Prior to RRS, camera plates with dovetail rails were by and large extruded from dies, cut to various lengths, then either slotted and/ or tapped. The process was inherently imprecise compared to CNC machining operations. More companies started making plates using the same process by getting their dovetail specs "close enough" to work with any screw-knob style clamp already on the market. This is probably why screw-knob clamps seemed to be the only option for years and why most companies still push them today.

RRS plates are CNC machined, and have been from the very beginning. In 1990, Bryan Geyer made a good faith effort for better compatibility by adopting the Arca-Swiss plate style and dimensions. At the time, Arca-Swiss was one of the most popular photography ball head and plate manufacturers, so the term "Arca" was widely used to describe the style of plate that had a dovetail running on each side. A basic way to describe the "Arca" style would be that "Arca" can mean any dovetail rail that appears similar; however, the critical dimensions can be significantly imprecise.

Over time, our customers were getting more and more frustrated that several non-RRS plates did no work well with our patented and popular lever-release (LR) clamps.

We analyzed a collection of plates from various manufacturers and found many inconsistencies, as there was no industry standard for a dovetail rail. We reached out to those companies and began to work with whomever was willing to cooperate to adopt a common dovetail standard. In conjunction, we standardized our dovetail drawings so that any manufacturer could understand them.

A customer will know the products they are considering will be compatible with RRS gear if the manufacturer indicates their products adhere to the "RRS Dovetail Standard" on their website, product manuals, or on the product themselves. Conforming to this standard helps other manufacturers ensure compatibility across the industry, with an additional benefit being fewer customers returning products for incompatibility issues.

Recently, we had a precision gauge made for our RRS standard. This is available for compaines who what to use our standard and to machine their own rails confidently. We have it available to them at cost.

If a 3rd party dovetail is manufactured over spec and is used with a non-ARC SOAR clamp, most of the time it will not shut. The new ARC clamps allow for adjustable tension, increasing compatibility across these rails.

If excess force is used, it could break the clamp. If the customer is using original LR clamps, the springs can become deformed resulting in the clamp sliding over time. If the plate is under spec it will slide freely.

Our clamps are a friction locking system meant to help get in and out of position quickly, while efficiently changing positions, so there could be some movement depending on a variety of external forces. Knowing that, we incorporated small threaded sockets where you can install safety stops on all RRS plates.