Manfrotto 498rc4 - Not quite like a 486

Manfrotto's ballheads are reasonably priced items that will last a lifetime. I had a 486rc2 compact ballhead that served me well but wanted something that was a little bigger.



Step in the 498rc4 midi ballhead.

The Manfrotto options for upgrade were relatively simple - the 498 is the model up and comes in two flavours: rc2 and rc4. The RC2 is a small QR plate whilst the RC4 has a much larger QR plate and is more suitable for heavier load/longer lenses. Furthermore, the RC4 provides a much more secure connection to the ballhead: the RC2's release latch is secured via a short metal stop, preventing the release latch opening but this can be mistakenly knocked and available for release - there is no fear that the RC4 QR plate will be accidentally released by user error it requires a simultaneous grip and pull to release.


^{486rc2 QR plate}

The 498 provides independent locking for pan (side-side) and ballhead tilt - an improvement over the old compact ballheads which only has one locking mechanism. However one area that was disappointing was the build quality of the new style locking mechanisms.


^{498rc4 QR plate}

Whilst the 498 ballhead is still of metal construction, the older versions of the midi ballhead - up to and including the 488 - all have metal locking handles. With the cost cutting on materials it feels that they have cheapened this model irrespective of the features.