502an vs 500ah, and others (1 Viewer)

[Alexis Powell]

Yes, that's a good solution if you like the 200PL (=3157N) plates. I have the 323 base on a window mount, and a 700RC2 head on a spare tripod, so I still use them sometimes but generally don't like them as much as others because the rubber base allows some wiggle, the bolt always seems to loosen over time, and they aren't non-rotating unless modified or used with something that accepts a video pin.

With the respect to the sloppy fit you found between the Gitzo GS5370C plate and Manfrotto 500 head, I have to admit that I've never used that combination (not a big fan of that plate for the same reasons as the 200PL), but I suppose I can imagine the problem. One of the flaws of the Manfrotto 500 head is that for all of its beefy robustness, it doesn't connect with the plate very solidly (or at least to the standards usually found with Arca-Swiss type clamps and plates) because the contact area along the clamping side is very small. The plate isn't gripped along its length on both sides, but rather is forced against one side of the slot by the small clamping area. The even heavier 502AH head (which I have) may be a tiny bit better in this respect, but if so, not by much. Unfortunately, Manfrotto makes the problem even worse by making the slot for the sliding plate quite a bit wider than the plate, so a short plate is prone to rotate a bit unless clamped very hard. The Sirui clamp (e.g. on the VH-10X, which I use most) is much better, both in clamp contact area and precision of fit, but it is still not as good as what most Arca-type clamps achieve.

--AP

 

[jkingrph]

I started with a Manfrotto tripod and the fluid head which seems ok for my purposes. I do see what you mean by a small clamping area on the one side, It honestly looks like they had plenty of room to make it longer and more robust, but then it seems to me to be sturdy. The problem with a relative newby like me is making heads and tails of all this stuff, I live in the relative boondocks, a small town in E. Texas so not much chance to have and on hands check of what is available. The manufacturers certainly do not help in giving any compatibility guide.

The little Manfrotto 323 base and 200PL plate may not be ideal or the best but seems ok too me, admittedly I have not used it much, and as I stated earlier I wanted a small compact base to use on one of my bench rest clamps for shooting and it is small enough to fit that and seems to do a good job. My ultimate goal was a QD system that was compact so I could mount the QD plate to my scope to eliminate thread wear on the integral base on the scope. I had an old scope and thread wear was visible.