I have just received my SP7 Pro Shoulder brace and have not been able to see how I can have both the Velbon plate that is supplied with the SP7 mounted in conjunction with the quick release plate of the Manfrotto 505 head of my tripod mounted on the camera at the same time as mentioned in the article in the Watchdog.
“(you can have your own tripod quick release plate mounted to the tripod socket in addition to this plate, for added versatility)” Any help would be appreciated.

Strange, my 503 plate fits perfectly with the SP7 Velbon plate attached also. What's the problem specifically? Does the 505 plate come back too far? With the SP7 Velbon plate mounted to the XL1 at the MA-100 attachment point, there should be more than enough room for just about any tripod mounting plate at the tripod mounting socket.

Thanks Chris for the quick reply. I knew the solution was starring me in the face. I had it in my head from reading the manual for the xl1 not to use that for anything other than the ma 100. It certainly makes sense to attack the shoulder brace to the same screw hole, as they are both braces.

Hi Ian,

Yes, the Canon manual being Canon wants to insure that you attach only Canon accessories to a Canon camera! Actually though, they are basically warning us that this particular mounting socket is not reinforced like the primary tripod mounting socket is, and we should be careful not to mount the XL1 to a tripod via this auxiliary socket. Disastrous results could occur!

About two years ago when Bogen first released the 501 head, there was a well-distributed product marketing brochure that had a photograph showing an XL1 mounting to a 501 head at this non-reinforced socket! That made me cringe a little.

However there should be no problem with mounting the SP7 at this attachment point, because when used properly it will not stress the mounting socket too badly. Hope this helps,