Canadian manufacturer LNKcine released their first product, the LNK, a unique quick-release system for camera accessories. Indeed, as opposed to well-known existing systems, the LNK has no male or female component; it has two identical halves, meaning it is genderless and swappable. So, let’s take a closer look at this handy camera accessory!
Every now and then, I come across small and handy camera accessories that can make life on set so much faster and easier, and I always think, “Why did nobody think about it before?” This is precisely what happened when I saw the LNKcine LNK, a quick-release adapter developed and manufactured by Jackson Harper, a Canadian first AC. So, I decided to reach out to him to learn more about it and give us a bit of background.
LNKcine LNK Quick-Release System – born out of frustration
As I mentioned, LNKcine was created by Jackson Harper, a Canadian first camera assistant who has been pulling focus on various movies and shows for the past 13 years. The idea behind their first product, the LNK, came out while he was working on the Netflix show “Riverdale” for the past six seasons.
Riverdale was a crazy show in terms of the amount of gear we had. We had two camera trucks fully loaded with four ready-to-go camera builds, a Movi, Ronin, Maxima, and sometimes a Steadicam. Also, because of the ingenuity of our DOP Ronald Richard, we did a serious amount of on-the-fly rigs, from simple tiny builds that fit in the back of a car, inside a locker, or under a bed to handheld with a camera underslung backward on a Betz Wave 1 suspended by an Easy Rig so that the operator could run forward through a forest while shooting behind him while the Wave kept horizon (picture above). The latter is a common example of how weird we got on that show. We were often throwing together these off-the-cuff rigs.
One winter, 3:00am EXT night shoot, I realized how frustrating it was that industry standard quick-releases had “genders” with all the switching of camera builds and the swapping of parts that we were doing. You’d have two camera parts you want to put together, but they’d both have the same gendered quick-release half, so they were incompatible with one another. Another common annoyance was that one half of a standard quick-release typically has a single through hole while the other half has only threaded holes, making it difficult to mount them exactly where you want them on camera equipment. I realized that there was an opportunity to significantly improve the design and functionality of the industry standard quick-release.
Jackson Harper – founder of LNKcine
There you have it: the idea for a genderless quick-release system for camera accessories was born. Indeed, we all know the famous 16×9 Cinelock, Kondor Blue Mini Lock, or the Wedgie 2 system – but all of these have male and female parts. Jackson went into prototyping, and as he says, “The first few were terrible. I had no idea what I was doing at first, and my design certainly showed it.”
After multiple iterations, feedback from industry professionals, and sleepless nights, he finally came up with a design that just worked. Then, he hired a local company to produce aluminum prototypes. A few dozen were made, and all ended up on “Riverdale” as their primary and only quick-release system for over two years. It was time to launch LNKcine and the LNK in January 2023 officially.
LNKcine LNK Quick-Release – features
As previously mentioned, the LNKcine LNK quick-release system has two identical halves. You’ll find a through hole and a 3/8″-16 threaded hole on each half. Each kit comes with two 3/8″-16 to 1/4″-20 adapters.
Furthermore, the LNK quick-release system has three built-in anti-twist solutions. First, an 8-32 hole is next to the tapped 3/8″-16 tapped hole. In the kit, you’ll find two 8-32 set screws, which allow you to lock accessories that don’t have any anti-twist holes securely. You can tighten the set screws after attaching the LNK to your accessory.
Next to the 3/8″-16 through-hole, there are two small threaded holes for the included M1.6 screws. These holes are also ARRI anti-twist compatible, and the 3mm heads of the screws act as removable anti-twist pins. Last but not least, there are two female ARRI anti-twist holes on the 3/8″-16 threaded hole side.
In terms of security, to release the LNK, you have to press the two buttons on the side simultaneously. From their testing, once locked, you can at least put 63kg/140 lbs on the LNK without fearing that the locking pins fail.
For SmallHD users, Jackson recently teased a SmallHD adapter with the proper locating pins.
Price and availability
The LNKcine LNK quick-release system is available now for $80/€73.95
For more information, please visit LNKcine’s website here.
What do you think about the LNK? Do you like that genderless design? What is your preferred quick-release system for camera accessories? Don’t hesitate to let us know in the comments down below!
