I don't know about you, but I always worry about my camera equipment, whether it is leaving something behind or worse yet, having something stolen. In the past, I have wondered if there was a way to embed an Apple Airtag into a camera without it being seen, but I knew that this was not possible. I do have an Airtag in every camera bag, but not on my cameras or lenses. Not until now.
I happened to be searching one of the photography web sites and came across a new product that totally caught my attention. It was an Arca-Swiss mounting plate (the most common type) with a hidden slot for an Airtag. How cool is that?! And the product sells for only $20 on Amazon (without the Airtag). It comes from a company called JJC. I think they are a Chinese company, but not positive.
Without much hesitation I ordered 4 of these and saw that the delivery time would be about a week. Following my order, I ordered a 4 pack of the Airtags and had them ready for when I received my new plates.
I am not the most mechanical person in the world, so it did take me a couple of minutes to figure out how to pop off the top plate to insert the Airtag. But once I figured that out, it was a simple process. The Airtag is screwed under the top plate with a small allen wrench, and pretty well hidden from site, although there is a little bit of the white (from the Airtag) that can be seen from the outside. In the near future, I may take them apart and use a black Sharpie to hide the white completely.
Once I had all the Airtags inside the JJC Quick Release Plates, it was time to figure out which cameras and lenses these would go on. I decided to put these on my Canon R3, Canon R5, Canon R6II and my Canon 200-400mm lens.
The plate is not perfect, as is it a bit small for the large 200-400mm lens, but I still prefer to have it attached and locatable.
The plates cost me $25 each and each Airtag cost me about $20 a piece, so that total cost was $45 per device, but I love that this gives me a little more peace of mind knowing that I can track them if need be. Heck, I can even track the cameras when I send them to CPS for cleaning and repairs.
You can find the plates on Amazon HERE and the AirTags HERE.
When researching other options for this blog post, I also found this Sirui plate which also takes an Airtag, but I don't like that it sticks out and implies that there might be something hidden there.
I am happy to say that I have not misplaced, lost or had any gear stolen, but I know plenty of people who have been in this situation. Even my son and his wife, who are photographers / videographers had gear stolen while on a corporate shoot at a convention center. This offers me some additional comfort.
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Any chance you tried this with an attached battery grip? I'm curious to know how that works out. I also use a Cotton Carrier G3 harness, so I'm wondering if the plates on there would work together.
ReplyDeleteI bought this plate yesterday and it sure is very cool. But unfortunately the plate doesn't fit my Gitzo Tripod. So keep that in mind when you want to buy this gadget. I will keep it for tracking my camera on a daily basis but for tripod use I'll have to switch to the Gitzo plate ...
ReplyDeleteI got one as well but when I tried to put it on, I realized that I have a bit of a situation.. I use Black Rapid strap that hooks on the ring which is also a screw into the tripod plate. When I tried to put that screw on this plate, it was too short as this plate is thicker because it’s hiding the AirTag inside.. now I’ll need to find a similar screw with the hook that’s long enough :|
ReplyDeleteI bought two of them, and put on a couple camera bodies (and took your lead and used a black sharpie on the airtags). How do you put on the 200-400 and still use your monopod?
ReplyDelete