Are there different iterations of Arri dovetail plates

I

Imamacuser

Veteran
I just purchased a Sirui universal baseplate & Camvate Arri dovetail plate. The problem is that the Camvate plate is 57mm wide, & the Sirui looks like it needs a 68mm wide dovetail plate.

The Camvate was advertised as an Arri dovetail plate, & the Sirui was advertised as compatible with Arri dovetails.

Can anyone shed some light on this?
 
I cant shed light.. but I can say that my 'Pro Aim' or maybe it cam tree - 'arri' wedge does not fit the arri camera plates ive interfaced with on set.

EGG ON FACE.

But id say it is 1mm or less off. I d skim it with my mill if I had a target!
 
Can't shed direct light either. Just to say that NATO rail and clamps are the same way. Different companies, slightly different sizing to components.

Erik of Newsshooter makes a reference to it in a review of a Mid49 Cage.

"Now, all cages offer a few of the ARRI mounts peppered where they will fit, but unfortunately, they are not all to the ARRI specification, instead, companies used the design but not the specifications from ARRI, and this makes them incompatible with each other’s products. Sure, they will fit their cages, but that is not a good design. I have several monitor mounts that don’t fit the ARRI standard, and it’s frustrating...

I can attest that higher-end companies such as Mid49, Bright Tangerine, and Wooden Camera follow the ARRI Standard to a T and are compatible with other products that do so."

He's talking about ARRI mounts but since it also applies to NATO accessories I wouldn't be surprised if it applied to dovetails as well.
 
There are most definitely some Arri dovetail plates from other manufacturers that are slightly out of the official spec.

I use Bright Tangerine's Leftfield quick release baseplates on my cameras and the nice thing about their system is that it was some wiggle room when it comes to interfacing with Arri dovetails that are not all 100% equal. It can adjust slightly to accommodate.
 
11mm discrepancy is more than just sloppy tolerances, that’s why I thought there might be different iterations of varying sizes. Maybe it’s just a tripod QR plate that Camvate threw the Arri name into as a buzzword.
 
Is anyone able to measure the width of an in spec Arri dovetail, the part that the baseplate receiver clamps onto? Right now I’m not positive whether Sirui or Camvate messed up, or perhaps both of them.
 
Jon Roemer said:
Can't shed direct light either. Just to say that NATO rail and clamps are the same way. Different companies, slightly different sizing to components.

Erik of Newsshooter makes a reference to it in a review of a Mid49 Cage.

"Now, all cages offer a few of the ARRI mounts peppered where they will fit, but unfortunately, they are not all to the ARRI specification, instead, companies used the design but not the specifications from ARRI, and this makes them incompatible with each other’s products. Sure, they will fit their cages, but that is not a good design. I have several monitor mounts that don’t fit the ARRI standard, and it’s frustrating...

I can attest that higher-end companies such as Mid49, Bright Tangerine, and Wooden Camera follow the ARRI Standard to a T and are compatible with other products that do so."

He's talking about ARRI mounts but since it also applies to NATO accessories I wouldn't be surprised if it applied to dovetails as well.
Click to expand...
Off topic.. but nato rail is specced by err.. The NATO

Stuff should fit or be provably off.
 
I only have one nato rail, and haven’t used different brand accessories with it.

I wanted the Arri dovetail for easily balancing my rig with varying sizes of lenses.
 
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