With no need to remove and reattach your camera to the tripod for landscape/portrait shooting, the Benro QRB95's innovative design makes L-brackets look positively archaic
Once lined up, the bracket rotates around the dead center of the lens and camera combo(Image credit: Benro)
As any jobbing landscape photographer worth their salt knows, you need to shoot both horizontal and vertical variations of a scenic shot to make your images more saleable – a traditional landscape-orientation shot makes for a fantastic opening spread in a magazine or header image on a website, while a portrait-orientation image is the one that picture editors will select for the cover or a full-page photo.
However, it's not as simple as unlocking your tripod head and allowing the camera to drop by 90 degrees; this moves the camera off-center and down by an inch or so, ruining your carefully aligned composition, in addition to throwing the center of balance from above the tripod, destabilizing your whole setup.
The bracket comes with both Arca Swiss and 501PL tripod mounts, and an Allen key for attaching the bracket to the camera is magnetically attached so it's always to hand (Image credit: Benro)
An L-bracket is the common solution; wrapping around your camera in an 'L' shape, and (usually) featuring a standard Arca-Swiss fitting along the edges, it can be unclipped from the tripod and reorientated from horizontal to vertical (or vice-versa) and reattached atop your tripod, with essentially the same composition.
But that whole unclipping the camera and having to reattach it again is still a bit of a pain, taking several seconds – where a sunset, for example, may be rapidly disappearing and light fading before you've had the chance to realign everything to your satisfaction.
Rotating the camera from landscape to portrait orientation can be done in a fraction of a second; flip the locking lever, rotate the camera, and reflip the lever to lock it again (Image credit: Benro)
That's where Benro's QRB95 quick-release rotation lens bracket comes in. The bracket stays attached to your tripod at all times, but the camera is secured on an arm that swivels through 90 degrees. This enables photographers to switch quickly and easily between landscape and portrait orientations, all the while keeping a smooth rotation of the camera around the dead center of the lens, so the setup remains firmly above the tripod. Not only does this offer enhanced stability, improved composition versatility and reduces strain on the equipment, but it drastically lessens the danger of the tripod toppling over.
This freedom of movement through 90 degrees means you're not restricted to just horizontal or vertical compositions either, enabling variations of images with a touch of creative 'Dutch tilt' to be easily tried too, for example.
To change the orientation of the shot, simply unlock the lever and position your camera to the desired orientation along the 90° range the bracket offers, all without disturbing the alignment of its center point. The QRB95 also features a cold shoe mount for the attachments of accessories, and it comes equipped with Arca-Swiss-compatible and 501PL (favored by Manfrotto) dual-purpose photo and video quick-release plates. The included Allen key can be magnetically attached to the bracket for easy storage, so you'll always have it on hand when you need it.
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There's a cold shoe for attaching accessories, such as microphones or lights (Image credit: Benro)
A ‘half-ring’ design enables photographers to effortlessly rotate orientations without obstructing the camera handle. This also makes it easier to use the built-in camera grip when operating the camera handheld. Further versatility is provided through the 3/8in mount, enabling the bracket to be directly mounted to monopods as well as tripods.
The height of the camera above the quick-release plate is adjustable and the setup will work with camera/lens combinations where the distance from the center of the lens to the bottom is between 36.7mm and 50.7mm, while the maximum diameter lens that the QRB95 will accommodate is 94mm.
Weighing in at just 290 grams, the bracket has a maximum payload capacity of 10kg and measures 13.5x14.6x7cm.
It will retail for for $90 / £90 / AU$180 when it goes on sale shortly, an can already be pre-ordered.
You may also be interested in our guide to the best tripods
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Prior to joining digitalcameraworld.com as News Editor, Adam was the editor of N-Photo: The Nikon Magazine for seven years, and as such is one of Digital Camera World's leading experts when it comes to all things Nikon-related.
Whether it’s reviews and hands-on tests of the latest Nikon cameras and lenses, sharing his skills using filters, tripods, lighting, L brackets and other photography equipment, or trading tips and techniques on shooting landscapes, wildlife and almost any genre of photography, Adam is always on hand to provide his insights.
Prior to his tenure on N-Photo, Adam was also a veteran of publications such as PhotoPlus: The Canon Magazine, so his wealth of photographic knowledge isn’t solely limited to the Big N.
