June 5, 2018

New Sunwayfoto L Bracket for the Nikon D850 with Battery Grip - Preview

Sunwayfoto PNL-D850G L bracket on Nikon D850 w/ Grip

Sunwayfoto® announced today the release of their new Custom L Bracket for the high end Nikon D850 DSLR Camera equipped with the MD-B18 battery grip.

The new PNL-D850G L Bracket is similar to the PNL-D850 for the Nikon D850 bpdy (Preview) and the PNL-D810R dedicated to the previous Nikon D810. All these L Brackets are designed to sit a little further away from the camera side.
This is due to some distance required for the rubber cover doors of side connector ports, to open. However, further experiments had the PNL-D850G differentiated a little from the PNL-D850 as we'll see later on.

The L Bracket

Manufacturer Specification:
Model:PNL-D850G
Length:87 mm
Width:69 mm
Height:134 mm
Mounting screw thread:1/4"-20 UNC
Mounting screw travel:28 mm
Weight:126 gr

Standard characteristics shared among the Sunwayfoto plates and L brackets are met by precision CNC machining from aircraft-grade aluminium followed by high quality hard coat surface anodizing.

According to the latest Sunwayfoto trend the PNL-D850G L bracket is made of one piece aluminum block maintaining utmost rigidity. The large bottom plate is simple in design having raised lips on the front and rear covering half of the camera base in order to prevent the bracket from twisting.

Sunwayfoto PNL-D850G L bracket rear view

The rear side of the PNL-D850G shows the vertical plate distance on one side to allow for the rubber port covers to open while is kept closer to the camera body on the front side.
Laser engraved "|" lens centering marks exist on both the vertical side plate and the base plate. In this view you can also see the strap loop at the inner end of the base plate.

The side of the L bracket is quite wider in the lower part to embrace the MD-B18 battery grip and allow for the battery pack drawer be unloaded and reloaded freely.
As far as I can recall from the PCL-5DIVG bracket, a new trend on large L brackets with battery grip option is to put the Sunwayfoto logo together with the model name on the side of the base plate.
Sunwayfoto PNL-D850G L bracket side view

The L bracket bottom is hollowed out where possible in order to eliminate excess material, thus keep the weight down. Quite successfully considering the 126 gr in total.
Both the vertical side plate and the base plate are equipped with two M3 safety stop screws each at their dovetail ends.
The base plate dovetail and the side vertical plate dovetail are not aligned so there is need for a little re-framing when changing from landscape to portrait orientation and vise versa.
We  can also see here one extra 1/4"-20 tapped hole located towards the front side of the base plate.
As with the PNL-D850 L bracket the large D-Ring 1/4"-20 mounting screw runs withing a long captive slot, that permits movement of the L bracket away from the camera side in order to accept large plugs when turned in portrait orientation.

Sunwayfoto PNL-D850G L bracket bottom-side view
Sunwayfoto PNL-D850G L bracket bottom and side plates feature 4 safety screws.

In the illustration below the exact dimensions and measurements of the L bracket are displayed. As well as the mounting screw captive slot length, which allows the vertical plate to be moved away by 28 mm from the camera side for extra clearance of the ports when sat in portrait orientation.

Sunwayfoto PNL-D850G L bracket dimensions
Sunwayfoto PNL-D850G L bracket detailed dimensions



Attaching the L Bracket on the Camera

The PNL-D850G L Bracket fits straight on the Nikon D850 without adding much bulk and allowing full access to the battery pack drawer.
As mentioned in the beginning special effort has been given so as the side connector covers may be opened without the need of relocating the side plate in order to do so.
Sunwayfoto PNL-D850G L bracket on Nikon D850 w/ Grip

On the other hand the 28 mm long captive slot on the base plate allows the adjustment of the bracket by placing the vertical side plate in adequate distance from the camera side so the side connectors can accommodate cables with larger or longer jacks for tethered shooting in portrait orientation.

Sunwayfoto PNL-D850G on Nikon D850 w/ Grip portrait II
Nikon D850 with Battery Grip fitted with Sunwayfoto PNL-D850G L bracket in portrait orientation moved away from camera body allowing open connector ports with larger plugs.

Package Contents

The PNL-D850G package, besides the L bracket, contains also all necessary screws and tools. In this case 4 x M3 safety stop screws for the bottom and side plates, 1 x 1/4"-20 large D-Ring captive screw and 1 x 2.5mm Allen wrench for the M3 screws.
More than these, a velvet draw-string protective bag comes with it.

Sunwayfoto PNL-D850G box contents
Sunwayfoto PNL-D850G with accompanying accessories and tools

Since 2016 the geometry of all Sunwayfoto dovetails has changed. Therefore, in this respect the PNL-D850G is compatible with almost all Arca style clamps including RRS lever release clamps.

I hope you found the information useful, thank you for viewing.
All Photos by courtesy of Sunwayfoto ©2018

Price & Availability:
Recommended retail price for the PNL-D850G L Bracket is US$ 79.95 and will soon be available from Amazon or from eBay.

Nonetheless, you may also purchase directly from the Sunwayfoto Store.

Please note that we may earn a commission from qualifying purchases through above affiliate links.

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