Benro QRB95 review – a sturdy and robust rotating camera bracket, but with one drawback

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Andy Westlake 10 December 2025 / 09:30 BST

Amateur Photographer verdict

The Benro QRB95 quick rotating bracket is a well-made, sturdy device that enables you to quickly rotate your camera from horizontal to vertical on a tripod. But it’s large and awkwardly shaped.

Pros

  • Extremely sturdy
  • Locks positively at any angle
  • Accommodates a wide range of camera sizes
  • Works with both Arca-Swiss and 501PL tripod heads
Cons

  • Rather large and awkwardly shaped

Photographers using a tripod have long grappled with a particular problem: how to rotate their camera from landscape to portrait format without hanging it off to one side of the centre column, which is less stable and potentially changes the composition. The Benro QRB95 Quick Rotating Bracket aims to fix this. It fits between the camera and tripod, enabling rotation though 90° while keeping the lens pointing along the same axis.

Benro QRB95 Quick Rotating Bracket at a glance:

  • $89.95 / £90
  • Arca-Swiss and 501PL-compatible
  • Enables 90° rotation, and locks at any point
  • 16cm long x 13cm tall
  • Approx 300g
  • uk.benroeu.com

You may well, at this point, be thinking that this problem has already been solved by L-brackets, or circular rotating brackets such as the NiSi Wizard. But the Benro QRB95 comes with some specific, and not inconsiderable advantages. Firstly, it allows you to rotate the camera back and forth without ever removing it from the tripod. Secondly, it won’t block camera controls or connector ports. And thirdly, it’s one of the few such devices that works just as happily with DSLRs as with smaller mirrorless cameras.

To achieve this, the QRB95 employs an unusual ‘half ring’ bracket. Jutting out to the front is the tripod mounting plate, which is reversible to fit either Arca-Swiss or Manfrotto 501PL-type dovetail clamps. The latter will be welcome to videographers using high-end fluid heads, who’d like to use this device to switch between vertical and horizontal recording.

Benro QRB95 with Canon EOS 5D in portrait format. Image credit: Andy Westlake

Benro QRB95 with Canon EOS 5D in landscape format. Image credit: Andy Westlake

The camera then fixes onto a long plate that sticks out of the back. Its height is adjustable through a 15mm range, which allows the lens to be centred properly with different cameras. This allowed me to work with models ranging from the relatively petite OM System OM-3 through to my original Canon EOS 5D. An additional part is available as an optional accessory that accommodates cameras with vertical grips.

The height of the camera platform can be adjusted through a 15mm range. Image credit: Andy Westlake

Benro QRB95 Quick Rotating Bracket key features:

  • Lever lock: A single large lever allows the camera to be locked at any point through the 90° rotation range
  • Arca or 501 compatible: A reversible tripod plate will mount onto either Arca-Swiss or Manfrotto 501PL-type tripod clamps
  • Cold shoe: A shoe on top allows the mounting of such things as microphones – note though that it rotates with the camera
  • Mount points: Numerous 1/4in threads are dotted around the device for attaching additional accessories
  • Hex key: A 4mm hex key fits on magnetically and is used for adjusting the bracket

Off the camera, the QRB95 is awkwardly shaped to fit in a bag. Image credit: Andy Westlake

The tripod mounting plate has both 3/8in and 1/4in sockets. Image credit: Andy Westlake

The tripod plate can be flipped over to swap between Arca-Swiss and 501PL heads. Image credit: Andy Westlake

The hex key for adjusting and tightening everything clips in place magnetically. Image credit: Andy Westlake

A cold shoe and a 1/4in thread are found at the end of the semi-circular bracket. Image credit: Andy Westlake

Once the camera is fixed onto your tripod, it can be quickly rotated from horizontal to vertical, and indeed fixed firmly at any point in between, using a single large lever. And what’s impressed me most about the Benro QRB95 is just how solidly it locks into place: it’s vastly better than the similar looking, but rather wobbly SmallRig 4349 design.

The main penalty you pay for this is bulk: the Benro QRB95 is around 16cm long and 13cm tall, and it’s awkwardly shaped for fitting into a bag when it’s not attached to a camera. And while I’ve found it won’t generally block any camera or lens controls entirely, it can sometimes hinder access to your lens’s zoom or focus ring.

Benro QRB95 with OM System OM-5 in horizontal format. Image credit: Andy Westlake

Benro QRB95 with OM System OM-5 in vertical format. Image credit: Andy Westlake

I should note that I tested the original Benro QRB95, which has a simple camera mounting plate with a sliding screw. It has since been superseded by the Benro QRB95DUAL, which is identical aside from the addition of a clever foldaway Arca-Swiss clamp, for quickly attaching cameras fitted with cages or Arca plates. That can only count as an improvement to the design.

Our Verdict

The Benro QRB95 is an impressively robust piece of kit that works with a huge range of cameras and does its job very well. It should be great for both photographers and videographers, assuming you can find a suitably sized space in your bag to hold it.

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Andy Westlake

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