Tripod: I'm so upset

Angelo · July 4, 2005

I arrived at the Hollywood Bowl last night (concert venue) early enough to stake out a good location, other than my assigned seat, where I could set up for fireworks photos. I was so anxious and prepared to capture some of the best shots EVER (

) but wouldn't you know it... as I extended the first leg of my tripod and attempted to lock it the little snappy-lock thingamajig broke!!! Oh, am I mad. :wxwax

Anyone know if these are fixable? I hope I don't have to replace an entire tripod because of a silly little $.20 piece of plastic.

Mongrel · July 4, 2005

Angelo,
sorry to hear of your misfortune. I know the feeling of covering all the bases only to have something unexpected happen. And, frankly, having a tripod lock fail is one of the things I would never expect to happen

!

What brand of tripod do you have? If it's one of the more popular brands-i.e. Gitzo, Manfrotto, Slik, you should be able to order a replacement part for it-possibly for free. I would contact the manufacturer and find out. You could offer to send them some pics of the broken leg lock as proof. They'd probably just send you the part in the mail.

Again, sorry to hear about your trouble. Were you able to use it in the low position without needing the lock? Granted, a real PITA, but at least it would be stable.

Take care,

Mongrel

Angelo · July 4, 2005

Good morning and Happy 4th to you Mongrel.

It's an RCA video tripod I've had for a long time. I'm going to walk it into Samy's tomorrow and see if they can advise. Looking it over, I can't see how the joint can be replaced, but there may be a trick I'm unaware of.

I was able to use it in a shorter stance. each leg has 3 telescoping lengths and I was able to extend 2 on each leg. So I did a little kneeling!

Funny thing is, Jeff had lent me his monopod to try out but it was in my car and I wasn't going to hike all the way back through the parking lot to get it. :cry

jwear · July 4, 2005

Angelo wrote:

Good morning and Happy 4th to you Mongrel.

It's an RCA video tripod I've had for a long time. I'm going to walk it into Samy's tomorrow and see if they can advise. Looking it over, I can't see how the joint can be replaced, but there may be a trick I'm unaware of.

I was able to use it in a shorter stance. each leg has 3 telescoping lengths and I was able to extend 2 on each leg. So I did a little kneeling!

Funny thing is, Jeff had lent me his monopod to try out but it was in my car and I wasn't going to hike all the way back through the parking lot to get it. :cry

that mono pod is for fishing and poking people next to you !you lazy duck tape and the mono pod and a tripod you do have --shame on you

Angelo · July 4, 2005

jwear wrote:

that mono pod is for fishing and poking people next to you !you lazy duck tape and the mono pod and a tripod you do have --shame on you

I am not worthy :cry

Angelo · July 4, 2005

no one else ever have this happen? know of a certain fix?

robscomputer · July 4, 2005

I'm not sure if it would be worth fixing if your tripod is an older model or purchased for less than $50. Since it's going to be hard to find the excat part replacement you might looking for a while, or paying more than expected.

I would recommend going with either a higher end tripod from Bogen or another company. Also there are very nice tripods from popular camera stores that are built tough but at a lower pricing than Bogen and Gitzo.

For example, Ritz's sells the Quantaray QSX made by Sunpak for $100, including an extra quick release head.

Rob

Angelo · July 4, 2005

robscomputer wrote:

I'm not sure if it would be worth fixing if your tripod is an older model or purchased for less than $50. Since it's going to be hard to find the excat part replacement you might looking for a while, or paying more than expected.

I would recommend going with either a higher end tripod from Bogen or another company. Also there are very nice tripods from popular camera stores that are built tough but at a lower pricing than Bogen and Gitzo.

For example, Ritz's sells the Quantaray QSX made by Sunpak for $100, including an extra quick release head.

Rob

thanks Rob, I'll look into it.

luckyrwe · July 5, 2005

Hey Angelo, you can always get the tripod I got at the camera show....

graflexTom · July 29, 2005

I use to go through at least a Tripod a Year... I bought them at sears or the cheap one here and there. The Plastic things as you put it always broke. I realized I could have had a Bogen for what I had spent over just a couple of Years I went and forked out the Money for a Bogen. Never had to buy another tripod since. 10 years ago. And they have replacement parts!!!!

blackwaterstudio · July 29, 2005

Angelo,
Invest in a good soild tripod, Manfrotto for example. They are worth their weight in gold.

Tripod: I'm so upset

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