What is the standard size and position of a camera tripod anti-rotation pin?
Asked 7/19/2025
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Some tripod plates and lens feet use a small anti-rotation/alignment pin in addition to the standard 1/4"-20 tripod screw. I measured an older quick-release plate with a spring-loaded pin and found the pin is about 4.6 mm in diameter, 3.5 mm high, and its center is 14.4 mm from the screw center. A newer lens foot I checked has a matching hole about 5.2 mm in diameter, 5.1 mm deep, and also about 14.4 mm from the screw hole.
Is there an actual standard for this alignment pin’s diameter, height, and distance from the tripod screw, and where is that specified?
Originally by Nayuki. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Nayuki
10mo ago
2 Answers
10
The reason of these "strange" numbers is DIN 4503-1 / ISO 1222
In this standard are defined tripod threads as
1/4-20 UNC
and
3/8-16 UNC
In ISO standard is defined (page 2) the distance between alignment pin and thread as 14 +- 0.1 mm (or 0.4 mm)
In the same standard dimensions of this pin are defined as 4.8 mm diameter, 4.5 mm height
Originally by Romeo Ninov. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Romeo Ninov
10mo ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Yes. The alignment/anti-rotation pin is covered by DIN 4503-1 / ISO 1222, the same standards that define the common tripod threads (1/4"-20 UNC and 3/8"-16 UNC).
According to the cited standard, the pin location is 14 mm from the thread center, with a small tolerance, and the pin itself is specified as about 4.8 mm in diameter and 4.5 mm in height.
So your measured 14.4 mm spacing is very close to the standard, and the slight play you saw with the lens foot is consistent with normal tolerances and real-world manufacturing variation. The reason many still cameras don’t use this feature is simply that the anti-rotation pin is more common on camcorders, long-lens tripod feet, and some specialized plates than on typical compact cameras or DSLRs.
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