ARRI introduces a new standard for a 1/4"

Aug 06, 2023

ARRI, in consultation with other accessory manufacturers, has introduced a new standard for a 1/4″-20 Pin-Lock interface.

ARRI’s Pin-lock 3/8″-16 standard has been an established standard in the film industry for many years. The Pin-Lock system was invented as a solution for preventing the unintentional loosening of accessories when mounted to cameras, camera cages, etc.

The problem in recent years is that there has been a plethora of products coming to market that use the smaller, 1/4″-20 screw. As there was no official standard to ensure compatibility between these accessories and camera-specific mounting plates, ARRI has developed a new mounting point standard.

The conventional 3/8″-16 Pin-Lock interface has been expanded to include a centrally positioned 1/4″-20 threaded hole. The holes adjacent to a 3/8″ mounting point, which have served as anti-twist protection for several years, can now also be utilized for the 1/4-20″ standard.

Essentially this creates a new pattern of repeating 1/4″-20 and 3/8”-16 mounting points that share anti-twist Pin-Lock holes and can be used to mount accessories securely. This is a clever idea and one that will benefit everyone as long as it is adopted across the industry.

ARRI is making the new hole pattern openly accessible to all manufacturers and technical information is available freely through the ARRI website.

Matthew Allard is a multi-award-winning, ACS accredited freelance Director of Photography with over 30 years' of experience working in more than 50 countries around the world.He is the Editor of Newsshooter.com and has been writing on the site since 2010.Matthew has won 48 ACS Awards, including five prestigious Golden Tripods. In 2016 he won the Award for Best Cinematography at the 21st Asian Television Awards.Matthew is available to hire as a DP in Japan or for work anywhere else in the world.