Hi All,
tl;dr several flaws, but if it works for you, it'll do a good job (it doesn't work for me). If you use Sony lenses only (or narrow-necked 3rd party lenses), and use a tripod and/or gimbal, and you like the Ulanzi quick-release system, this will probably be ideal. If you think you're going to incorporate this rotator with existing arca-swiss tripod heads, you'll probably be disappointed.
I just received my Falcam F22 & F38 & F50 Horizontal-To-Vertical Mount Plate Kit 3304, which rotates the camera from landscape to portrait (a blatant ripoff of the Silence Corner Atoll Rotating Camera Collar that I've seen promoted on various crowd-sourcing sites). I purchased the Ulanzi/Falcam version because I've bought into the Ulanzi "quick release" ecosystem (which is turning out to be not as useful as I'd hoped).
Unfortunately, I know this rotating "half-cage" won't work for me and my Sony A7IV.
The good:
- it seems to be machined well. The rotating mechanism is smooth enough (metal on metal with a bit of oil, not on bearings), and it clicks when it reaches horizontal and 90 degrees. I find these detents to be quite light, I prefer a bit more of a palpable click, but they'll do.
- the three Ulanzi-specific quick-release plates on the rotator all clamp well to the Ulanzi quick-release clamps that I have, very versatile (if you use the Ulanzi quick-release system)
- like all rotators of this type (Smallrig has a copy as well), the ability to rotate the camera and still have it centred is really useful. You can, of course, do this with an L-plate, but most of them block the ports on the camera, which is why I bought this rotator.
The bad:
- the "arca-swiss" compatible foot is a bit narrow, and most of my arca-swiss tripod heads will not clamp securely to it (only one will successfully hold it tight). I'm going to assume they want to force people to use the Ulanzi quick-release tripod heads, instead of arca-swiss. This is very bad for me, as I don't have, nor do I plan to get, any Ulanzi-specific tripod heads (I'm only interested in the f22 quick-release system, not their supposedly arca-swiss compatible f38 quick-release system, so no closed-system f38 tripod heads for me).
- Ulanzi, for some strange reason, doesn't use captured bolts to hold cameras to their plates. What I mean is: when you unscrew the plate from the camera, that bolt comes free, and you have to be careful not to drop it (even more important with this specific piece of kit, since the bolt has two washers). Every other quick-release plate I've got uses captured bolts (unscrew the camera, the bolt is held to the plate by a narrow waist of metal). This is also an issue with the two Ulanzi cages I've also got, quite annoying.
- the rotator won't turn 180 degrees, so you won't be able to mount from an upside down tripod head, and then turn the camera right-side up.
- I think that this rotator is designed to be on the camera permanently. Good for a camera that will always be tripod-mounted (or on a gimbal, which is why I bought it), but if you're going to go from tripod to hand-held, this rotator will get in the way and make hand-holding uncomfortable.
- related to the above, it's a bit of a pain to put together and centre everything, though this isn't really much of a con, as centering is necessary for it to work properly. But if you plan to take it on and off, you'll have to be careful to centre everything each time.
- Specific to me, but most disqualifying: I use mostly adapted lenses on my A7IV, and none of my adaptors can fit through the ring of the rotator. I have one Sony lens, a 70-200mm f/2.8 (version 1) that does connect successfully to the camera through the ring of the rotator, but I wouldn't use the rotator for this lens, it's too front-heavy and I only use the foot for tripod work. I'm betting that other G-Master lenses have a long enough neck to work with this rotator (there is very little room between lens and ring of the rotator).
And one unrelated annoyance I have with the Ulanzi kit: their f22 rails are a fraction of a centimetre wider than standard NATO rails, meaning that none of my NATO clamps can be used with my Ulanzi cages. Definitely a way to force people to use their system (yes yes, "don't want to use it, don't buy it", except that some youtube vids I watched before buying the Ulanzi cages stated that their f22 system was NATO-clamp compatible).