Top critical review
2.0 out of 5 starsNot fully compatible with many mounts, thick
Reviewed in the United States on March 21, 2021
I have a bunch of different Arca-swiss and "compatible" mounts (mostly from RRS, but also Benro and Sirui). This plate does not fit any of them well. I should have been wary of the fact that the ad uses vague terms like "universal" and "meets the international standard" but there is no standard specified, and in fact, no standard for these things exists. (Google "Arca Swiss plate standard" for lots about this.)
The biggest problem is that the two small "stopper" screws on either end protrude just a bit too far, and block the plate from being inserted fully. For my desired purpose (a cheap webcam) it was not a huge deal. I removed the safety stopper screws and it fits fine. I use only equipment-specific plates for my good cameras so it's unlikely to see use with anything I'm really worried about dropping.
As shown in the photos, when comparing to an RRS plate the screw on the RRS plate protrudes 1.6mm from the base of the plate. On this Neewer it protrudes 2.1mm. That's only .5mm, but the tolerances on the larger, better-quality mounts like the ones made by RRS are pretty tight. As shown in the photos, even the RRS plate on an RRS mount has only a paper-thin margin. Add .5mm and it doesn't work. Same is true when I used Benro and Sirui mounts. That's three fairly major equipment manufacturers whose equipment isn't fully compatible.
I suppose a longer plate that hangs off both ends of the mount would be OK, or a very narrow mount that allowed even short plates like this to hang over the ends completely would be OK too. but with a 50mm long mount surface, it has to fit into the machined spaces in the mount.
A secondary problem is that the plate is thicker than most and this makes the fit a bit tighter if you're using a lever clamp rather than a screw clamp. Levers always demand tighter tolerances.
Bottom line is that if you're using a mount from the same manufacturer, one that is less than 40mm long so the screws can hang off both sides, or don't care about the safety feature provided by the stopper screws, you're probably OK thought the thickness will be an issue for some lever closure mounts. For the price it's a good deal if your usage falls within those parameters. If you need something that's going to be 100% compatible in all scenarios with the tripod head/mount you're putting it on, spend the money for something that makes that claim.
Someday, somebody will make up a public standard that everybody follows, until then, beware.
