Manfrotto 035RL Super Clamp with Standard Stud

These clamps are so incredibly useful for many different jobs. They are primarily designed for clamping to light stands, booms or tripods, but will clamp onto just about anything. Motorcycles and vehicles, fence or patio rails, doors, tables, and counters are just the beginning. The included wedges make these clamps easy to use on flat surfaces.The build quality is excellent. The main clamp bodies are made form beefy thick aluminum, with steel and brass hardware. The main tightening handle is plastic, but it is very strong and I have never been worried that it might break. The side pin tightening handle is also plastic, everything else is metal.The rubberized grip surfaces are very durable and won't peel off like cheaper clamps.This clamp has one 5/8" (16mm) hex stud receiver (this version comes with a stud) and one 1/4 - 20 threaded female that is centered in the clamp. The hex stud receiver has a quick release and also a bolt with a plastic handle on the side that can be tightened to firmly secure the stud.There are an limitless pins and accessories you can use with these clamps to mount virtually anything.Accessories that I use regularly:* Joining studs: Manfrotto 061RA Right Angle Joining Stud for Super Clamp and Manfrotto 061 Joining Stud for Super Clamps - Replaces 2913* 1/4" male for the 1/4" threads Smallrig 1/4" Male to 1/4" Male Threaded Screw Adapter (2-pack)* 3/8" Stud Manfrotto 036- 38 Stud for Super Clamp with 3/8-Inch European Thread or Manfrotto 088 Stand 1/4-20-Inch Female to 3/8-Inch Male 20mm Long Adapter - Replaces 3103 for included 1/4" stud* Short stud Manfrotto 037 Reversible Short Stud - Replaces 2907* Perfect fit hex stud grip head Kupo Grip Head with Hex Stud KG202011* Full size pin Avenger E600C 5/8-Inch Snap-In Steel Pin for Super Clamp* Magic arm Manfrotto 244 Variable Friction Magic Arm with Camera Bracket - Replaces 2929You can even use 3/8 to 5/8 microphone thread adapters to mount full size microphones with this clamp.The possibilities are pretty much endless.I have tried a few of the cheaper knock-off super clamps from various vendors, but none of them came close to matching the original Manfrotto build quality. these clamps might seem a bit expensive compared to the knockoffs, but they will last forever and you really do get a better clamp for the extra money.

I use these clamps mainly to hold a rain umbrella on my monopod when I have shoots in the rain. It's a well made clamp that clamps things, I'm not sure what else to say about it. I bought the Manfrotto super clamp and a cheaper Limo Studios knock off to see if there was some major difference. The short answer is no, not really. You can stop reading here if you're impatient.That being said though the Manfrotto does seem to have better fit and finish. For example they both come with a little rubber triangle that fits in the jaws for when you're clamping to a flat surface like say a table. The Manfrotto piece fits snugly on the clamp both when you're using it and when your not it's molded well out of good material. The Limo Studios one....well that one is gone it fell off some where because it never fit properly it was misshapen from the get go. Similar story with the brass binding post the Manfrotto post is machined well, fits in place snug and has no jagged or sharp edges. I'd totally trust the Manfrotto product to hold my expensive studio equipment. The Limo post is sharp enough to sever an artery, fits with tons of slop but tightens down fine enough. Would I dangle an expensive strobe head off of it, I'd probably rather not. The handle used to tighten the clamps on the Manfrotto is long enough to do the job but not so long that it gets in the way when you're using it in tight spots. The handle on the Limo is too long and hits everything it seems. Bottom line is that if I were using it in a studio to hold lights, modifiers and backgrounds I'd spring for the Manfrotto clamps. If you just need to hold an umbrella on your monopod get the Limo clamps, they're good enough.

The clamp is an exceptional tool to be able to mount a camera in odd places. The "standard" stud that comes with it is pretty useless for using a camera but I'm sure can be useful for holding other gear or attaching to other devices. Since I'm using it for a camera mount that's where this short review is going. With the optional short stud you can mount a small camera directly to the Super Clamp or mount a ball head and use it with a DSLR. I have put the Super Clamp on a bicycle and mounted a Pentax Q directly to the clamp. I have clamped the Super Clamp with ball head and Pentax K-30 onto a stadium seat where I could not tale a tripod, and it worked great. The clamp and ball head together is not tiny, but it'a a lot smaller than a tripod, a=nd certainly more stable than a lot of travel tripods, it can easily fit in a bag or large pocket.

I used this clamp in conjunction with the Manfrotto 196B-2 143BKT 2-Section Single Articulated Arm Manfrotto 196B-2 143BKT 2-Section Single Articulated Arm with Camera Bracket (Black) and have found an incredibly powerful and versatile solution. The clamp is plastic, but still very strong. There is an included jaw leveling block for attachment to flat surfaces, which is how I used it. The clamp is easy to tighten with a very good sized handle, and pretty intuitive. The built in socket has a ¼-20 stud making it very easy to attach to any type of gear. Overall, this is a huge step up from the cheap clamps available elsewhere on Amazon, and the first of many I will keep on hand.

I must own 15 of these. Coupled with the articulating arms that Manfrotto makes, my cameras and lights are attached to a bar above my work area.