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I caught a blog from Cornish coastscape photographer and fellow Flickrite Joe Rainbow. It concerns the use of CF tripods and subsequent failure in his experience. The blog reads...
"If like me, you thought that a carbon fiber tripod would be pretty much indestructible then think again. I bought the Manfrotto 190CX Pro4 section about 9 months ago, after the complete corrosive meltdown of my old Manfrotto 055 3 section from salt water immersion. It basically got too frustrating to use, the legs stuck and began literally falling apart, full of white salty powder from having it sat in the ocean for too long.
Now, when I bought the much more expensive CF version I made a mental pact to look after it REALLY well. I would not want to keep buying tripods like this. So I would come in from a shoot, wash the tripod under the shower, dry it off and make sure all of the sand and salt were washed away. I was happy that this was working well, and my tripod not only looked nicer, but worked so much more smoothly.
Fast forward to last week, when I find my trusty tripod isn't working so well. Why won't that leg stay up when I have just tightened it? Weird. Closer inspection reveals a crack right through the leg joint at the bottom and smallest section! I don't remember dropping my tripod. I haven't dropped my tripod. Where did that crack come from? OH NO! There is another one on the middle joint of the same leg! I can't believe it. Still well under warranty, I phone camera king that I bought it from, and very speedily and helpfully, they say I should send the complaint to Manfrotto, in fact they did that for me. I get a call from the technical support at Manfrotto that says what is the problem?
I explain the situation and emphasise the care I have taken in looking after the tripod. With a tinge of sadness and understanding in his voice, he explained that when a Carbon fiber tripod gets wet, it expands and that can cause the joints to become too tight, to the point where they snap!!! I never knew that. He said he had asked Manfrotto's main Italian branch about this situation, and their official take is that "you wouldn't get your camera wet, so why would you get your tripod wet?"
What the hell. They are not the same things at all! I say. A camera is a highly sensitive piece of electrical equipment and the tripod is a few sticks that hold it up. Why should I expect it to snap itself. He says that I would need to send the tripod to him for an evaluation of what caused the problem. That would cost as much as buying the two parts that need replacing. They were £11 each. Yep, each. Imagine if all 9 broke......In the end, he was very apologetic and said he would send them minus the postage cost. He also included a tool for tightening them and the clips were also present which I wasn't expecting.
To stop your Carbon fiber tripod from breaking itself if it has become wet (god help you for doing that crime), loosen the joints periodically, then tighten them just enough to grip sufficiently. As the service engineer said, "it is a constant battle".
If you are thinking of buying a light weight and very useful Carbon Fiber tripod, think very carefully about it."
"If like me, you thought that a carbon fiber tripod would be pretty much indestructible then think again. I bought the Manfrotto 190CX Pro4 section about 9 months ago, after the complete corrosive meltdown of my old Manfrotto 055 3 section from salt water immersion. It basically got too frustrating to use, the legs stuck and began literally falling apart, full of white salty powder from having it sat in the ocean for too long.
Now, when I bought the much more expensive CF version I made a mental pact to look after it REALLY well. I would not want to keep buying tripods like this. So I would come in from a shoot, wash the tripod under the shower, dry it off and make sure all of the sand and salt were washed away. I was happy that this was working well, and my tripod not only looked nicer, but worked so much more smoothly.
Fast forward to last week, when I find my trusty tripod isn't working so well. Why won't that leg stay up when I have just tightened it? Weird. Closer inspection reveals a crack right through the leg joint at the bottom and smallest section! I don't remember dropping my tripod. I haven't dropped my tripod. Where did that crack come from? OH NO! There is another one on the middle joint of the same leg! I can't believe it. Still well under warranty, I phone camera king that I bought it from, and very speedily and helpfully, they say I should send the complaint to Manfrotto, in fact they did that for me. I get a call from the technical support at Manfrotto that says what is the problem?
I explain the situation and emphasise the care I have taken in looking after the tripod. With a tinge of sadness and understanding in his voice, he explained that when a Carbon fiber tripod gets wet, it expands and that can cause the joints to become too tight, to the point where they snap!!! I never knew that. He said he had asked Manfrotto's main Italian branch about this situation, and their official take is that "you wouldn't get your camera wet, so why would you get your tripod wet?"
What the hell. They are not the same things at all! I say. A camera is a highly sensitive piece of electrical equipment and the tripod is a few sticks that hold it up. Why should I expect it to snap itself. He says that I would need to send the tripod to him for an evaluation of what caused the problem. That would cost as much as buying the two parts that need replacing. They were £11 each. Yep, each. Imagine if all 9 broke......In the end, he was very apologetic and said he would send them minus the postage cost. He also included a tool for tightening them and the clips were also present which I wasn't expecting.
To stop your Carbon fiber tripod from breaking itself if it has become wet (god help you for doing that crime), loosen the joints periodically, then tighten them just enough to grip sufficiently. As the service engineer said, "it is a constant battle".
If you are thinking of buying a light weight and very useful Carbon Fiber tripod, think very carefully about it."
:shrug:
