TRIPOD ADJUSTMENT

[alexam]

I have a large Tripod, Mamiya 1507, nice and solid, but I bought it many years ago when I was filming and it supported the film camera well.

Now I am into DSLR, I would prefer to have shorter pan and tilt arms, which are about 17 & 21 cm long. Any ideas please?

Malcolm

 

[steve_lyt]

if ther tripod doesn`t have a great value (money) you could cut or get the arms cut to a smaller size, or sell it and get a camera tripod

Cheers Steve

 

[alexam]

Thanks Steve but I would prefer to retain the tripod as it's good and solid and something similar today would probably cost £2-300. Cutting the arms is a solution but I would need some means of adding a serrated handle to tighten the two - (pan & tilt ) sections. It's just that they do tend to get in the way more with the DSLR that in the old days with the film camera.

Malcolm

 

[tijuana taxi]

Is the head an integral part or does it detach, guessing its the former if you are considering cutting the arms down. If not the obvious answer is get a new head if you like the legs, must be a weighty beast though

If the arms are cut down maybe wrap the ends with bicycle handlebar grip tape, should be enough for you to twist and tighten

 

[gramps]

Could you fit a ballhead, much more versatile.

 

[Peter]

If it's a reasonable tripod you should be able to remove (unscrew) the head leaving a 3/8 male thread (or possibly 1/4) which you can then fit any Manfrotto or other ball or three way head too.

pete

 

[Ozei]

If the threads are the same, you could swap the arms for shorter ones from another manufacturer - e.g. Gitzo.

I had a Gitzo G2272M head and the three arms are all available as spares.

http://www.gitzo.co.uk/service/service+&+repair/?f=s&v=2272m&x=13&y=13 - see pdf download 20040625.

 

[Ozei]

PS. Can't find any pics of the Mamiya 1507, only this AW701 http://www.mamiya.co.jp/home/camera/eng/products/tripod/index.html

 

[alexam]

Much bigger and heavier that those. Has a centre support on the legs, extends up to 2m and head platform is 3.5" x 3.5", with spirit levels on two sides as well as a spirit bubble on the top of the legs. Screw out rubber feet with spikes when those are screwed in and it weighs 4Kg.

Have looked myself but cannot find any pictures on the web, perhaps I should photograph it. lol.

The pan & tilt head does not seem to be detachable as other tripods I have, which can be loostened by a swift strike when the pan head is locked.

Guess I will have to make do and work around the problem, although I have e-mailed the Mamyia UK distributor.

Thanks for looking anyway.

Malcolm

 

[Ozei]

You might still be able to swap the arms with those from another manufacturer - such as Gitzo (provided the threads are the same diameter & pitch). Two of the three arms on my 2272 were definitely shorter than 17cm.

The other option is to get a local engineering firm to shorten & re-thread the existing arms.