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Just wondered if anyone has any experience in fixing a Manfrotto 410 head?

The vertical/horizontal section of mine seized up the other day so disassembled that section, couldn't see anything obviously wrong so reassembled it. It first appeared that it had fixed the problem but am now left with a slight (about 5 degree) rocking movement in that section and can't seem to see what's causing it!

I could just send it to their service dept. for repair but have feeling it's something quite simple... any advice will be gratefully received.

Paul

I took mine apart because it had a slight rock. It all went back together again fine. Have you got any bits left over?

Joanna Carter wrote:Have you got any bits left over?

I once took a tape cassette player apart which had seized up, put it all back together again only to find that I had a small pile of springs and screws left over... it worked fine for the next 2-3 years!

Hi Paul,

I vaguely remember having a slight "looseness" on my 410 not long after I bought it. I resolved it by taking off the covering sticker with the degree graduations on it and tightening the central screw that lies underneath. Of course, which one you need to remove depends on the axis with the slack

Regards,
Mike

Have done all that... spent the best part of 2 hours the other evening taking it apart and reassembling to no avail... thanks for taking the time to reply though Mike.

Paul

Paul,

If you have a small amount of movement then isn't it likely that something is either loose or not fitted correctly?

When you say the vertical section, are you referring to the part that fits to the tripod centre column?

Mike

Hi Paul,

I think you need to take the head apart again and move the nylon gears round to a new position, I have had a rocking movement a couple of times and this as sorted it out, I guess the gears can wear being used in the same place most of the time.

Richard

@Mike - no it's the top part that gives you the horizontal and vertical axis

@Richard - thanks for that piece of advice Richard will give it a go this evening

Paul

Dissemble the head again Paul

Then rotate the external alloy geared cup portion 90 deg or so. The teeth get worn easily and this gives it more life moving the working section. This wear to the soft alloy is one of the drawbacks of the 410 and 405 heads.

Thanks for the tip Baxter, will give it one more go... if it doesn't work then it's off to the Manfrotto service centre!

Paul

I have been following this thread with interest as I want to purchase a geared head. I thought about the Manfrotto 410 but almost decided on the 405 as the load capacity was larger.

However from what has been said on this thread it seems that the construction of both 405 and 410 are very similar. Can anyone confirm this?

The Manfrotto 400 is about £100 more expensive than the 405 is it worth the extra money?

Are there any other geared heads similarly priced and of good quality out there?

Thanks in advance for your comments.

nn

No idea of the number of my Manfrotto head but it did need some adjustment, I acquired it second hand around 4 years ago.

Ian