Manfrotto 055XPROB Modification

[Bear Dale]

Hi all,
I really like my Manfrotto 055XPROB Tripod except for one thing and that's the center piece pole that can be raised up and down. The legs are absolutely rock solid but there's always been movement in that center column so it was time for some modifications and removal of that column which was something that I have never used and turned a brass locking knob up.
There's now zero movement at that critical place where you don't want any movement in a tripod and with the rock steady legs I'm pretty happy with this couple of hours of machining and fiddling having the tripod head in pieces and getting it back together.

Stock Standard 055XPROB -




Center Column removed which necessitated a complete tear down of the tripod -




Machined up a new head out of two pieces of aluminium bar stock with the smaller section socketed into the larger 3" section and then a 3/8" bolt put through the center for the head -







Underneath showing the new inserted and now no center column -




New head in place -

[jim]

Interesting idea. I have the same tripod and the centre column only gets in the way, though I can't find any movement there.

[Tannin]

This is a great mod, BM.

Centre columns are a complete pain, and practically useless. Except when they are really solidly made and geared so that you wind them up, which works fine even with a really heavy lens. even then they are still a complete pain because you still can't get down low to the ground. Nevertheless, this is what I mostly do, accepting that I sink to the ankles in soft ground.

Anther thing you can do, albeit at vast expense, is use one of those Gitzo tripods which have interchangeable heads. You can get flat heads, geared heads, column heads, whatever you like, and swap between them if desired. Cost a bomb though. Benro make a very similar system at about a third of the cost. Not copied, of course. No no, of course not. Well, OK, but only a little bit copied. Not more than ... oh ... certainly no more than 100% copied.

[Bear Dale]

Thanks Jim & thanks Tony, really happy with the way this turned out. Its as close to a Gitzo that I will ever have.

- - - Updated - - -

Just to add I'm super impressed with the Sirui ball head, I've had a lot of tripod heads and its the best I've ever owned.

[Bear Dale]

Had the Sirui ball head for nearly a year now, brilliant piece of gear!