PGYTECH SnapLock Plate Adapter Review

We’ve seen a fair few baseplates over the years, from Peak Design’s Capture clip to 3LT L-brackets. All serve a function and help to improve your photographic experience. However, PGYTECH has done something so simple that you can’t believe it hasn’t been done before, I’m pretty sure it has been but I can’t recall it now.

The PGYTECH SnapLock is essentially a two-part base plate. One part screws into the camera base, and the other clamps into the Arca Swiss compatible clamp on your tripods head.

Then part one clips into part two, and it’s all held firmly in place as if it was one solid standard baseplate.

The trick comes when you want to release the camera to move it to another support, device or simply to carry the camera support free.

Rather than undo the Arca clamp, you have a small button on the side of the plate that can be pushed to release. The quick-release is one thing but then the small base plate that’s left on the camera is also Arca Swiss compatible, which means that even without its other half, it can still be used as a standard base plate. It’s inspired, easy to use and quite difficult to fault.

Start by fitting the SnapLock Plate Adapter to the camera and then the other half to the tripod, the process of setting up really does take seconds.

The small camera base plate screws in neatly, and PGYTech has slightly overengineered the screw to feature roller bearings. This makes it easier to screw in tight, and once tightened improves how the base plate locks on tight.

In practice, this really does work, and while you know there are microneedle roller bearings inside, you wouldn’t know it aesthetically.

Tightening the screw can be done using the tried and tested coin method, although I’m increasingly finding I no longer have a coin in my pocket, or you can use an Allen key.

Either way, it’s a simple process.

The other part of the SnapLock is the plate the clamps onto the top of the tripod head. This quite literally clamps in a place like any normal Arca Swiss style tripod base plate.

Once on, it’s just a case of clicking the two together. To do this, you go in at a slight angle with the camera to make contact and then click back to lock. After a few goes, this click in action becomes natural.

Everything fits and clicks together and works as you’d hope a base plate would. It just holds the camera in position securely on top of the camera.

The main feature of the SnapLock is, of course, the quick-release ability. Push the button on the side, and the camera pops off. It’s so much easier than undoing the tripod head clamp to release the base plate.

As the small base plate is still on the camera, you can then attach it quickly to another SnapLock that could be on the SlyPod or AirCross 3, click in, and you’re ready to go. As the SnapLock camera base plate is also Arca Swiss compatible it will clamp in directly, but once you start using SnapLock you want everything to use the system.

I know it only takes a few seconds to release and clamp using Arca Swiss, but SnapLock makes it that much easier, especially when it comes to the gimbals.

I’ve found that I leave the SnapLock plate Adapters in place on gimbals and then click the camera on each support or accessory as I need. This does, of course, mean that one Adapter was not enough, and I had to get a few more.

The PGYTech is one of those small, simple devices that completely transform how you use your camera with supports.

The SnapLock gives you a quick release option for Arca Swiss that makes it more convenient for static supports such as tripods and monopods.

For Gimbals and other mechanised supports and stabilisers, it means that you can essentially leave base plates in place, so not only is it a quick-release system, but it also helps remove the need to rebalance every time you setup.

If you don’t want to buy a second SnapLock adapter, that’s not an issue as the small base plate is also Arca Swiss compatible, so that it will clamp in place on its right.

An amazing piece of kit that will simplify and speed up your life.