Originally posted by lensnut Everyone seems to be hung up on arca style plates - that I didn't find too quick release due to having to screw jaws apart.
Since getting a Manfrotto geared head all my cameras now have their own QR plate and I've no plans to change.
There are Quick Release lever versions of the acra-swiss clamps. I have two such heads on my Gitzo , both sprung loaded so as they auto lock on when you place the camera or lens on them. All my others are the normal screw type, I don't find 1.5 seconds of turning a knob that inconvenient.
The reason the arca-swiss system works so well is because it's not just about a plate on the camera, it also matches lens plates and nodal/macro rails, that allow movement to balance camera and lens combos as well as being able to slide a camera / lens combo to it's nodal position for better stitching of Panoramas. And everything can swap and fit together.
The camera L-brackets that are dedicated fitment, generally follow the curves of the camera body, they are form fitting so as to not be sticking out or causing handling issues, they are not big chunky blocks, and can be left on the camera permanently, actually offering protection to the camera body as a bonus.