Hide Plates and Accessories
(fig.1) Hide Plate
**HIDE PLATE IN STOCK**
**HIDE PLATE SPACERS IN STOCK**
**HIDE PLATE KIT IN STOCK**
For any enquiries regarding the Hide Plates or to place an order please contact me here.
First a Little History
Generally speaking, the traditional method of supporting a camera and lens, especially a long, heavy, telephoto lens in a fixed, permanent hide, is usually achieved either by using a tripod with some form of tripod head, typically a ball type head or a gimbal type head or, alternatively, by using a beanbag deployed on a sturdy shelf to create a stable support for the weight of the lens.
However, back in 2013 when I first opened my new Little Owl hide for customers and realised that the dynamics of the site were perfect for capturing the Owls in flight, I was faced with a dilemma - I needed to be able to use a gimbal type head to make these images possible but the problem I had was that the hide was too small to cope with two sets of tripod legs plus, on top of that, using a beanbag for this type of shot was also out of the question because of the need to track and pan with the Owls smoothly. So I had to come up with a way of being able to use a gimbal-type head in the hide to support my telephoto lens without the need to use a tripod!
The answer to the problem - ideally a solid metal plate with a standard 3/8th threaded stud that would sit happily on a sturdy shelf in the hide, on which I would then be able to mount my gimbal head.
(fig.2) Hide Plate shown here with my gimbal head mounted (gimbal head not included).
(fig.3) Hide Plate shown here with the new Hide Plate Spacer and my gimbal head mounted to it (gimbal head not included).
Now, this method of supporting a camera and lens combination is by no means a new idea and I definitely don't profess to have been the first to invent it, as photographers and hide operators, particularly those in Europe and Scandinavia, have been using this method in hides for years, but are usually found using an incredibly large and heavy metal base which is difficult to move.
Something of that size would be of no use to me, I wished to have something lighter, something more portable, something that could be moved easily left or right a touch to help with a better background to my images if needed, yet still being strong and supportive enough to take the weight of my camera and lens. So I set about designing a plate that would not only be lighter and easier to use but, more importantly, be easily capable of handling even the heaviest of camera and lens combinations.
Armed with my design, I took it to a friend who runs his own engineering and fabrication business and set about creating the plate. A prototype was quickly manufactured and to my surprise the size and weight of the plate seemed perfect and, more importantly, once I added my Wimberley gimbal head, my Canon 1DX and 500mm F4 lens on to the plate, I was astounded as to how well the whole rig was supported and balanced with the weight being evenly distributed to the four corners of the plate.....it was perfect! Not only was I now able to track the owls in flight smoothly and more accurately, it was also a breeze to effortlessly switch from landscape to portrait format if needed, for perched portrait shots, which was exactly what I set out to achieve.
(fig.4) Wild Little Owl in flight, Canon 1DX, Canon 500mm F4L IS, 1/4000 sec, F5.6, ISO 800, Wimberley gimbal head, Hide Plate.
The plates were put into the hide at the start of the 2014 Little Owl breeding season and customers immediately noticed the differences and advantages of using the plate as opposed to using a traditional tripod, with many commenting on what a great idea they were. Very soon I began to receive enquiries as to whether the plates were available to purchase, which led me to be able to offer the plates for sale and have proved extremely popular with photographers. To date many hundreds of units have been sold with some of the UK's top wildlife photographers among my customers.
Since then, the design has been tweaked a little here, refined a little there and I now produce for sale a very high quality alternative to using a tripod in a hide, a stylish plate incorporating high functionality at an affordable price and a great piece of kit for photographers who use many of the commercially available hides in the UK or further afield. However, do please note that it is important to ensure that the hide in which you are planning to use your Hide Plate has a sufficiently STRONG and STURDY shelf to handle the weight of the plate, head, camera and lens combination mounted on it.
The New Hide Plate Spacer
(fig.5) Hide Plate Spacer
**IN STOCK**
Following on from the success of the now well established Hide Plate I decided to look into the possibility of producing a quality range of accessories that would compliment the Hide Plate, and, after listening to customer feedback, several of which had used their Plates in various hides around the UK, it became apparent that in a few instances, particularly with hides on public nature reserves that are not particularly geared towards photography, some photographers were finding difficulties in having enough height to use their camera, lens and gimbal head effectively, and purely down to the design and build of the hide they were using, so I came up with this very useful and very handy accessory that effectively raises your whole camera, lens and head up by two inches whilst retaining all the stability and balance as if using just the Plate without the Spacer.
The Hide Plate Spacer connects firmly to the Hide Plate's stud via a female 3/8th" thread and is machined from the exact same high grade aluminium as the Hide Plate and is anodised in the same way to perfectly match the Hide Plate's sleek look. There is also a male 3/8th" high grade, stainless steel stud which allows connection to your choice of tripod head as shown in (fig.3) above, and in (fig. 6) below. I also incorporated a hole drilled into the body of the Spacer which can be used with a short bar like an Allen key to tighten or release the Spacer from the Plate when or when not required.
This is an accessory that would probably not be used all of the time but is small enough, light enough and reasonably priced enough to live happily in your kit bag until the situation requires its use.
IMPORTANT :- It is not recommended that more than one Hide Plate Spacer is used at a time, stacking Spacers can lead to instability and you do so at your own risk.
(fig.6) Hide Plate shown here with the Spacer connected.
**HIDE PLATE IN STOCK** **SPACER IN STOCK**
Hide Plate System Accessories
Having now had the Hide Plates and Spacers developed and manufactured I decided to go one step further with the system and provide protective pouches for them too. After giving the idea some careful thought I contacted the very helpful Kevin Keatley at Wildlife Watching Supplies® and he came up with the two pouches show here in (fig.7) below. The Spacer Pouch is also great for keeping your teleconverters safe from knocks and scratches whilst not in use too.
(fig.7) Hide Plate Spacer Pouch (left) and Hide Plate Pouch. (right)
The Hide Plate Pouch is of an envelope style pocket with a velcro fastener, whereas the Hide Plate Spacer Pouch has a drawcord fastener, both come in the fantastic Realtree Max 5 camouflage patterned neoprene to keep your accessories protected when not in use and are made for me by Wildlife Watching Supplies® in exclusive sizes to Neil Neville Photography adding even more quality to the system.
Hide Plate System Kit
(fig.8) The Hide Plate System Kit.
Everything you need in one handy kit.
Hide Plate System Price List
All of the items below are available either individually or as the whole kit.
£85.00 plus £10.00 Postage(ROYAL MAIL SPECIAL DELIVERY) Hide Plate. **IN STOCK**
. £55.00 plus £7.95 P+PHide Plate Spacer. **IN STOCK**
. £12.95 plus £3.95 P+PHide Plate Pouch.. **IN STOCK**
£12.95 plus £3.95 P+PHide Plate Spacer Pouch.. Great for teleconverters too! **IN STOCK**
. £150.00 plus £10.00 postage (ROYAL MAIL SPECIAL DELIVERY)Hide Plate System Full Kit.. **IN STOCK**
PLEASE NOTE: The camouflage pattern on the Pouches may vary from the one shown in all the above images.
PLEASE ALSO NOTE: The Hide Plate and Accessories are only available to purchase in the UK, after problems with orders going missing when dispatching abroad I no longer offer this service and all postage and packing prices quoted are for any U.K. Mainland addresses only,
Hide Plate System Specification:
* A fantastic, alternative method of supporting even the heaviest of camera and lens combinations, perfect for hide work.
* Rigorously tested and incredibly well balanced, and stable enough to support any camera and lens combination with a tripod collar, ranging from specialist high magnification macro lenses, all the way up to and including the monstrous 800mm lenses.
* Compatible with all types of tripod heads with a standard 3/8th thread, this includes most types of ball heads, gimbal style heads and the Uniqball head.
* Machined and constructed from the highest quality materials, proudly sourced and built in the U.K since 2014.
* Extremely Popular - Widely used throughout the U.K and beyond, by photographers ranging from beginners through to some of the top professional wildlife photographers.
* A stylish, hard-wearing, sleek matt black anodised finish including a high grade, non rusting, stainless steel threaded stud, plus a durable, custom fit felt pad to absorb and eliminate noise caused by grit friction on any surface the plate is mounted on.
* A new range of accessories to compliment the Hide Plates from the very useful Hide Plate Spacer to the new protective neoprene pouches to keep your accessories in top condition making the whole system very flexible.
* Weighing in at around 1kg the Plate is easily portable.
* Spare parts available: Felt bases, countersunk stainless steel studs, rubber gaskets and thread protectors.
* Unique and very handy accessories for any photographer's kit bag, ideal gifts for any occasion.
* Environmentally friendly! all materials used in manufacturing the Hide Plate and accessories including all packaging are widely recycled throughout the UK.
The Hide Plate System, Design Specification, Technical Drawings, and Accessories are the sole copyright and intellectual property of Neil Neville and Neil Neville Photography and are ONLY available to purchase by contacting Neil here.
BEWARE OF CHEAP IMITATIONS!!
Thank you for browsing and I look forward to hearing from you soon.
