Light & Shadow

Fixing a “Frozen” BH-55 Ballhead

 

Stiff ballhead with loose lock knob.

With a loose lock knob, the ballhead is still stiff. What the heck?


The BH-55 is our go-to ballhead for the strongest, most stable support from Really Right Stuff. With three knob controls, the powerhouse gives complete customize-able control over how the head pans and pivots. Looking at the back of the ballhead (opposite of the logo) there is the large main lock knob on the left and two stacked small knobs on the rob. The lower small knob controls the rotation of the ballhead on the 360° base, while the recessed upper knob controls drag tension for the balls movement. Here is a quick fix if your main lock knob is loose and yet the ballhead seems stuck or “frozen”:

 

1
Start by tightening the main lock knob to be fairly snug.
Tighten the main lock knob.

Tighten the main lock knob.


2
Spin the upper drag-set knob so that the numbers are decreasing, until it stops
Decrease the drag-knob tension.

Decrease the drag-knob tension.


3
Go back to the main lock knob and loosen the tension.
Loosen the main lock knob.

Loosen the main lock knob.


4
Voila! Your seemingly stuck ball head should now be free.
The ballhead is now loose.

Freedom!