Wimberley M-3 Tilt Arm Flash Bracket Module - Made in USA

Its a Wimberley product. I have several plates for cameras and lenses and I have absolutely nothing bad to say about anything from them. I've dealt with them through amazon as well as directly. Excellent products and excellent service. I have two camera plates from RSS - which look like works of art, btw - and there is zero difference in quality or construction. Expensive but the kind of things that will last you for the rest of your life and could be passed on to the grandkids.I recently upgraded from another manufacturer's head and plates to Arca Swiss style QR plates on RSS and Gitzo. And by 'upgraded' I really mean I started over from scratch. :( L-brackets, lens plates, head, tripod, everything. My previous setup had QR plates, but they were stationary. I dropped the camera on the ball head, closed the catch and that was it. Nothing was adjustable, and nothing moved.Switching to the Arca Swiss style plates and other pieces is AWESOME. Ok, so maybe I'm easily impressed, but I've been using the same setup for 35+ years. Its like being an engineer and going from an abacus to a scientific calculator. :)I don't have a gimbal head, I (now) use a RSS ball head. That doesn't mean that balancing the camera/lens assembly on the tripod isn't important. It makes managing a heavy camera/lens setup much easier just like it does on a gimbal head. So what does this M-8 gizmo do? Well, with l-brackets and plates that mount at a right angle to the lens, it adds a second axis. Besides left/right, you now have fore/aft (towards you and away from you).The M-8 isn't for long lenses that have their own tripod collars as you would already have a tripod plate that basically does exactly what this does anyway and would attach directly to the lens. This is for camera/lens combos where the lens doesn't have a tripod collar.There are arguments on whether this is a good idea or not in regards to impact on image quality. I decided to run a few tests myself using a new Gitzo 3532 tripod, RSS BH-40 with the pan top, RSS l-bracket, a900 and Zeiss 16-35mm. I tested twice with a relatively stiff breeze and without any breeze at all on the same solid brick surface and I couldn't see any difference at all with or without the M-8.

I am a Wimberley fan and have both their Gimbel head and attachments for a lens plate. This piece, which is used to hold a flash over a camera is great. Well made, can be use either above the camera lens or off to the side.No complaints what so ever. If you are considering a Wimberley setup, I say go for it.

I Have arca-swiss plates on my tripods, with the Gimbal head it was always difficult to switch my telephoto/camera setup to my landscape lens/camera, with the M-8, I can now change them out comfortably, with the landscape camera/lens pointing in the correct direction, or same direction as the telephoto lens on the Gimbal head, before, I could still change them out, but the landscape camera had the Gimbal head post or bar to its rear, though you could still get a shot off, it was uncomfortable for myself, and at times I had to change the position of the tripod. The Perpendicular Plate has resolved this issue.

I use the M-1 (A-S clamp) with other Wimberley parts for flash and other support needs. This is the genuine part in proper Wimberley packaging. There is not much else to say but Wimberley makes great products for serious photo equipment support.

Great plate to use when your gimbal head is mounted. Just pop this on, and you can use your camera with a lens that does not have a collar.

I lost my last one on a shoot, so I immediately bought a new one. this one plate is probably the most valuable piece of equipment in my bag. I shoot panos and this guy lets me shoot on wide angles. if you're on the fence, don't think; just buy it. you'll love it.

Clamps very tightly with little knob torque, smooth sliding to position, and manufactured to perfection.

Outstanding quality as expected from Wimberley. As with all their products though, they are pricey. You get what you pay for though and these are far superior to other solutions I've used.