I just got a Kirk Enterprise Solutions — a surprisingly biz-school-speak sounding name for an Angola, Indiana company — L-bracket for my Fuji GFX 50R. The trend these days in such devices is to make the vertical piece removable so you don’t have to deal with it if you don’t need it, but the Kirk plate is all one atomic piece. That’s a vote against flexibility, and a vote for lightness.
The trend these days is also to incorporate a holder for the Allen wrench in the plate, so that you’re never without it. Kirk flies in the face of that convention, too. There’s an Allen wrench included, and it will join my huge collection of them — but there’s no place to stow it in the plate, unless you’re an even bigger fan of gaffer tape than I am.
I would like to whinge — the English word for this is much better than whine — a bit about the packaging. RRS just puts their plates in Zip-Loc bags. Open it up and you’re in business. Kirk slaps the plate against a piece of cardboard and shrink wraps the whole thing in incredibly strong plastic. Just trying to rip it off left me frustrated, with little pieces of static-clinging plastic stuck to my body. I finally cut it off with a box cutter, trying not to scratch it, with visions of trips to the emergency room running through my mind. Adult-safe packaging, in one sense if not another.
The plate fits very snugly on the camera. battery access is unimpeded. It doesn’t interfere with the strap lugs. If you’re looking for a little more to hold on to with your right hand, forget it; the plate stops before the battery door.
It mates perfectly with RRS cam-clamps.
Two thumbs up.
Got my Z7 bracket from them two weeks ago and had exactly the same thoughts about the packaging: “I’m going to cut myself”. The Z7 bracket came assembled but has screws so you could take it apart if you wanted. And it does have a holder for the Allen wrench. I liked it better than the Markins plate I tried too because the Kirk fits snugly a bit around the edges of the body and thus sits more firmly in place.
Packaging has changed during the years – my A7R2 bracket came unassembled, non-shrinkwrapped, and with a little tube of Loctite to fasten the screws. I’m also quite happy with their macro rail (which even came with a real Allen wrench with a huge red handle).
The age of today’s packaging-about ten years ago I got a pair of industrial quality scissors and keep them handy for such- you can bite through the carboard and the plastic all in one go, as long as your hand strength is up to it.
I have those (and trauma shears), but the shrink-wrap was bound up so tightly to the plate that I was afraid I’d scratch the plate.
I understand the association of “Enterprise Solutions” with business school speak, but at the first two words “Kirk Enterprise” I’m already stuck at “Trekkie”.
Got the Kirk plate too! Honestly I don’t have a preference between Kirk and RRS, whichever came out first gets my money 😀
Hello,
I see in some other posts that you have a Cambo Actus.
How does the Kirk plate behave when the GFX50R is attached to the Actus, does it prevent or hinder the landscape/portrait rotation of the camera?
Thanks
I haven’t tested that. I now remove the plate to use the Actus.