[Vipertsniper]

I have spent ages searching this ... In the manual it advises not to over tighten the screw on your tripod mount..
Now the thing is every time I try to use my tripod I can't get the camera to stay put . After finger tightening to a point where I could not turn any more ...there was still movement.
I did end up getting a screwdriver out and twisting a little more ... This made the camera stable but I am worried about over tightening.
The thing is the socket doesn't seem to be totally aligned with the hole on the outer case I don't know if I have done this or it was like it before....
What damage could I possibly do .as I thought it was a metal frame ?
And how do I get my camera stable on the mounting plate without tightening so much ?
Any help I would be grateful
I know it may sound silly but I have read so many posts advising not to overtighten but then none really elaborate

[Chaos_Realm]

you could put a couple of elastic bands around the tripod plate (between the camera base and plate) or a very thin sheet of rubber across the top of the whole plate then that should give it a bit more grip once tightened, My tripod head has a bit of cork which compresses a bit when tightening and holds pretty firmly. But you shouldn't need to tighten with a screw driver... having something (like the rubber) to compress between the base of camera and the plate should accommodate any misaligned threads.

Over tightening the tripod screw can pull the thread from the base of the camera or strip the thread. If this happens you in all sorts of trouble... bye bye tripod, battery grip, etc

[forestG]

you can tighten it up so it dosen't move, it'll handle that pressure. i lean on mine a fair bit and never had any issues

[philippe]

It could be that the screw, from the tripod, that's holding the camera, is a little to long and hitting the end of the of the screw opening in the bottom of the camera.
Also, a to long screw can damage the inner parts of the camera by pushing the end against these inner parts, just what happened with the LX at the time (new LX users are warned!). That's why there ware plastic spacers available.
As Chaos_realm said, a pice of rubber would do, you might cut a piece out of a lorry's inner tire (thicker than a car's one) and use that as a spacer, and it would give some more grip too.

BTW, amazing what can be done with an old inner tire...

[atekant]

Assuming there is nothing wrong with either the screw or the mount that causes the looseness, get a washer that fits, a somewhat thicker one with some meat on it. It will help with the grip of the screw on the body. If you want it to really hold, moisten the washer first.
I do this when I am taking vertical shots on the tripod with a big lens and the screw won't stay put as the camera tends to rotate.

[atupdate]

In the US they have rubber washers that are really cheap and work well. I bought the ones with the center hole 1 size smaller than the thread size of the tripod head so it will stay on when in storage.

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-100147280/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalo...&storeId=10051

Tim

[Vipertsniper]

Thank you all for your advice.... the mount does look a bit iffy ... but i really cant remember if its always been like it...



i do think i may have solved the movement issue .. the quick release has a rubber base .. so i have prised the edge up and glued a piece of elastic band along one edge so it creates a lip that sits along the edge of the camera. it doesnt look pretty but it doesnt move

[jatrax]

Another thing to consider is that a proper plate should have an anti-twist flange like this one: Markins pg-34. This keeps the camera from rotating on the plate and allows it to snug down without having to apply so much pressure as needed with a pure friction fit.

[LaurenOE]

Mechanics as they are, there is very little "give" if a tripod plate was to screw into the bottom of a camera without some kind of "compression" material between the plate and the camera. Pretty much every plate/tripod combination out there has "something" to compress. Cork, Rubber,Hard foam are all used.

I use these when I make custom camera mounts.

Self-Adhesive Foam Sheets, Multi Colors, 40-Pack

They are also sold in Michaels or other craft stores. They work great for making custom pads and they have adhesive backing.

Here is a custom mount I made for my Optio, with the custom foam compression material that sits between the camera and the aluminum of the plate/bracket.