Creeping new tripod

Donk1166

Donk1166

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Just took delivery of my first tripod, a Manfrotto MKC3-P02. First impressions are that it's a nice compact tripod, just what I needed.

My issue is a bit of creep when my camera's on it. I've only got a Nikon D5100 with a 55-200 lens on it. I find that I line up my shot, tighten the mount, but then it drops my a millimetre or so when I let go of the camera. Really annoying as the shot isn't the same.

Is this normal & I have to work around it? Or is it fault with the tripod? I've tested the mount without the camera & it's rock solid so I can't figure out where the movement is coming from
 
The first point of call is to check the maximum load rating of the tripod head - not the tripod itself - against the weight of your camera/lens combination. It sounds like you may have exceeded the rating :)

One of the problems of lightweight tripod gear is that in order to make it lighter the manufacturer has to make it slimmer/smaller and that effects strength and, therefore, load ability.
 
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That tripod has a max load bearing of 1.5kg. With any tripod I would allow at least 500g leeway on that. Your combination would be over a kg? You're pushing it a bit. You really need a tripod with a [suggested] bearing weight of 5kg to keep you covered.
 
Is it the tripod that drops or the head?

As I don't know better this sounds like a ball head issue?
 
I would say it's the head too. I had an all in one manfrotto tripod. It claimed to hold 3.5KG, I got sag with less than 2.5KG combination [D90 + 80-200] It was pure frustration. Set up your shot,you've framed perfectly [well, in your eyes] and let go, only for it to sag about a centimeter. That's unforgivable of them.

This is why I always allow 500g - 1KG leeway, no matter what they claim it will hold.
 
Ball heads do tend to creep a little - they're faster to set up but if framing is absolutely critical, you lose any time saved by having to recompose or zoom out slightly with a view to cropping to your visualised framing. I've recently bought a Manfrotto 410 geared head, which allows pinpoint accuracy in framing and doesn't creep at all. Using the gear release knobs, it's not too slow in use and is very accurate.
 
I have to take the blame then really!! I didn't look at the weight of my camera so it's my own fault. Also I wanted a cheap tripod as I won't use it too often & thought this was a bargain. I'd been borrowing my dads Jessops tripod until now.

Can't justify sending it back as when the ball head is locked its very tight & the tripod is solid too. I'll try it with my smaller lens & see if its any better
 
Just researched my camera & the body weighs 510g, the lens weighs 335g. So at 845g it shouldn't be creeping
 
ive just abandoned my jessops cheapy tripod in favour for a manfrotto and im well happy.... im not sure what head you've got on yours but on mine theres an adjustment dial underneath which controls friction to eliminate any creep.....
 
tezmed said:
ive just abandoned my jessops cheapy tripod in favour for a manfrotto and im well happy.... im not sure what head you've got on yours but on mine theres an adjustment dial underneath which controls friction to eliminate any creep.....
Click to expand...

I'm guessing you spent a bit more than me. Mine's just an entry level job, no dials to adjust anything. I should lower my expectations
 
jessops had a cheaper manfrotto tripod (4 x extendable legs) with a really handy pan and ball head..... i debated it for a while but the actual legs and stability of it wasnt great.... the tripod was £120 and the head i chose was £99.... they did a deal so i payed £180 for both which i was more than happy with to be honest..... my jessops one had cost about £70 and the people at bushy last week could see how useless it was in many ways....

i tried the cheap option and learned from it.... the one ive got now is not the best one out there by a long shot but more than fulfils my requirements......

(for ref the items i got was 055xprob tripod with a 324rc2 head)
 
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