Tripod Destruction :)

jerry12953 said:
Quote " Do not buy tripod legs with concentric twist locks. These devices are not designed for sand, mud and water - home territory of the landscape photographer. Exposed to such conditions, the leg extensions in a short time stiffen and sieze up completely. To keep them working requires time-consuming disassembly for cleaning and drying of interior parts. In my experience, all brands, no matter how prestigious, are susceptible to this problem"

(My italics. I think he means Gitzo)

[Tim Fitzharris - National Audobon Society Guide to Landcspae Photography]

He recommends

Manfrotto 055MF3
Slik PRO 883
Velbon PRO CF-631EL

(American Model no's)

It's a really good book, by the way.....

Edit : Too late, I see.
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Soon find out :D Gitzo have claimed it is designed for this use, it has new features not seen on the other models (and I presume not seen by the author of the book, seeing as the tripod is new to market). Apparently it pushes sand / salt and sea water "back out" should it get in. If it fails to live up to the claims, well I will send them a very nasty letter! :lol: :D

Gary.
 
EdinburghGary said:
:D Do you like it? Any issues?
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Fantastic piece of equipment.

Its a GT 2531EX. Only gripe really is that pulling the centre column up feels very rickety. But once you tighten it up it's fine. Haven't had problems with sand etc in the leg threads though. It's probably just a matter of time.

Oh, the other thing is the weight. At the start of the day it weighs about 0.5 kg. At the end 5 kg!

Anybody else noticed this?;)
 
Why not contact the manufacturers, explain your position, find out if they have any plans to offer better protected tripods, then tell them you are volunteering to do real world testing for them, you never know, you might get some free samples out of them.
 
aberal said:
Each to their own, but a friend of mine lent me a Benbo to try out once and setting it up caused my patience threshold to exceed its maximum limit within about 5 seconds. It's like trying to have sex with an octopus.
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Strange Bedfellows !!!!!​
C
 
Ceejay said:
Strange Bedfellows !!!!!​
C
Click to expand...

:lol:

48thEagle said:
Why not contact the manufacturers, explain your position, find out if they have any plans to offer better protected tripods, then tell them you are volunteering to do real world testing for them, you never know, you might get some free samples out of them.
Click to expand...

I wonder if they would play ball....deffo worth a try!

jerry12953 said:
Fantastic piece of equipment.

Its a GT 2531EX. Only gripe really is that pulling the centre column up feels very rickety. But once you tighten it up it's fine. Haven't had problems with sand etc in the leg threads though. It's probably just a matter of time.

Oh, the other thing is the weight. At the start of the day it weighs about 0.5 kg. At the end 5 kg!

Anybody else noticed this?;)
Click to expand...

My current tripod feels about 5KG at first, and well - you don't wanna know :D

I was almost crying on one of the latest TP meets. Had to carry it for 5 miles!

Gary.
 
Get a wood and brass one. Give it a rub with Teak oil once a year, and a dunk in the bath once in a while. as long as you let it dry no problem.

What I cant understand is why modern tripods don't use stainless pins, bolts and nuts.
The difference in price in bulk is minuscule.
 
I have a Gitzo 5 series and it is one of the best pieces of kit I own, not cheap at £500 second hand but it is built like a tank and spends much of its time in the Devon sea or in the rivers of Dartmoor. Cant see me ever getting a new one unless I lose it. :D
 
aberal said:
Each to their own, but a friend of mine lent me a Benbo to try out once and setting it up caused my patience threshold to exceed its maximum limit within about 5 seconds. It's like trying to have sex with an octopus.
Click to expand...

I find it ok, (no not the sex with the octous bit! they never phone you after) theres just getting used to it, the benbo is just different.
The only other answer really is to just buy a few cheap crappy tripods and bin them when the die.
 
what about a surveyers tripod (they're called something else but I forgot) and get an adapter made up to mount a normal head onto it they are built for rough conditions

or pack a normal tripod with grease maybe?

oh sod you've bought it already meh disregard above advice :D
 
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