As I’ve mentioned before on this blog, one thing that I have always struggled with are L brackets. While they are an unmissable tool for all serious landscape photographers, there are some shortcomings to them. They can limit the motion range of the articulating screen on your camera and they also often prevent easy access to the ports on the side of your camera. Last year, I reviewed the ATOLL tripod collar, which promised to solve all of these issues. While I was initially intrigued, I ended up not using the ATOLL tripod collar because of some limitations such as the locking mechanism not being usable with gloves on. I concluded that review by expressing that I would love to see how a version two of this product would improve on these usability issues, which is exactly what I am doing in this review of the ATOLL X.
So how does the newer ATOLL X Tripod Collar stack up? Let’s find out!
Full disclosure: Silence Corner provided me with an ATOLL to review. However, this is not a sponsored review. I am not being paid to write this review nor did Silence Corner get any input or preview. All opinions are my own.
The new ATOLL X comes with a wider ring, better knob and fits into any Arca Swiss tripod head. This one sit on top of the Peak Design Travel Tripod.
The biggest advantage of a solution such as the ATOLL X is that you can easily access the ports on the side of your camera body, use the articulating screen and access the battery door.
What Is ATOLL X?
ATOLL X is a type of tripod collar which is attached to your camera via a tripod plate. Attached to this tripod plate is a rotatable ring which sits in front of the lens mount and around the lens. This allows you to rotate the camera between landscape & portrait orientation without it ever detaching from your tripod.
The process to attach the ATOLL X Tripod Collar to your camera is pretty straight forward:
- Detach your lens.
- Rotate the ATOLL X to the side.
- Attach the ATOLL X by the tripod plate to your camera using the included hex key.
- Depending on the size of your camera body, you may have to flip the Two-Way Plate around to allow for more room.
- Attach the ATOLL ring.
- Use the included hex key to adjust the ring so it sits centred around the lens mount.
- Attach your lens again and it’s ready to use!
To use the ATOLL, you simply attach it to your tripod as you normally would. Once attached, you can unlock the ring to rotate the camera between portrait and landscape orientation. If you’re interested in a more complete installation guide, there is one available on Silence Corner’s website.
The ATOLL X now works with a wider range of cameras as well as camera cages.
Even large cameras with bigger grips, or battery grips, are now supported by the ATOLL X.
This video shows you how to install the ATOLL X on your camera.
What I Like About The ATOLL X
Most of what I liked about the original ATOLL Tripod Collar is still available on the ATOLL X. It’s easy to switch your camera between horizontal and vertical orientation (especially useful when using an inverted centre column) and it again has the nice clicking mechanism each time you turn it 90 degrees. Because the ATOLL X keeps the camera completely clear, it’s easy to use an articulating screen and you can freely access the ports on the side and the battery slot. Even though it’s slightly heavier (170 grams compared to 108 grams) ATOLL X has retained a lightweight form factor.
But how did it improve on the previous model? The first thing that is immediately noticeable is the new colour. The ATOLL X has a new black coating, which makes the entire thing feel more durable and finished. The locking mechanism, which I had issues with on the older model, has been replaced in favour of a bigger, easy-to-use knob. This is especially useful when wearing gloves and I instantly noticed how much easier it was.
The ATOLL X has also become more universal. Gone are the separate models for Canon, Sony and Nikon. The ATOLL X is now compatible with more brands & models, bigger cameras, body cages and battery grips thanks to the new & included Two-Way Plate and Bridge plate. A full compatibility list can be seen on Silence Corner’s website.
The adjustable ring is now also 20 millimetre wider which means it fits a wider variety of lenses. The ring also sits more forward from the camera body, which means you can use the camera body’s grip and the IS & AF buttons on the lens more easily. This is another advantage of you are often using gloves like myself. The base plate below the adjustable ring fits in any Arca Swiss compatible tripod head.
Because you can have the wider ring sit more away from the body, my fingers can more easily grab the camera body grip – with or without gloves on. This is to me a big improvement over the previous model.
In comparison to the original ATOLL, the IS and AF buttons on my lenses are now much more easily adjustable.
On the ATOLL X, it’s much easier to use the knob to unlock the adjustable ring with gloves on.
What I Don’t Like About The ATOLL X
Some of the downsides I mentioned in the original ATOLL’s review are also found on this model as they are essentially a compromise due to the unique design of the ATOLL X.
Using the ATOLL X means that your camera body is much less protected when compared to using an L bracket, which reinforces your camera body. However, this might not matter to you if you’re not the type of person who puts their gear through a lot of hardship.
Even though the new ring on the ATOLL X is 20 millimetre wider, and allows for more lens compatibility, you may find that lenses with an unusually wide diameter may still not fit on this newer model. This applies to any lens with a diameter over 90 millimetre. One such lens is my Canon RF 100-500mm telephoto lens, which means I’d have to use the ATOLL X on a dedicated camera body on which I won’t use that telephoto lens.
On the previous model, the base plate underneath the camera body had a Peak Design Capture Clip compatible attachment point. Due to the new Two-Way Plate, which makes the ATOLL X compatible with more cameras, that Peak Design Capture Clip attachment point was removed. However, what I don’t understand is why this attachment point wasn’t then moved to the plate underneath the adjustable ring. To me, this is an odd design choice as I am now forced to add another Peak Design plate underneath. It’s a minor annoyance but one that stood out to me during testing. Perhaps, instead of using the Two-Way Plate, it may have been better to add two different base plates to retain the Peak Design attachment point while still allowing for usage with a wider variety of camera types.
While the ATOLL X fits perfectly fine inside of the ballhead on top of the Peak Design Travel Tripod…
…it is not compatible with the Peak Design Capture Clip without also attaching a Peak Design plate to the bottom.
Conclusion
While there are still a few (minor) downsides to consider when using a solution such as the ATOLL X Tripod Collar, several worthwhile improvements have been made to this new version. I really appreciate it when companies take criticism to heart and actually improve their products. While no solution is perfect for every workflow, I do believe this latest iteration has become a lot more practical and leaves me with the conclusion that I can now recommend the ATOLL X wholeheartedly to other landscape photographers.
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