New tripod head or lens support?

mlk19569

I went out the other night for some recreational night shooting and I was using my Canon 24 - 105 f4L, no flash. It worked great when shooting horizontally, but when I moved the camera to a vertical position, I couldn't get the camera to stay locked and it kept sliding out of position, even if I had it screwed down pretty tightly.

I'm using a Manfrotto tripod with a ballhead head.

I'm not sure if I need a different tripod head, some sort of mount ring or some other thing that I don't know about.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Meredith

ziggy53

Meredith,

Which camera and which flash?

mlk19569

Info
Camera - Canon 20D

No flash - I was using bulb and wanted no added light.

ziggy53

Ah, I misunderstood your post.

You are saying the ball-head does not hold position, even with the clamp adjusted to be very tight?

If that's the case, then we need to know which ball-head.

rpcrowe

Three ways of preventing this
I believe that you are talking about your camera rotating (from the weight of the lens) on the tripod screw. There are three ways of preventing a camera from rotating on the axis of the tripod screw when the camera is placed in the vertical position. I will list these in order of descending cost.

Most expensive:

Use a Really Right Stuff L-Bracket. This is the slickest way to go and I love mine. However, the L-bracket is expensive and requires the use of an Arca Compatible (AC) quick release clamp. AC release clamps can be had on ball heads by Really Right Stuff, Kirk Enterprises and Acratech and others. Additionally the manfrotto RC2 quick release clamp can be removed from a Manfrotto ball head and replaced with an Arca Compatible base by Kirk or RRS. See this link for the advantages of a RRS L-Bracket:
http://reallyrightstuff.com/QR/05.html

Mid-line expensive:

Manfrotto distributes their own L-bracket which is compatible with their RC2 quick release system. While this unit is not a slick as the RRS L-Bracket, it is considerably less expensive (especially if you have a Manfrotto Ball Head) and it will keep the camera center of gravity over the tripod head and prevent the camera from rotating on the tripod screw. See this link:
http://www.adorama.com/BG341.html?searchinfo=manfrotto%20L%20plate&item_no=40

Least expensive:

Bogen - Manfrotto Anti Twist Plate 1/4" (same as the 3157N with an additional lip to prevent camera twist) (#3157NR). This used to be called an Architectural Plate but, in keeping with the confusing Manfrotto custom of renaming their products at seemingly regular intervals, they now call it an Anti Twist Plate (which is a more descriptive title). This plate prevents the camera rotation but doesn't center the camera over the tripod head while in the vertical position. The cantilevered hanging of the camera is nowhere as stable as using an L-plate. However at a little over $20 it is a cheap fix. When I used a Manfrotto head with the RC2 release, I bought one of these plates (on eBay for $10) and kept it on the camera. I used the standard RC2 plate which came with the head on the tripod ring of my 70-200mm lens.
http://www.adorama.com/BG3157NR.html?searchinfo=plate&item_no=19

I hope that I interpreted your posting correectly. It is a common problem and one which many posters on various forums have asked about.

mlk19569

Thanks!

rpcrowe wrote:

I believe that you are talking about your camera rotating (from the weight of the lens) on the tripod screw. There are three ways of preventing a camera from rotating on the axis of the tripod screw when the camera is placed in the vertical position.

I hope that I interpreted your posting correectly. It is a common problem and one which many posters on various forums have asked about.

Yes, that is exactly my issue! I'll look at the options you gave me. Thanks so much for the information!

Meredith