190XPROB Tripod Level

I just received my 190xprob tripod in the mail today, and to my disappointment, the tripod's built in level sucks. I have it perfectly level on the ground, but yet it's saying that i need to tilt it slightly to the right (or left, can't remember now), which is obviously incorrect. Are any of you 190XPROB owners facing the same problem? Honestly, the only flaw regarding the tripod that I can spot right now is the level. Everything else is working just fine. If you were in my shoes, would you guys replace it with a new tripod, or would you guys just keep it as it is?

How do you know it is perfectly level?

Enjoy the rock solid build of a Great tripod !
The level on mine is the same as the one on my Grip head.

Whether or not the tripod is level is irrelevant,the important bit is to get the camera level and with a ball head the only way to do that is with a camera mounted level

I dislike not having the tripod level to begin with. I guess it's because I prefer a pan-tilt head. If the tripod isn't level, and you rotate the camera with the pan adjustment, the camera with go out of level horizontally.
...Terry

I own a 190XPROB and I don't even look to see if my legs are level.

Having said that, I just bought a spirit level off ebay

My tripod has a spirit level. The RRS clamp on top of the ballhead has a spirit level....after all it is likely the clamp you want level...not really the trippod. And on top is my 7D which has internal level function. If I were using my 40D then I would have a spirit level stuck into the flash hotshoe.

Depending on the shot...single or several for a pano....you likely want the body level port to starboard (left to right). But you may or may not want the body level fore and aft (front to back). Have\ing levels on the tripod, clamp and camera body gives you the info needed to set up for your particular shot.

after thinking about it for a bit, i think that i can probably live with the weird level on the tripod, as long as i get the hot shoe-mounted bubble level, since i'm going to be using a ballhead anyways. thanks. (:

LittleFish wrote in post #11648661
after thinking about it for a bit, i think that i can probably live with the weird level on the tripod, as long as i get the hot shoe-mounted bubble level, since i'm going to be using a ballhead anyways. thanks. (:

Got a Gitzo 2531. Using the spirit level on the tripod, the spirit level on the Manfrotto geared head and the spirit level on the Hotshoe - they ALL disagree - the moral is use the viewfinder!

A level on a pair of legs is pretty useless IMO, on top the camera hot-shoe is where it's needed especially if you are using a ball-head.

update: i just got my 498RC2 in the mail today and immediately mounted it onto the legs, and for some reason, the level is now functioning.(yay!)

How do i know that it is functioning? well i had all three of the legs fully extended on a flat and level surface (i.e. the floor). I checked the floor using a carpenter's level. (And yes, I found that the floor is perfectly flat). The tripod legs agrees with the carpenter's level. Therefore, the level on the tripod is now working. :P

i didn't know having a ballhead on top of the legs made that much of a difference in the reading.. interesting.

Thank god I saw this thread...I dropped my 190X legs and 804RC2 head and I thought for sure I bent something from the drop, the spirit level popped out of the head and I had to get a new one, I guess it's just a little off and its why my shots aren't panning right.

I was gonna go out and get a new head and try and pan, but this thread just saved me...now I can get a new head and a monopod! mwahahaha.