Calumet QR Adapter (Manfrotto Compatible)

• • 22 Comments

About a year ago, I posted about some Calumet QR adapters there were pretty much clones of the Manfrotto 577. They work great, and people have been buying them since. While a Manfrotto 577 can run you just over $50 bucks, the Calumet version runs about $34.99. Not bad savings, but wait there's more! ("You following me camera guy").

Right now they are on sale knocking off an additional $7.00 dollars, bringing it down to just $27.99. Ok, so it's good, but here's the better news. Today Kevin shares the infromation that Calumet is offering $10 off purchases of $20+, so after adding in (3) Calumet QR Adapters to my cart and adding the coupon code 'TENOFF' at the checkout, those 3 QR adapters are totalling $60 dollars cheaper (even after tax + shipping) than if I went with the Manfrotto 577 from Amazon (seen here). [Thanks for the heads up Kevin].

You can find the Manfrotto Compatible Calumet Version QR adapters following the link below. Just remember to use the Coupon Code 'TENOFF' during checkout.

Calumet-QR-Adapter
find-price-button Calumet Quick Release Adapter (Manfrotto Compatible)

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22 thoughts on “Calumet QR Adapter (Manfrotto Compatible)”

  1. A bit late on this post... but does anybody know if Giottos 621/631 works with the Manfrotto 577/357? Also, I have a 502 head, so what's the difference between the 504PL (which comes with the head), the 509PL, and the 357?

  4. Al

    Now what I need is a cheaper 357 QR adapter, like the one that comes with the 562B-1 Manfro monopod. Any ideas where to get a cheaper one?

  5. Chris Wilmshurst

    I found these to be slightly thinner than the original manfrotto plates. This meant I had to add extra tork and sometimes it would not tighten due to my camera being in the way.

  9. Jason Sanders

    I picked up a bung of these last time Em recommended them and overall I'm happy, but there is another thing you should be aware of in addition to the points mentioned above. I'm not sure if the manfrottos and giottos do this because I've only ever owned the calumet ones, but I've found that my calumets are not ideally suited for attaching the camera to any railed rig. This is because when tightened, the camera plate becomes slightly off center. This will screw up your attempts to attach a matte box. I can only recommend them if you have a camera baseplate with side to side adjustability.

  10. Emm

     Post author

    @Sigmund - At that price it 'should' come with a plate. All the ones I've purchased before came with plates. You can give them a call if you need to be sure.

  11.

    Ahh there is one nigly thing I didn't like about the Calumet ones. The 1/4 20 thumb screws underneath, they are really shallow. Using a particular coin may not work so well, and could result in stripping. The Manfrotto ones are much better. However, I can probably get 10 screws for a few bucks I'm thinking.

  12.

    hi emm,
    the link just points to the QR adapter only $34.99. (not including the plates).
    Your video says, it comes with a sliding plate?
    Is that right? can you please clarify?

  13. disco

    @ Jimmy U r right!! Realized that too late! I ordered 2 at a time that cost $59. Then decided to get 1 more it cost only $25!!! Either way its still a good deal!!

  15. disco

    Thanks Emm for that link!! Not was I was gettin at but I will look into those! What I was askin about was what DJPINOY was talking about. Putting a longer screw in the knob so it doesn't hit your cam while tightening. On a side note, what are you thinkin about the Konova K5? The mixed up and sent me 1 instead of the K3 that I ordered. I have nothing to compare it to but it seems really smooth!!! Wondering if you think it is actually better than the K3? Thanks for this great site by the way!!! Just started getting involved in posts but have been following your site for about 1 1/2 years!!

  17. Emm

     Post author

    @disco - Not sure what you are asking about my Calumet adapter? I don't have a problem with them to fix. If you're wondering how to fix stripped threads, check out 'Thread Repair Inserts'. These are used to repair stripped threads in anything including engine parts. You can find them at your local Auto Repair shop, or online found here: Thread Repair Inserts

  18. disco

    This is perfect timing!! I ordered the Giotto adapter from Amazon in hope that it would work... Should have researched more! They are like .3 inches too wide!! 🙁 I was REALLY impressed with the quality of the Giotto! From the feel of it to the leveling bubbles to the flip out thing on the bolt that goes to the cam so you dont need a coin to screw, all this made the incompatibility really sad! haha But I have 2 of these Calumets already. Just ordered 3 more!! BE CAREFULL with them tho!! They are not the same quality threads as the Manfrotto 577... 1 of the 2 stripped out while barely tightening to my rig... That said, it is still a steal vs the $50-$60 each for the name brand! I wish that Manfrotto would drop the price and take a look at the Giotto quality!! But Emm, how did you fix your Calumet adapters? What size screw works and will changing it mess up the way it pulls out so you can back it up without unscrewing? DJPINROY what exactly did u do with the hacksaw? Anyways, great find on the discount!!!

  19. djpinoy

    Just a word of warning: I picked up a couple of these Calumet QR adapters a while back on Emm's original suggestion and while they _are_ compatible with the standard Manfrotto plates, the adapters themselves are designed a bit differently that may not work for your particular application. For example:

    * the tightening knob on the Calumet adapter is much longer than that of a Manfrotto heads, so this may not rotate completely when mounted under a DSLR. (I had to do a little bit of "machining" with a hacksaw to get this to work, so didn't look very pretty). As Emm mentioned before, you may need to replace this knob with a longer bolt depending on your particular application.

    * The tightening knob on the Calumet adapter takes more than one rotation to tighten the plate, where as the Manfrotto heads can tighten in only half a turn. Just depends on how much space you have between the adapter and the body. For my particular case with a Glidecam HD-2000, this ended up being a pain because there was limited height between the camera body and the Glidecam plate.

    So, just wanna put that out there. They are "compatible" but may not be designed in the exact same way and the fitment depends on your particular application. The adapter worked well on the DSLR Device Micro Crane, but not on my Glidecam HD-2000. Either way, thanks Emm for giving us a heads up and putting up the original video demo of these things in action. Salamat!

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