question about 055xprob...

Hello everybody. Today I received my new manfrotto 055xprob and 498rc2. I love this tripod!!! But my question is the plate. Whats happening is when I have my gear mounted, regular setup on lanscape position, I can just barely wiggle it from side to side. I made sure that the locking mechanism is tight. One thing that im about to do right now is tighten the quick release plate thats connected to the ballhead (the one screw that can be seen from the top looking down when the camera is not mounted) and hoping that it fixes it. Just need some opinion or suggestion from you guys on what else could it be.

And since nobody in my house understands my happiness when I received it, im sharing my first pics of the tripod with you guys!

Update: i did tighten the lock connecting the quick release to the ball head and it seems like its pretty tight there now.

Question for you guys who have this 498rc2, when you mount the camera, do you really have to push the release lever in to make sure its tight? Sometimes it feels when I snap it in its tight, then theres times where the lever doesnt go all the way through. So now im making it habit of pushing it all the way in when I mount the camera.

i have the same ballhead, an i always give it a little jiggle after clamping it down. its more of an ocd habit but it doesnt hurt to check tat it is fully secure

I used the RC2 system in the past and didn't like it at all, it had some movement and as you said it was usually not tight enough.

I use the RC4 plates now and they are much much better. Why did you buy the 498RC2 instead of the RC4 ?

I chose the rc2 over the rc4 because i didnt want the plate to be extending too much from the body. I dont really use tripod much, only during vacations or family gatherings when i want to be in the pic as well. So since im going to be using my camera handheld most of the time, i dont want to be too uncomfortable with the plate since im not taking it off. But now that i have this i might just start to use it more.

Daveyboi- i might as well make it a habit of pushing it in and checking it when i mount my gear. Just trying to see what the consensus is if its normal or i got a defective item.

One thing that can make the ball head loose on the tripod's center column is failure to tighten the three setscrews that are accessible on the bottom of the center column's mounting plate. These setscrews lock the head to the mounting plate, preventing movement between them when in use.

SkipD wrote in post #12150101
One thing that can make the ball head loose on the tripod's center column is failure to tighten the three setscrews that are accessible on the bottom of the center column's mounting plate. These setscrews lock the head to the mounting plate, preventing movement between them when in use.

Skip, are you referring to the three screws that tighten the ballhead to the legs? If no then theres something im not seeing, if yes then consider it done. I didnt know about those till I read the manual. I know I know, I should have read it first. But I tighten those the same time I tighten the mounting plate screw. It is pretty stable now. I just make sure that the release lever is tight against the plate and im good to go.

musashi wrote in post #12150171
Skip, are you referring to the three screws that tighten the ballhead to the legs?

The three setscrews I am referring to are on the underside of the head mounting plate which is part of the center column assembly, not the legs per se. I think we're referring to the same three setscrews, though.

SkipD wrote in post #12150245
The three setscrews I am referring to are on the underside of the head mounting plate which is part of the center column assembly, not the legs per se. I think we're referring to the same three setscrews, though.

Ok, now I understand. Yeah we were talking about the same thing. I just dont know the tripod "lingo" quite yet so I was trying to explain as I see it.

I have the same setup (ballhead and tripod). I place the QR attached to the camera to the ballhead... listen for the click. Visually look to see it seated and the that lever is set and wiggle it a bit just to make sure. After a while it just becomes a habbit.