x-t4 Design disaster: battery cover blocked by quick release plate

[Psetel]

I have a serious criticism of the X-T4 design: my Gitzo Traveler quick release plate - the smallest they make - blocks the battery door from opening fully while attached to the camera. The hinge for the door is too close to the tripod//quick release hole and the plate overlaps the hinge just enough to block it from fully opening.

The result is that I cannot remove or change my battery without removing the camera from the tripod and the quick release plate from the camera. What a pain!

Does anyone know of a Gitzo tripod head system compatible with the Traveler model tripod and that has a narrower plate where this won't be a problem? 

Thanks!

[andrei89]

Same happens on my x-e3, canon M and m5. It’s an inconvenience but far far away from what you call a design disaster

it’s a limitation of small bodies. Some mechanical calculations were made and that ended up being the best support point

[mawz]

Get an Arca-swiss compatible head and go to a proper fitted plate or L-bracket. Gitzo does make some Arca-Swiss compatible heads, or you can go to a better quality head like an RRS or Acratech for similar cost.

Nobody designs for those old plate systems anymore and small cameras have always had issues with most plates, one reason why Fuji sold Acra-Swiss compatible grip/plates for their kit from day 1 of the system.

Edited August 20, 2020 by mawz

[ascotjim]

Same issue. I will grind/cut one end of the plate to shorten it.

[mrPeter]

On 6/20/2021 at 4:16 PM, ascotjim said:

Same issue. I will grind/cut one end of the plate to shorten it.

That is the cheapest solution and works well. I did that with a Manfrotto QR plate. A more elegant but pricier solution would be to exchange the QR plate base (if possible, look for a screw where the base is attached to the ballhead) for an Arca Swiss baseplate and QR plate.

[BobB]

On 8/19/2020 at 12:57 PM, Psetel said:

I have a serious criticism of the X-T4 design: my Gitzo Traveler quick release plate - the smallest they make - blocks the battery door from opening fully while attached to the camera. The hinge for the door is too close to the tripod//quick release hole and the plate overlaps the hinge just enough to block it from fully opening.

The result is that I cannot remove or change my battery without removing the camera from the tripod and the quick release plate from the camera. What a pain!

Does anyone know of a Gitzo tripod head system compatible with the Traveler model tripod and that has a narrower plate where this won't be a problem? 

Thanks!

I'm confused...is your criticism of the X-T4 or of your Gitzo plate? Where would you have designed the battery door? Or, how would you have designed the Gitzo plate? BTW, my KES L-bracket designed for the X-T4 doesn't block anything so maybe you should check that out.

[SETHSIDE]

On my X-T4 i have a cheap L-Bracket installed ($30 and arca-swiss compatible + also comes with grip extender) and it has 6 points that you can mount a tripod head which solves your issue.

[thesharpshooter]

There's actually a really simple fix for this, and it costs just over $10.

I have a video posted on what you need and how to do it. It takes about 5 minutes to mount and you can do it on any camera.
 

Essentially, you mount a cheese plate to the bottom of your camera and it will allow you to mount the quick release plate into a new threaded hole that is away from your battery door, giving you access to the battery without having to un-mount the quick release plate.

No cutting, grinding, or modifications required.

Hope this helps!

[Schuster]

I had no idea there was such a thing as a Cheese Plate (that wasn't edible). I can think of several other uses for it as well. Thanks for posting this, thesharpshooter.

[Beach Boy]

The RRS BXT4 L-bracket fits perfectly, and blocks nothing. If desired, this modular unit can be purchased as a simple quick release plate if only horizontal mounting is desired.