Hejnar Clamp for Flat Surface

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joshmacro
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Hejnar Clamp for Flat Surface

Post by joshmacro »

I am looking to mount an Arca clamp onto a flat surface, specifically an optical breadboard. Hejnar photo makes a clamp designed for flat surface mounting as the knob is thin and will not get in the way. The knob can also be tightened with a hex wrench:
Capture.JPG
Anyone have experience with this product? Or know of any other manufacturer making something similar? Or any other sugggestions?

Thanks.

wpl
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Re: Hejnar Clamp for Flat Surface

Post by wpl »

I had this problem and I solved it by using an RRS lever clamp.

joshmacro
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Re: Hejnar Clamp for Flat Surface

Post by joshmacro »

Does the lever clamp tighten as well as a turning knob? I have never used that type of clamp.

wpl
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Re: Hejnar Clamp for Flat Surface

Post by wpl »

joshmacro wrote:
Sun Dec 05, 2021 11:41 am
Does the lever clamp tighten as well as a turning knob? I have never used that type of clamp.
It is super tight for the plates I tried, but you are right to be concerned as there is no adjustment. Perhaps some plates will not fit well. It works great for me but is an expensive solution ($120). I tried a cheap clamp but it was not suitable as the lever was too thick and interfered with the surface the clamp was mounted on (but it did have an adjustment screw for tightness).

JW
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Re: Hejnar Clamp for Flat Surface

Post by JW »

I have the same Hejnar clamp - works exactly as expect, clamps nice and firm to an Arca plate. Yes, its a bit pricy ($75) as compared to random imported stuff, but well worth it. They are also very friendly and will answer questions and custom machine parts as needed.
It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see - Henry David Thoreau

JKT
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Re: Hejnar Clamp for Flat Surface

Post by JKT »

JW wrote:
Sun Dec 05, 2021 8:51 pm
I have the same Hejnar clamp - works exactly as expect, clamps nice and firm to an Arca plate. Yes, its a bit pricy ($75) as compared to random imported stuff, but well worth it. They are also very friendly and will answer questions and custom machine parts as needed.
I'll second that - or at least the parts about the quality and the seller. That exact clamp I don't have.

Chris S.
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Re: Hejnar Clamp for Flat Surface

Post by Chris S. »

If you don't need to loosen/tighten the clamp very often, that screw-clamp with a thin knob/hex capability seems like a decent choice. But if you want the clamp to be more conveniently adjustable, consider mounting it on a riser block made out of aluminum stock. This should allow room for a thicker knob, and to permit your fingers to grasp and turn the knob.

I have many screw clamps for the Arca standard, and just one lever clamp. This lever clamp lives on the tripod I use most in everyday field photography, where I appreciate the speedy way it lets me mount and dismount the camera. This saves just a few seconds at a time, but in the field, I appreciate those seconds, and find they add up. The lever clamp theoretically has less clamping force than a screw clamp, but in more than a decade of using it, it has never dropped a camera. It is a bit more picky about rail/plate tolerances, but I've found only a single rail that didn't fit, among my bunch of rails and plates from several manufacturers. This particular rail is rather old, and I suspect it was from an early, slightly off batch.

Screw clamps, in contrast, are very tolerant of manufacturing differences among Arca-standard rails and places, and probably have more clamping force than lever clamps. In my macro rig, I use a number of Arca clamps, all of them of the screw type.

I've seen lever clamps advertised that claim to be adjustable. If this works well, these clamps should also be quite tolerant of rail variation. I've never had a chance to handle such a clamp and judge how well it works, though.

I can't recommend RRS, for reasons that have nothing to do with their products. As said, Hejnar is a solid manufacturer and a photographer himself; I have many items from him. Wimberley, Kirk, and Jobu are also quite good.

--Chris S.

ray_parkhurst
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Re: Hejnar Clamp for Flat Surface

Post by ray_parkhurst »

Instead of a simple riser, you could also mount an arca plate to the flat surface, then mount two clamps opposing each other, one going to the plate and the other facing upward as you have shown. This would allow you to dynamically change the position of the clamp rather than having it be in fixed position. The entire system would also cost less than a pair of Hejnar clamps, though they would be of course made in China.

Edited to add: I see that the 480mm plates, with a pair of clamps, are available on Amazon for $33. Two of those will allow you to fix one plate to the flat surface, have two pairs of back-back clamps, and a 480mm plate on the top if you like.

Edit 2: Here is an Amazon seller with the 480mm plates for $29.88: https://www.amazon.com/Koolehaoda-Lengt ... ZZKY&psc=1

joshmacro
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Re: Hejnar Clamp for Flat Surface

Post by joshmacro »

Chris S. wrote:
Sun Dec 05, 2021 11:40 pm
But if you want the clamp to be more conveniently adjustable, consider mounting it on a riser block made out of aluminum stock.
Yeah, this is probably simpler and gives more options in terms of clamps. Thanks Chris.
ray_parkhurst wrote:
Mon Dec 06, 2021 7:20 pm
Instead of a simple riser, you could also mount an arca plate to the flat surface, then mount two clamps opposing each other, one going to the plate and the other facing upward as you have shown.
Just thought it would be nice to try "clamp ---> rail" instead of "rail ---> clamp ---> rail". I was also thinking less is more stable.
ray_parkhurst wrote:
Mon Dec 06, 2021 7:20 pm
Edited to add: I see that the 480mm plates, with a pair of clamps, are available on Amazon for $33. Two of those will allow you to fix one plate to the flat surface, have two pairs of back-back clamps, and a 480mm plate on the top if you like.
Thanks for the idea Ray.


Chris S.
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Re: Hejnar Clamp for Flat Surface

Post by Chris S. »

joshmacro wrote:
Mon Dec 06, 2021 7:35 pm
ray_parkhurst wrote:
Mon Dec 06, 2021 7:20 pm
Instead of a simple riser, you could also mount an arca plate to the flat surface, then mount two clamps opposing each other, one going to the plate and the other facing upward as you have shown.
Just thought it would be nice to try "clamp ---> rail" instead of "rail ---> clamp ---> rail". I was also thinking less is more stable.
A rail, solidly bolted to a base, can be very stable with back-to-back clamps mounted on top it. See the first and fourth pictures here; the back-to-back, four-inch clamps are labeled "C" and "G" in the latter image. This rig is very stable, even with a focus block and two adapter plates mounted between the two clamps, and a rail atop supporting a bellows, camera, and lens.

--Chris S.

lothman
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Re: Hejnar Clamp for Flat Surface

Post by lothman »

joshmacro wrote:
Mon Dec 06, 2021 7:35 pm
Just thought it would be nice to try "clamp ---> rail" instead of "rail ---> clamp ---> rail". I was also thinking less is more stable.
you can also get clamps with Arca on both sides, see here
viewtopic.php?f=25&t=42327&p=266564#p266564

they work very well in my setup, you only have to pay attention which side you are opening ;-)

RobertOToole
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Re: Hejnar Clamp for Flat Surface

Post by RobertOToole »

Hi JoshMacro

A little late with this, sorry! Make sure the clamp jaw has a step so it will not bind with the mounting surface. Simple is better when it comes to clamps for macro.

If you want a real modern clamp design for general photography I would use Acratech:

https://www.acratech.net/categories/qui ... lamps.html
__Acratech.jpg

Chris S. wrote:
Sun Dec 05, 2021 11:40 pm

I can't recommend RRS, for reasons that have nothing to do with their products. As said, Hejnar is a solid manufacturer and a photographer himself; I have many items from him. Wimberley, Kirk, and Jobu are also quite good.
Agee about RRS. I would strongly advise the OP not to use RRS and take your business somewhere else.

Henjar products are nicely designed and well made but I phoned once to ask some clamp questions and the owner was rude and condescending, he should not be speaking with customers, he might be a good engineer or machine operator but he has very poor customer service skills! I would skip RRS and Henjar.

Best,

Robert

TheDocAUS
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Re: Hejnar Clamp for Flat Surface

Post by TheDocAUS »

I had Chris Hejnar do some custom work, he was great. Communication was by email. I would not hesitate to use him again.

joshmacro
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Re: Hejnar Clamp for Flat Surface

Post by joshmacro »

RobertOToole wrote:
Mon Dec 27, 2021 3:51 pm
Hi JoshMacro

A little late with this, sorry! Make sure the clamp jaw has a step so it will not bind with the mounting surface. Simple is better when it comes to clamps for macro.

If you want a real modern clamp design for general photography I would use Acratech:

https://www.acratech.net/categories/qui ... lamps.html
Thanks a lot Robert. Like the specs but rather pricey.

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