Manfrotto 323 Quick Change Rectangular Plate Adaptor

A quality item, accept no cheap knock off imitations. Why risk your gear to save a few quid?

When I bought my original camera it came with an Kirk L plate for that particular camera. I had to however purchase a Kirk devise which attached to the tripod which cost £50. Having up graded my camera I would have to have bought another base plate which was going to cost another £47 which to my mind seems an awful lot of money. I am an amateur photographer. I looked for an alternative and a Manfrotto 323 came up. After reading all the reviews I thought I would give it a try as it only cost £20.81 for the complete system. Base plate and quick release lock. The Kirk system does ooze quality but at £97 for the complete system verses £20 it is expensive for the amount of photography I do. I do it as a hobby and to maintain our shop website. The Manfrotto system appears well engineered and does its job without and fuss. How long will it last remains to be seen. Watch this space in the future. All indications appear good. If I was a professional photograph using the tripod day in day out then maybe the expensive Kirk system could be justified but for a hobbyist I would recommend the Manfrotto system. I have awarded 5 stars based on the price and quality of the product. If I was comparing it against the Kirk system then I would award four stars but you will be paying nearly five times more.

Its very ok, reliable, sturdy and easy to use quick lock mechanism. I purchased a lot of these already and all do the job very well. Would be great if security jingle automatically kicks in like in some other Manfrotto quick lock plates I own, and this is the reason why I give just 4 stars, not 5. So when you lock the plate, you need to push additional the security jingle manually to fix the big one in position from any accidental unlocking. Its not a defect but design. I would still purchase more of these if I need them as are really decent products

I've been a manfrotto user for years now and do add these to any other tripods I use because this quick release system is by far the best out there without question . This is a genuine item of the usual very high quality expected from manfrotto I can vouch for that because I own many such units . You'll notice copies on here at about a quarter the price of this one that say their the same but my advice is to avoid them like the plague and stump up for this genuine item because a dropped camera through a fake unit just isn't worth the risk . That's the bottom line really , if you treasure your camera an lenses and want quality then manfrotto gears the way to go as once bought it'll see you out without doubt and your camera will thank you for it . Lovely item worth every penny .

I already have one of these so I bought a second one, partly for compatibility, but also because it is just so strong and sturdy. My kit is my livelihood and I DO NOT want it falling off the tripod of the camera rig, and with this adaptor I feel confident it is safe. Once connected it can be locked in place and it would take a crowbar to detach the plate (maybe a small exaggeration but you get my point). Being solid metal there are no bits that will wear or chip or snap so i can't imagine it ever needing replacement as the springs seem strong and sturdy as well. A bonus is that the plate remains fixed to my camera (GH2) and is so compact that it does not interfere with using or storing the camera in any way. At the same time I have the second plate on a large Canon video camera and it is strong enough to hold that with no problems. Small, strong and nearly unbreakable. Sorted.....

This is well made and if you have a head that screws into the plate from beneath then it's just the job. However the head I wanted to use it on (a non Manfrotto head) had a screw that screws down through the plate and into the head. The problem with this set up is that to ensure a flush fitting the screw hole on the top needs to be countersunk, which the hole on this isn't. The net result is that the head of the screw stuck up on the plate and interfered with the placement of the plate that attaches to the camera; I found it impossible to get the camera plate to sit on the base plate. Obviously with a drill you could countersink this yourself, but another problem I had was that the head I wanted to use this on had specific fitments to lock its own head into position with its own plate which meant that the Manfrotto plate was not sitting properly. In the end I returned it. Bottom line, if your head can accommodate this plate then its a well made piece of kit.

I bought this because my backup entry level Manfrotto tripod just has a ball head with a fixed screw mount - the tripod cost about £35 down from £70 but without a quick release it's a bit of a problem getting your camera on and off in a hurry, it's not a problem really I guess but it can be awkward and inconvenient in certain circumstances when you have to act quickly. Anyway, putting this plate adaptor on converts a cheap tripod into something so much more useful. The plate adaptor has a lock to stop you flipping the release off accidentally and it's solid and well made. It should fit on other tripods, the screw thread is the same as the bottom of the camera that you can put on top... that is, if the camera screws on the tripod then this will go in between as they are the same screw thread. I wish I bought it ages ago!

Got this plate to attach to my Manfrotto MK393-PD Tripod, the Tripod came with a ball head only but a pain screwing it in and out of the camera body, especially when needing stability in a hurry, I contacted Manfrotto who recommended this one. On arrival it was easy to attach, to the tripod and since then has been on there permanently, I use it with my Canon D70 and various lenses it holds the camera very securely and feels solid it has a locking pin under the lever and when you click it into place the camera is locked in, in all typical Manfrotto, solid, well built, does exactly as it says on the tin! I have used it and the tripod, on windy hills, beaches and travelling around and never a problem, buy this if it will fit your ballhead tripod but if unsure contact Manfrotto first to get the correct plate adaptor for your tripod A good safe buy