienting a camera makes a big difference when taking photographs in the field under rapidly changing lighting conditions; every second counts.

With an L-bracket, photographers can change a camera’s orientation by removing camera from the tripod and remounting it on its opposite axis; no adjustments are required on the tripod head itself. This is accomplished using an L shaped Arca-Swiss style quick release plate, commonly referred to as an L-bracket.

There are many different brands of L-brackets available on the market today including products by Manfrotto and several generic import brands. However, most professional photographers agree that two of the best L-brackets are manufactured by Really Right Stuff (RRS) and Kirk Enterprises. With my recent purchase of a second Nikon D2x camera body, I felt it was a good time to compare the L-brackets provided by these two major superpowers of mounting technology.

For my last two camera bodies, the Nikon D70 and Nikon D2x, I had selected L-brackets from Kirk Enterprises. However, the Internet grapevine reported that Really Right Stuff (RRS) also manufactured excellent L-brackets. So, when I purchased a second Nikon D2x, I thought I would check the veracity of that claim. Taking this “chance” was also influenced by the fact that I had also recently purchased the Really Right Stuff B91-B flash arm. I found this product to be of very high quality and therefore assumed that I would not be disappointed with a RRS L-bracket.

This article is intended to provide you with my observations, as they relate to the Really Right Stuff BD2-L plate and the Kirk Enterprises BL-D2H L-bracket (hereafter referred to as L-brackets). These L-brackets are designed for the Nikon D2x. Both manufacturers also provide similar L-brackets designed for other camera bodies.

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Port Accessibility

The Nikon D2x has data ports located on the left vertical edge of the camera. Both L-brackets provide an opening which allows access to these ports. However, the opening in vertical mount area on the RRS L-bracket is more shallow than the opening on the Kirk L-bracket. Since some photographers find it difficult to open those rubber doors when an L-bracket is utilized, I believe that many photographers would find it easer to open those doors when using the RRS L-bracket.

Really Right Stuff wins this category.

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Mounting Options

The RRS L-bracket features lens axis marks engraved on the horizontal and vertical mounting areas, while the Kirk L-bracket does not have similar markings. Although some photographers might find this small detail trivial, I really like this feature. I find it particularly helpful when using other RRS components. My other RRS components also feature these axis marks. These marks can allow me to quickly and accurately align the RRS L-bracket to RRS tripod heads or flash arm mounts.

Both plates offer a 1/4″ hole on the L-bracket’s horizontal mounting area. For the RRS L-bracket, this hole is positioned directly over the lens axis. On the Kirk L-bracket, this hole is offset and not directly under the lens axis. This deficiency in the Kirk product could prove problematic if you sometimes mount your camera on plates that do not feature an Arca-Swiss mount. This potential problem is most relevant for panoramic photographers where having an accurate axis point is particularly critical.

Really Right Stuff wins this category.

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Mounting Area

The horizontal Arca-Swiss mount area is approximately 55mm on the Kirk L-bracket while the RRS L-bracket boasts about 70mm of horizontal area. The vertical Arca-Swiss mount area is approximately 65mm on the Kirk L-bracket while the RRS L-bracket boasts about 70mm of horizontal area. Although I’m not certain that the extra surface area provided by the RRS L-bracket will prove more useful, I personally like the idea of a longer surface contact area for my 3 inch quick release plates.

Really Right Stuff has the slight edge in this category.

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Online Shopping

I purchase almost everything online. And although I do sometimes frequent my local store for last-minute purchases, I prefer to order online if I have the time to plan my purchases. For both the Kirk and RRS sites, the ordering process isn’t very pleasant. Kirk’s site features more intuitive, utilitarian navigation while the RRS site provides visitors with a more aesthetically pleasing presentation. But in both cases, neither site evokes a strong sense of trust. And both are sadly lacking in that they do not accept American Express, my business credit card of choice. I believe that companies should not insert barriers to purchase; and the lack of support for any major credit card is a problem in my book.

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Other General Observations

The RRS L-bracket is balanced so that the majority of the weight is centered on the horizontal plate. The Kirk L-bracket’s balance point is somewhere on the curve between the horizontal and vertical plate areas. In other words, when the RRS L-bracket is not mounted, its stands on its own while the Kirk plate falls onto its curved edge. Additionally, the RRS plate horizontal surface area is solid where it mounts to the camera. The Kirk plate is bored out and provides visibility to some areas of the camera bottom.

When measured on non-digital kitchen scale, both L-brackets appear to have the same weight. When working with a professional camera body like the Nikon D2x, I haven’t found the weight or additional bulk of either L-bracket noticeable.

The build quality on the L-brackets from both manufacturers is excellent. However, I feel that the RRS L-bracket seems to be more visually elegant than the Kirk L-bracket. Please note that this assessment is purely subjective and should not be weighted very heavily. I do maintain that I find both equally comfortable when shooting my camera off-tripod.

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Conclusions

Although the differences between the Really Right Stuff BD2-L plate and the Kirk Enterprises BL-D2H L-bracket are minor, I’d have to give the slight edge to the Really Right Stuff BD2-L plate. If you’re already the happy owner of a Kirk Enterprises BL-D2H L-bracket, don’t despair. You have a great product. I plan to continue using my Kirk L-bracket on my backup D2x and mount the RRS L-bracket on my primary D2x. But if you don’t yet own an L-bracket, I’d have to point you to the folks at Really Right Stuff for an overall superior product.

As of this writing, the Really Right Stuff BD2-L plate is $183.00 with $9.15 for UPS ground shipping and the Kirk Enterprises BL-D2H L-bracket is priced at $179.95 with $7.60 for UPS ground shipping. These are steep prices for such a simple accessory, but for my style of photography, I can’t imagine taking tripod-mounted photographs using any other similarly performing product.

United Kingdom Credit Card Debt Relief

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So many people in the UK are caught up in the swipe and spend culture that is leading us into more credit card debt year after year, some who have vowed never to be caught in the credit card trap, have been trapped with some owing more than 30,000. The average UK household has 4 credit cards, with some having up to 12 cards. The average debt in the UK has doubled from 2000 to 2007. In 2000 the average debt for all loans was 17,000 in 2007 it was 33,000. Many households have already stretched their borrowing capacity, which will lead to a large number of people being declared insolvent. With so many interest rate increase the last year in mortgages and rises in energy costs the future is bleak. The number of people filing for bankruptcy is also on the increase. This is definitely a situation you want to avoid and can do so by finding a credit card debt relief plan that suits your predicament.

First, you should not feel bad if you find yourself in a bad credit situation where you need to repay even a modest amount of credit card debt. Most all households across the United Kingdom have some type of credit card related debt and many of them need to at some point eventually seek out the services of a credit card debt relief service.

Consumers will find that debt relief from your credit cards can take on many different forms. The first step that you as the consumer should take is to owe up to whatever it is that you owe and what about your spending habits that needs to be changed.

Are you someone who has the tendency to spend money that you don’t really have? Has a horrible medical issue arisen in your family that has resulted in turning to credit cards in order to take care of monthly expenses? Whether you find yourself in one of these situations or another one all together it is very important that you at least try to make the minimum payments until you can seek out a much better solution to your issues.

For credit card debt relief to be effective you will need to be committed to changing your bad habits which got you into debt in the first place. Getting yourself into a good financial position should be your aim, and this means erasing the debt. Learning to live within your means can be hard when you are used to using credit cards. Many of the credit card debt relief services can help you with just how you will go about the way you manage your money. Addressing your situation early will mean you get into a better financial position earlier as well. To be free of bad debts, like credit cards, is a position not many people are in these days but is something we all want. There are many services to choose from now, if you have a good credit history. You can never borrow your way out of debt, but you can borrow your way into a better position, and out of bad debt.

Verify Credit Card Details Whit Bin Database

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BIN Database is online Bank Identification Number checking service. That will help to merchants and e-commerce shops to verify credit card details only by entering first 6 digits of customer credit card.

By using our card bin database, you can easily identify type of card, country of issue for most bins, issuing bank`s details. All of this information can be used in a number of ways to help you make sure that the cardholder has physical possession of the card and isn’t just using a card number obtained illegally. What is the BIN or IIN number? The first 6 digits of a bank card number are known as the Issuer Identification Number (IIN), previously known as Bank Identification Number (BIN). These identify the institution that issued the card to the card holder. Some digits after first 6 are help to identify branch location the card.

Bin database is power. Once you have access to bank identification number beyond a simple string of digits that is the credit card bin number, your risk management components can use that data to better estimate likelihood of fraudulence based on country of issue versus country of intended delivery. Questionable orders, for example where the card is issued by bank in Canada, but is being used to order a product to ship to Moldova, can be flagged for review and additional screening before order fulfillment can proceed.

Pre-filling card type and country information as well as displaying a matching icon dynamically on your forms are exactly the kinds of small touches that your visitors will notice and appreciate. It’s a fact: high customer charge-back ratio can break your business by significantly reducing profits or worse, causing suspension of your merchant account once you exceed pre-defined ratio (usually ~2.5%). With bank identification number you can cancel transactions that are fraudulent or carry high risk of charge-back is the only guaranteed way of keeping that ratio in check from bin database. Today`s typical customer is well accustomed to high-standard of user experiences across the web and we want to help you meet and exceed their expectations.

So as you can see, that this database is very important for the merchants, e-commerce and the consumer. All of this is available at

Do It Yourself Credit Card Settlement The Fastest Way To Peace Of Mind

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Do it yourself Credit card debt settlement is like getting a new lease on life. All those nagging phone calls from collectors and creditors will become history and the letters will stop. And now more than ever creditors are taking what they can get, or what you can give them.

You can approach do it yourself debt settlement in 1 way. Stop paying, get behind, save your money and get on the phone playing the big guy or gal. So there is a little more to it than that.

Do it yourself debt settlement, is by far the fastest and cheapest way to go about debt settlement. Is it the easiest in my opinion, yes. Because I am the one calling the shots. Meaning I don’t have to rely on some guy in an office somewhere in Boise, Idaho with 321 other credit accounts to step up to plate for me. By the way I randomly picked Boise Idaho. But you get the point. Plus the the greatest thing is not only am I saving thousands of dollars doing it myself, but it makes me responsible for MY own financial status.

The other way is paying a debt settlement company to do it for you. There are hordes of people and companies that advertise credit card debt settlement in one day or something of that kind which will look just fantastic. Such credit card debt settlement offers/advice are generally not genuine. Plus know that debt settlement will not happen over night. So, beware of the agencies offering miracles. But this post is about do it yourself or DIY debt settlement.

Here are some quick tips for do it yourself credit card settlement:

* Gather your statements and original paperwork if you have it
* Order a copy of your credit report
* Total up how much you owe (balance, fees, rates)
* Know your history like how long you have been with the creditor
* Make the call

That is it a nutshell, but you want to come across as knowing your account just as good or better than they do.

Always remain calm and never take the first offer.

Your future plans are important and creating a plan, mindset, and lifestyle that will keep you out of debt is just as important as the debt settlement process.

Create a plan to start over, and new beginning if you will. The Money Mastering Mindset is not just reserved for the affluent people of the world, its meant for you.

If this was helpful and you would like more information such as what to say and who to speak with when you call join my newsletter and drop a note.

Thanks for reading!

Gene

Free Information About Credit Card Processing

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Does your company require credit card processing? It does if you can benefit in the following:

Credit Card Processing enhances your professional status. When shoppers know you accept credit payments, they are usually additional willing to pay more, return always and tell their buddies if the assistance is good. That is because a company that makes the payment alternatives of credit available to buyers is to tell the world that they care about customers, and they are professional adequate to pay for systems which will increase the shopping experience for customers. Nobody likes this feeling disappointed when, right after browsing, you discover anything you would like to buy, but did not discover adequate income inside your wallet to buy it. Writing a check may perhaps put you on a balance and you don’t need to take in the time to run on the ATM to withdraw income from savings. When consumers can pay using a plastic card, they can show their appreciation by returning again and once again the shop your store.

Credit card processing is cheap. It depends on your modern day organization budget, of course, but you don’t must sink much dollars into the credit card processing equipment. All you need do is get a merchant account services account, buy or rent a unit for processing credit cards and you will be great to go. Snaps into location or a wireless unit with you on the method to make credit payments easy, fast and secure. Plan to pay transaction fees of about 25 cents or a lower monthly interest rate which might include minimum penalties. associated costs may possibly include discount fees, gateway fees, statement fees and printing costs of membership. There may be others as well. In general, however, the advantages of a merchant account are greater than its costs.

Credit card processing is flexible. You don’t need to be stuck behind the funds register all day to appreciate the rewards with the capability of the merchant account to offer credit card processing. You are able to take a wireless device from one destination to an additional to allow customers to pay at the time of acquire instead of waiting for billing. You’ll be able to desire to invest in a pager that allows you to offer immediate delivery or a quick response to requests from customers, some of that can lead to direct or indirect sale on the selection of paying by credit card. You can also create a Internet site to accept online credit card payments of billions of capability clients worldwide. It’s all yours, of course, you will be ready to go in terms of sales growth of the business. You’ll not require much more staff to handle the processing of credit cards, whatever. In fact, you may be in a position to run some systems for processing credit card automatically when you choose the technique of payment by phone or Internet option. But he will have a staff member accessible at certain times with the queries or troubleshooting issues.

Do not fall behind competitors who are already merchant account services and buyers who are waiting for them. Browse much more now with a credit card.