• Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.

    Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
Where premium quality meets exceptional value. ZEISS Conquest HDX.

Manfrotto MVH500AH Head (1 Viewer)

John the Manfrotto 501PL plate might fit it, but I can't say for sure. I have that plate, but I have the Manfrotto 501 head. I can measure mine across.

Very close to 5 CM across at the bottom and of course shorter in lenght
 
Last edited:
Hi all,

A serious word of caution. The nice video failed to mention that the shorter versions of the old plate, while they fit and click on from the top like he showed, are not secured in place by those knobbiest on the 500 head. The new plate works as advertised, and the long plate works as the fellow showed.

But, the short (standard length) old plate before it catches on the falloff-prevention knob can slide far enough not to be held down by the new latch mechanism. This involves a serious risk of your scope falling off if the latch is not screwed on tight.

I would therefore recommend against using an old-style standard length plate on the MVH500AH. You could modify either the plate or probably the head to make it secure, but a much better alternative is to get the long plate or the one designed for the MVH500AH, though I agree that it is way more expensive than it should be, almost half the cost of the whole head.

The head itself is very nice, sturdy, with a good fluid movement and a spring that is just right for the ATX 95.

Kimmo
 
Hmm ... Thanks for the warning Kimmo. Yes the plate is half the cost of the head!! Do you have a part number of the longer plate shown in the video. Although I reckon it will be the same price as the 500PLONG anyway. Have you actually tried the short plate in the MVH500AH? Cant understand why they should be so expensive other than a con!
 
Last edited:
Just a thought. This head has a 3/8" thread on the side for attaching accessories. I was wondering if It would be possible to have a camera and spotting scope side by side??? Would it work? I don't mind anyone telling me it is a stupid idea! Lol! I would only need one of these expensive plates then!!
 
John In Ireland said:
Hmm ... Thanks for the warning Kimmo. Yes the plate is half the cost of the head!! Do you have a part number of the longer plate shown in the video. Although I reckon it will be the same price as the 500PLONG anyway. Have you actually tried the short plate in the MVH500AH? Cant understand why they should be so expensive other than a con!
Click to expand...

Hi John, If I understand this right, using the shorter plate and if you move it too far forward this plate will move pass the latch mechanism [jam] and this would allow it to flip up on that side and come out. The way I understand this the latch mechanism is the only thing holding the plate on the "right" side. The shorter plate could be modified to stop before this would happen or be very careful. I think this could be a problem both forward and backward. I hate to say this, but if you have a lot of money invested in your equipment etc. I would have to go with the right plate. Unless you JB weld a spot on both sides of that short plate or some other means. I would think you would have to rough up the area and measure etc. BTW I am really cheap and wanted the long plate but ended up getting the Manfrotto 577 rapid connect adapter, this will adapt another head type to be able to use these plates on another head. I really like it a lot, came with the short plate.

John you could get this adapter and mount it on the side of you MVH500 and it comes with a short plate.;)
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/241139-REG/Manfrotto_577_577_Rapid_Connect_Adapter.html

Lost Highway welcome to BirdForum!!
 
Last edited:
John after looking at this 577 plate, even if you adapted it to mount it looks like it would interfere with that adjusting knob mounting it sideways. If someone made an adapter, sort of a L shape with part of this resting towards [past] the "easy link adapter" resting onto the side for extra support. The plate has 2-1/4" threaded holes and one 3/8" threaded hole. It also has 4 countersunk machine screw holes for countersunk machine screws[#10?].
 
mooreorless said:
Hi John, If I understand this right, using the shorter plate and if you move it too far forward this plate will move pass the latch mechanism [jam] and this would allow it to flip up on that side and come out. The way I understand this the latch mechanism is the only thing holding the plate on the "right" side. The shorter plate could be modified to stop before this would happen or be very careful. I think this could be a problem both forward and backward. I hate to say this, but if you have a lot of money invested in your equipment etc. I would have to go with the right plate. Unless you JB weld a spot on both sides of that short plate or some other means.
Click to expand...

Steve,

This is exactly as it goes, well explained. An easier way to modify stoppers for the old-style plate would be to drill holes through the plate into appropriate places, tap them, and install allen-key screws, the heads of which would meet the stopper knobbies on the video head before the latch loses grip. This would be easier to do with tools that many people have.

But as I looked at the whole job now trying to determine what would work, I discovered another obstacle to the safe and secure use of older mounting plates. Namely, the latch mechanism is spring-loaded to keep it secure while not tightened down. The new plate that comes with the head has a right-angle lip along its length, and this prevents the latch from wedging open before it is tightened. The old style plates have an angled edge all the way (like the side of a pyramid), and if you snap such a plate onto the head, unless you have screwed the latch at least semi-tight, the plate will come off by twisting up the latch-side edge. This means that even with modified stoppers, an old style plate would not be 100% secure unless the latch is tightened. I think this second problem is not quite as big a risk, as you do need to twist the plate for this to happen, but if you were adjusting the front-back balance of a scope carelessly and bumped the scope in the process, it could perhaps happen. Installing the right kinds of stoppers would in my view be mandatory for someone contemplating using the older plates, but then it would be wise to at least experiment with how easily the plate comes off before settling on ones routines of how to use it.

Kimmo
 
Hi Kimmo, It is hard to tell exactly how the plate and mounting surface is made on this new mount just by the pictures. The fellow on the video should of checked all this out a little better. I am glad you have one of these heads and can explain this better.

I should get the longer plate sometime for my 501 mount esp. when I have this scope on it. I can move the scope in the rings if need be.
http://www.birdforum.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=291192&d=1288573985
 
The cost of the 500AH plates is causing me to rethink buying their heads. They are giving the public a good reason not to buy them with their steep price on the plates.
 
It is a firm just taking the p. how can a simple bevelled bit of metal cost half the price of a fluid dampened really nice head. Amazing no firm has got in and made an independent version but there is maybe not a big enough market?
 
Warning! This thread is more than 11 years ago old.
It's likely that no further discussion is required, in which case we recommend starting a new thread. If however you feel your response is required you can still do so.

Similar threads

Saxatilis
Gitzo long plate for G2380 video head
Replies
17
Views
3K
Hermann
Hermann
Z
Manfrotto/swiss arca adaptation
Replies
1
Views
2K
z-ben
Z
D
Head for Swaro X115?
Replies
9
Views
2K
Birdister
B
T
Ball Heads
Replies
6
Views
1K
chill6x6
chill6x6
Lewis
Manfrotto 501 Head Quick-release Plate Compatible with 2003 Fieldscope
Replies
1
Views
700
jring
J

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)
Back
Top