I need help with my tripod head

Craig

Craig

Member
Staff member
I need help with my tripod head. I love the head and I love my new tripod that is sits on, but:

I cannot stand how this head attaches to my camera. The top plate screws into the bottom of the camera above, and the silver post below.
The problem is, I cannot get this combo tight when shooting vertically. When shooting vertically the camera continues to rotate on this screw assembly. In august for 10 nights, I never used the tripod because of this assembly!
I have to screw it all together so tight that I am afraid something is going to break. and to top if off when I take the camera off the rubber on the bottom of the camera and the rubber on the mount get all twisted off and are coming undone and starting to tear.

So, can you recommend how to fix this, and better yet, does anyone have the fix that they want to sell and get rid of?

thanks!

221095.jpg
 
IMHO you should add a QR system to this head. ; (I don't use a head anymore that doesn't have one)

Then you can tighten the plate to your heart's content to the camera - easily since you can remove the plate from the base. ; And the same with the QR base to the ball head.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/5 ... /KBID/2466

That is the standard Manfrotto QR heads; ; the pistol grip uses them. ; Or you can spend 3x as much and get an Arca Swiss, which is the gold standard for QR.
 
I agree, A quick release is the only way to fly. Regardless of what brand you choose, an 'Arca Swiss TYPE' is preferable because it is the accepted standard. I love both the head and QR I have from Markin's. ($73 for the shoe).
 
Interestingly enough, no one had a suggestion for resolving your problem. I looked up the specifications for the Giottos MH 3000 and it's considered a Heavy Duty Ball Head which supports 33 lbs. My first thought was you were using equipment over the recommended weight limit. But seeing the weight limit is 33lbs I quickly dropped that thought.

So my question would be, have you used it a lot? ; Has it always failed in the vertical position? I see it's expensive. I would want a refund or a replacement if its always failed vertically.

I found this review on Photography-on-the.net:
The Quick Release Assembly MH-658 takes standard Swiss-Arca plates. It has a screw type clamp mechanism, and due to the design of the MH-648 plate, it can deploy a safety catch to prevent the camera slipping off an opened clamp. The plates also have reversible plastic flanges to prevent the camera sliding off the plate. To release the camera, a red button at the end of the clamp must be depressed and held down, and then the plate (and camera) can be withdrawn. The MH-658 also has levels for both the landscape and portrait orientations, the latter mounted in the clamp knob. The plates have both the ¼â€Â
Click to expand...
 
thanks everyone!

Roger, I'll order that part, it seems perfect, and the price I wanted to pay too.



"ImagineeringMyWay" said:
So my question would be, have you used it a lot? ; Has it always failed in the vertical position? I see it's expensive. I would want a refund or a replacement if its always failed vertically.
Click to expand...
It seems to fail vertically because I cant tighten the plate to the camera tight enough, and then vertically, gravity continues to pull the camera. It's just enough to blur a long exposure. The rest of the ballhead works perfectly and tight.

If it was new I might return it and get a head with the QR plate included, but I got this head last year, and the plate worked perfect with the D80, but I believe that the rubber on the bottom of the d300 and the rubber on the plate are getting all twisted up together.
 


craig, i recently purchased the manfrotto jr. elbow bracket and it works awesome with an rc2 ballhead. ; the bracket has 2 rc2 connectors on it, one for portrait/one for landscape so all you have to do it get the head level and when you want to switch from horiz. to vert. you disconnect the bracket, rotate it 90 degrees, and snap it back on. ; it keeps the camera centered over the center of the tripod in both orientations. ; works great! ; click the image for more details.
 
Welcome to the world of Arca Swiss, Craig.

Next you'll need to get one of them Really Right Stuff plates!
 
price out brackets from kirk, very good quality, and highly competitive priceing , i've used kirk for several years now
 
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