I am currently shopping for a 3 series so this is useful info. I also agree that it makes sense to check out a new item like this carefully. However, I would expect that if an $800 tripod comes with a plate installed, it would be ready to use. Otherwise it should be un-attached for the user to install. Anything else is incomprehensible to me. It should be installed properly or not at all. My $250 Velbon came ready to use. I would expect nothing less from a top end tripod.
mhayes5254 wrote:
I am currently shopping for a 3 series so this is useful info. I also agree that it makes sense to check out a new item like this carefully. However, I would expect that if an $800 tripod comes with a plate installed, it would be ready to use. Otherwise it should be un-attached for the user to install. Anything else is incomprehensible to me. It should be installed properly or not at all. My $250 Velbon came ready to use. I would expect nothing less from a top end tripod.
Actually mine came with a bowl installed as it's the LSV model, I installed the supplied plate and tossed the bowl, so maybe that's a good thing.
mhayes5254 wrote:
Actually mine came with a bowl installed as it's the LSV model, I installed the supplied plate and tossed the bowl, so maybe that's a good thing.
Regards,
Roger
Mine came the same way and I did the same. I put a drop of Loctite 243 in the threads before tightening the nut. No loosness after a year and a half of travel.
xrayvision wrote:
Mine came the same way and I did the same. I put a drop of Loctite 243 in the threads before tightening the nut. No loosness after a year and a half of travel.
Naturescapes.net has come up with a fix for this issue in case anyone is interested.
What's the big fuss? It isn't like something was broken, just tighten it for god sake. Is it so hard to do? I tighten my G1349 when I bought it new 9 years ago, never had to do it again since and still super tight. People are expected to be spoonfeeded everything these days.
You might not have read through the entire thread or any of the relevant links. The problem is with the very newest systematic tripods, not models that are 9, 7, 4, 3, or even 2 years old.
Many have suggested just tighten it before use. Someone said it was like riding a horse, check the saddle and tackle before you go. Thats all well and fine, but the problem has been both with people who haven't checked the screw at all, based on previous experience with older models never failing, and with people who are anal and check it before, several times during, and even after the shoot.
Even the anal tighteners have reported cranking down the screw, and having the plate loose by the end of the day, or even within a few hours while carrying with their expensive big white glass attached. How would those horseback riders feel if just after checking and tightening the saddle it slipped and they went under the horse anyway?
Someone on the NatureScapes.net site has a rocket scientist friend (No, really, he is an independent contractor for NASA) that took a few minutes and designed an awesome fix to keep the baseplate mounted and secure even if the screw were to fall out.
The big fuss is multithousand dollar lens dropping from a tripod and meeting an untimely/ undeserved death. People do not expect to be spoonfed everything, but rather to have the new equipment work as dependably as your tighten once and never worry about it again for 9 years design, something the current design seems to have a few problems with.
Gitzo has know for a long, long time that photographers carry big lenses over the shoulder with their tripods. They should continue to say its not a recommended procedure, but they also should recognize and step up to at least make their system better. They didn't, the Naturescape guys did.
wlachan wrote:
What's the big fuss? It isn't like something was broken, just tighten it for god sake. Is it so hard to do? I tighten my G1349 when I bought it new 9 years ago, never had to do it again since and still super tight. People are expected to be spoonfeeded everything these days.
I just received one of the naturescapes.net Gitzo Safety Plates yesterday. These Safety Plates should now be pretty readily available for owners of Gitzo systematic tripods who are worried about loose or loosening base plates. You may want to take a look at these products.
Folks seemingly miss the fact or refuse to believe that the hex bolt tension indeed loosens after a days use in the field. Yes- literally tons, if not hundreds of thousands of fellow gitzo users have tripod that have worked flawlessly throughout the life of the product (as I also experienced with my previous G1325 in the past). That's great! Fact is it's an issue on *my* newer GT3530LS model and that's what matters for me. It may ring more clearly for you when you're transporting this setup on a tripod setup you've invested $1000+ in
DavidP, no- they don't have a solution for users with the leveling base (yet).
Porsche, fraga- I haven't heard any issue specific to center columns. Given the reduced stability with center columns, I don't imagine most folks with heavier setups are using them.
Thanks for the update. Although I have a center column for my Gitzo 5541LS (the "5541"), I have never used it.
The netscape.net safety plate is terrific device. I ordered one of these safety plates as soon as I learned that they were available in limited numbers for sale, and promptly installed it on my 5541.
Having had the base plate lift up on me with my 500mm and wimberley attached to the plate no longer attached the 3541xls (luckily it did not crash to the ground) I think I may be buying one of those safety plates from netscapes even though now I check the plate screw everytime I use the gitzo.
