I am a very clumsy man. So clumsy, that I have AirTags hanging off practically every camera I own. Have I left my camera in an Uber? Yes. Have I left it on an airplane? Also yes. For me, finder tags are essential for my cameras.
The problem is, strapping a finder tag to a camera is always cumbersome. I currently have them hanging off my camera straps like a phone charm circa 2001. They’re ugly, and very much get in the way when I’m trying to focus on shooting. But Peak Design thinks it has a solution in its new Field Bracket system, which it launched today on Kickstarter, starting at $150 for early birds.
The Peak Design Field Bracket is part L-Bracket, part hand grip, part cheese plate. It’s made for photographers and videographers who want to quickly switch between landscape and portrait orientation on their tripod, or sometimes want to mount a light or mic to their camera when there isn’t a dedicated place to do so. But possibly the most enticing thing, to me at least, is that the bracket comes with a slot for a dedicated Finder Tag.
Peak’s Beacon Finder Tag is a Peak Design-branded finder that works with Apple Find My and Google Find Hub. That means it’ll work with both Apple and Android phones, so you don’t have to worry about losing access to your camera finder if you switch ecosystems. The tag uses a standard CR2025 battery, and Peak says it’s rated to last up to 6 months. It’s also rated for IP67 water and dust resistance, and it fits flush inside the base plate of the L-bracket.
The Beacon Finder Tag is just one of the accessories Peak Design is selling alongside the Field Bracket. The base product you’ll be buying is in fact an L-bracket, but once that’s on your camera, you’ll have access to other add-on accessories like a hand grip, finger grip, and cheese plate. Peak says the Field Bracket will work with most ARCA-compatible tripods, and won’t get in the way if you use it with its own capture clip or camera straps. In fact, the bracket itself has dedicated slots to attach your Peak Design camera strap, so you won’t have to sacrifice the strap you own to use the bracket.
Peak calls the vertical attachment to the L-bracket the Field Latch, and it uses the company’s new locking system to quickly attach and detach it without any tools. This is the same place you attach the optional cheese plate, which pulls out in adjustable stops in case you need to access ports or run cables from the camera.
Of course, you’ll have to choose the exact bracket you want for the camera you own, considering it’s molded specifically to that body. At launch, most cameras supported are the newest, or near-newest models of each camera line. You can see a compatibility list here. And if you want to see your camera supported, Peak has a dedicated feedback page to submit the camera you own.
The bracket itself will MSRP at $149.95, and if you want a bundle of all the accessories currently offered, you can get everything for $269.80. As usual, though, Peak Design is offering a Kickstarter discount, which puts the bracket at $125 and the bundle at $199, while supplies last at least.