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sirch

sirch

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I was out walking at the weekend with my Gitzo carbon fibre tripod strapped to the back pack, When I took the pack off to change lens I happened to notice that the bottom section of one leg was missing along with the locking "nut", it must have come unscrewed and fallen off, I'm not sure how. So I went looking for spares and the leg section plus the nut and delivery comes to nearly £70, I know Gitzo are not cheap but I bought the tripod on offer for around £300 IIRC and a decent brand carbon tripod can be had in the £200-£300 range so £70 for what is essentially one leg section is quite a chunk of the value.

It's also disappointing that there is no stop or retainer on the nut or leg and that the thing can just fall apart especially on an expensive tripod like a Gitzo. Lesson learned I guess, I have ordered the parts, what else could I do? I guess a tripod bag might be an idea, at least all the bits will be together next time it randomly falls apart.
 
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Ed Sutton said:
Asuming the tripod feet were lowermost, could you carry it the other way up?
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And lose your head :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO: :ROFLMAO:

In all seriousness, I find tripod bags a PITA, as once you've taken teh tripod out you need to find somewhere to store the bag, and even light padded bags end up being bulky when folded. I had a client who managed to unscrew a Benro leg completely in the dark on a workshop, so I don't think Gitzo will be the only company where the legs come completely out. In this scenario I'd use a short bungee wrapped around the lower leg part when tripod is folded, that should keep it all secure.
 
Rubber feet on Gitzo tripods also have a habit of working loose and falling off.

If you don't have the newer ones with the washer get suitable size O rings and fit them yourself.
Another rather costly item to replace otherwise
 
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I use a tripod bag for just this reason after a similar problem with an old Manfrotto tripod. They are a PITA to stow, but for me it makes it easier to carry as I can just sling it over the back of the wheelchair. When in use, I just sit on the empty bag.
 
I lost one of the rubber feet from my gitzo, it was the only leg I hadn't squeezed into the side pocket. Cost me £30 for gen replacements.

I now always squeeze every leg into the side pocket and thread lock the feet too.
 
One of my students managed to completely disassemble a 3LT tripod in a similar manner. No one could get it back together again - even with all the bits!

Upside down carry as Dave sugested seems like the best solution :(
 
The upside down carry is not something I had though of and the head falling off is likely to be a bit more noticeable than one carbon leg section, although the tripod is still usable without a leg section, no so much without the head. May be somehting like a strong black bin bag would be enough to keep it together and easy to stuff in a pocket when not in use.
 
I carry my Manfrotto tripod in a Jessops Tripod bag as I figured few people would steal a Jessops tripod. I damaged one of the lower extensions on my Manfrotto but the replacement part from Manfrotto was reasonably priced.

Dave
 
I carry tripods inverted and never had any issue... I guess threaded parts want to work themselves together/tighter when carried that way. If the locking collars are so loose that they work themselves free easily, I think I would apply a few wraps of plumber's tape.
 
Same sort of thing, I took my 300mm f/4 out of the bag to put on the camera and dropped the hood while trying to attach it. The hood had a small removeable lug that enables you to use a filter and that went flying into the grass. After searching for ages I gave up looking and came home to try and buy the missing piece only to find they are not sold seperately and a new hood is nearly £70.

Still fuming over that one.
 
Mike.P said:
Same sort of thing, I took my 300mm f/4 out of the bag to put on the camera and dropped the hood while trying to attach it. The hood had a small removeable lug that enables you to use a filter and that went flying into the grass. After searching for ages I gave up looking and came home to try and buy the missing piece only to find they are not sold seperately and a new hood is nearly £70.

Still fuming over that one.
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I feel your pain.

Graham W said:
Retrace your steps? ;)
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I'd walked about 6km and it was late afternoon when I noticed the loss. I did go back a bit to one of the locations I had previously stopped to shoot at just to see but there wasn't the time or light to do much more ;) ;) ;)
 
We were out a few months ago, walking up a local hill, and I stopped waited for the other half to catch up. As she did and I started walking again, she picked something up. "looks like a rubber foot thing from a tripod" she said. Yes, she was right. It was from my 3LT that was strapped to my bag!

Chances of that!

I swapped them out for spikes now anyway!
 
I've seen this happen to a colleagues Gitzo. It's not a problem that is exclusive to Gitzo it is an issue that affect most tripods which have twist lock legs.
 
redsnappa said:
I've seen this happen to a colleagues Gitzo. It's not a problem that is exclusive to Gitzo it is an issue that affect most tripods which have twist lock legs.
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I'm sure it is but it can't be that hard to put some sort of detent, tab, lip, clip, bump etc. on the ferrule and leg that just provides some resistance to it coming off at the end of its travel? Especially on more expensive models,

I mentioned this before on here but I also have a big heavy Manfrotto that fell apart completely in the field 3 months after I bought it. I am seriously wondering why these tripods are so expensive if they are not well made. I have a really cheap Chinese tripod that I take caving, it gets submerged, covered in mud, bashed around, I've actually bent the leg once and had to bend it back and it went on for years before one leg came out of the head, I glued that back in and it's still going strong - its doing better and is more reliable than something that cost 10x as much, makes you wonder...
 
I too bought a gitzo on offer and one of the feet unscrews itself. So far not lost.
I think blue loctite might be a solution.
 
jerry12953 said:
And as long as you remember to switch the IS off.......as I discovered to my cost recently....... :(
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Not with my Canon Lenses. The instructions are quite clear that you can leave IS on when using a tripod as the lenses detect lack of movement and disable IS automatically. So I always leave it on and have never had a problem. However, it does not apply to all lenses so best to read the instructions.

Dave
 
redsnappa said:
I've seen this happen to a colleagues Gitzo. It's not a problem that is exclusive to Gitzo it is an issue that affect most tripods which have twist lock legs.
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every time i have looked at tripods with twist lock legs i have always found that this happens too easily and then it is a pain getting the leg section back in place. I know its a personal preference thing, but this really puts me off twist lock legs.
 
sirch said:
I'm sure it is but it can't be that hard to put some sort of detent, tab, lip, clip, bump etc. on the ferrule and leg that just provides some resistance to it coming off at the end of its travel? Especially on more expensive models,
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On most, the leg can't fall out unless the locking collar/nut comes completely off first; and that's more than a few turns...
 
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