Looking at L-brackets for the Z8 and narrowed things down to either the RRS or the Kirk - it's been awhile since I shopped for brackets but my god things have gotten expensive!. Lots of other options are available but I'm just not a fan of the way smallrig or others surround the battery cover - I dunno this little add on just seems like a pain to use in practice. I'm also coming from a D810 RRS which has the shorter bracket on the bottom and doesn't surround the battery door at all - maybe I'm just used to that.
I've seen a few people post photos of their RRS bracket on the Z8, but for whatever reason Kirk doesn't show the darn thing on the camera at all!
m.sommers00 wrote:
Looking at L-brackets for the Z8 and narrowed things down to either the RRS or the Kirk - it's been awhile since I shopped for brackets but my god things have gotten expensive!. Lots of other options are available but I'm just not a fan of the way smallrig or others surround the battery cover - I dunno this little add on just seems like a pain to use in practice. I'm also coming from a D810 RRS which has the shorter bracket on the bottom and doesn't surround the battery door at all - maybe I'm just used to that.
I've seen a few people post photos of their RRS bracket on the Z8, but for whatever reason Kirk doesn't show the darn thing on the camera at all!
Hopeful some members could lend a hand here....Show more →
I’ve got the Kirk bracket and really like it. High quality, very secure on the camera and on a tripod, and I use the QD connection for my strap when I’m using a smaller lens. Here’s one of the bottom and battery door, one with the side tight against the body, and one with the bracket slid over all the way to the left for side port access.
Don't know how you use your camera. I have found after owning Z6, Z6II, Z7II, Z8 and Z6III that I need the camera to sit flat when I set it down. I also like having the extra real estate for my pinky, even with average sized hands. I had the Kirk and the RRS for various cameras and have settled on the SmallRig. Just throwing another variable out there for you.
m.sommers00 wrote:
Those are excellent, thank you! Looking at the back, no issues tilting the screen up - likewise for the camera straps you've got enough room there?
It's wild to me in 2025 and the 3D scanning and CNC technology that designing an L-bracket isn't such an easy and almost boring process.
No issues tilting the screen in any direction. I can reach the screen pulls on the bottom to tilt up and the screen tilts without any interference. There's a small cutout at the top of the side piece that allows the Nikon strap connector to tilt upward. It's held in that position and then I connect my Peak Design strap lug to. Truth be told, I rarely use the camera lugs any more and mostly use a QD swivel attached to the L-bracket or on my lens feet.
Really appreciate your input, I think I'll go Kirk after seeing your photos and your comments. The modular nature of the RRS is not a use-case for me and this Kirk is more inline with what I have on my D810 - simple single piece that's rock solid.
Even though the Z8 isn't quite as microscopic as the Z6 & Z7, if I switched back to Nikon I'd definitely have to pick the Smallrig for the bit of extension to the grip. Happy to support American manufacturing when I can, but I need those extra millimeters.
Ironically, with the GFX100 it was the reverse. The portrait grip is too skinny on that camera (they probably realized it was already too gigantic and couldn't go any taller [I literally have to take the EVF off to store it in a Thinktank Airport Accelerator, which isn't a small bag]), and in that case it's the Smallrig that doesn't add enough depth and the RRS that does.
I briefly had the Kirk and ended up returning it. It just had too much flex for my taste in the vertical orientation. I ended up using the Three-legged thing L bracket and liked that the best when I had a Z8.
Jman13 wrote:
I briefly had the Kirk and ended up returning it. It just had too much flex for my taste in the vertical orientation. I ended up using the Three-legged thing L bracket and liked that the best when I had a Z8.
I had short listed that one until I saw a YouTube video of a guy comparing the Leofoto to the 3LT on a Z9 and the 3LT had a wild amount of flex at the seam.
My 3 legged thing had very little flex. Far less than the Kirk, and better (by a little) than the Smallrig. You can't compare between models, especially when looking at a Z9, which requires a radically different structural system.
For instance, I've owned many Kirk brackets in the past, and all have been excellent, but I didn't like their Z8 bracket at all. Just depends on the model.
Just picked up the Kirk L bracket for the Z8 and very happy with it. I already had a Kirk plate for the Z8 which also works great, but I wanted to go with the L bracket. I have relatively large lenses and seems very stable on a RRS tripod with BH-40 ball head.
Jman13 wrote:
My 3 legged thing had very little flex. Far less than the Kirk, and better (by a little) than the Smallrig. You can't compare between models, especially when looking at a Z9, which requires a radically different structural system.
For instance, I've owned many Kirk brackets in the past, and all have been excellent, but I didn't like their Z8 bracket at all. Just depends on the model.
Just curious, do you have a RRS lever clamp on your BH-40 head and does it clamp tight with the Kirk plate? My RRS B2-LLR II doesn't clamp tight with other third party plates.
jrscls wrote:
Just picked up the Kirk L bracket for the Z8 and very happy with it. I already had a Kirk plate for the Z8 which also works great, but I wanted to go with the L bracket. I have relatively large lenses and seems very stable on a RRS tripod with BH-40 ball head.
If a less dedicated solution is also an option, I can highly recommend the Novoflex QPL Slim VERT. II L-bracket.
This is an L-bracket which is not specifically designed for a body, but which also makes it more flexible to use.
So it doesn't matter whether it's a Zf, Z6, Z6III or Z8, or even a Sony or Canon, Panasonic, Fuji or Leica, it fits every camera and is absolutely solid, weight 121g.
The reason I bought the Novoflex L-bracket was the fact that with all my other L-brackets the Nikon WR-R11b wireless transmitter was no longer usable.
The port on a Z6/Z7/Z6II/Z7II body as such is free, but the plug of the WR-R11b is too short, because the bulky housing of the WR-R11b is then blocked by the other L-brackets and cannot be inserted far enough.
With the Novoflex it works, especially as you can also remove the side part if necessary.
This is no longer a problem with the Z8, as the 10-pin port points to the front and the WR-R11a is therefore not blocked, but I have stayed with the Novoflex L-bracket as it is the more flexible solution for me.
The side part of the L-bracket is screwed on and can be removed if necessary, if only the lower base is needed, as when using it with my multi-row Nodal Adapter.
The free space in the positioning of the screw allows the side section to be positioned in various ways.
Either close-fitting or clearly protruding with plenty of space to the ports.
It is now my favorite L-bracket, all my other L-brackets (3 Legged Thing Zelda + SMALLRIG) have become obsolete.
However, I also have a tripod solution, Magic Balance calotte, macro slide and nodal adapter from the company, so it fits perfectly.
The numeric scales with millimeter scaling are also very useful in combination with my nodal adapter to remember specific settings/numbers for parallax compensation of specific lenses.
I opted for the screw clamp to avoid issues with third party plates since I have a Nikon grip for my Zf, various Kirk plates, etc. that said, the Kirk plates would probably work with the RRS clamp, but I can’t confirm.
JBPhotog wrote:
Just curious, do you have a RRS lever clamp on your BH-40 head and does it clamp tight with the Kirk plate? My RRS B2-LLR II doesn't clamp tight with other third party plates.
JBPhotog wrote:
Just curious, do you have a RRS lever clamp on your BH-40 head and does it clamp tight with the Kirk plate? My RRS B2-LLR II doesn't clamp tight with other third party plates.
I have Kirk plate for Z6. I can tell you is so tight on my BH-40 that I am scared to brake it .... No problem with original plates from RRS * for Canon 6D, Nikon Z7 II, Nikon D810 or even from Peak Design.
This is one reason I will probably not buy another Kirk ( I remember there was more people mentioning this specific issue including Fred Miranda)
PIOK wrote:
I have Kirk plate for Z6. I can tell you is so tight on my BH-40 that I am scared to brake it .... No problem with original plates from RRS * for Canon 6D, Nikon Z7 II, Nikon D810 or even from Peak Design.
This is one reason I will probably not buy another Kirk ( I remember there was more people mentioning this specific issue including Fred Miranda)
I'm partial to RRS, but both times this year that I needed L plates, the RRS L plates where back-ordered and out of supply everywhere. So I opted for Kirk. And I am completly satisfied.
Regarding does my RRS ballheads clamp tight on my Kirk L Plate? Yes it does.
Well in the end I didn't end up with the RRS or the Kirk, but the Leofoto instead. I also ordered the small rig and Neewer L-brackets. All of these could easily be returned, the RRS and Kirk were in a buy n' pray situation as returning them from Canada is not worth the hassle. Plus the import and extra shipping charges by the brokerages, but I digress.
The Neewer was easily the the crapiest of the bunch in terms of stability when I squeezed the brackets off camera but I did enjoy the battery door opening the most. In comparison to the Small rig it felt more sturdy oddly. The Smallrig and Leofoto felt very sturdy.
Arca alignment on all three were great, as was the clamping stability in the head (I have a screw type vs. lever).
It ultimately came down to personal preference and I like the shorter bracket of the Leofoto. It's a single piece construction but I don't do video so the modular capabilities isn't a need or want for my use.
All three had a bit of flex in the vertical with the Neewer being the worst, and the Smallrig/Leofoto less but still slightly present if I was pressing moderately hard. Compared to the RRS on my D810, its construction is noticeably thicker and essentially has zero flex.
I would have liked to compare the Kirk to the Leofoto as their designs are very similar but to get the Kirk to Canada and with the exchange rate resulted in 3x of the cost of one Leofoto.
If anyone is dying to see, I took photos to compare them all but didn't realize I needed a subscription to upload - I'm sure I can work around this using Flickr if needed.
