Gitzo has served me well and still still seem the best and I will continue to use it....one failure in hundreds of success stories is not a reasonable argument. To be swayed I need more specifics, anything will fail in certain given extremes!
diverhank wrote:
I was gonna buy a Gitzo tripod when I get my big lens in the near future...guess it will be another brand.
That was easy! So, you're basing your decision on just one case? How many satisfied owners have you met? Probably not that many since they don't share their story across the internet. You only read about the problems. There are plenty of excellently designed and manufactured devices out there, from tripods to cars to cameras, and every one of them has a failure rate, even if it is small. Do a little more research and make an informed decision.
diverhank wrote:
I was gonna buy a Gitzo tripod when I get my big lens in the near future...guess it will be another brand.
What brand will you buy instead? A brand that never had one complain on the internet Good luck with that. I hope you don't read anything about the big lens here. Then you have to buy something else
I currently have 3 gitzo tripods. They are subjected to some tough conditions, and they all have served me well with no issues. There will certainly be problems in any batch of product. In my opinion, something of this magnitude looks to be some sort of initial weakness in that part that eventually became much worse. My tripods have banged off rocks, been in salt/fresh water, and have been exposed to some bad conditions, but I have never had a problem like that.
Just as with most things on the internet, you'll find that those who are happy with the equipment seldom speak much about their satisfaction, but who have problems (and in this case righteously so) will carry the bigger megaphone. I have a friend who uses a RRS tripod that has been in the shop on so many occasions that he is on a first name basis with the repair deparment, but that doesn't mean they make poor quality tripods. Likewise, when you see a tripod like this that has a failure, that doesn't speak to Gitzo as a whole --- otherwise you would see far more instances of issues.
What does make a difference is how a company deals with such an issue after the fact. That is an area where Gitzo definitely has some problems. Their repairs can take a VEEEERRRRYYY long time.
sjms wrote:
so, why is your friend in so often having it repaired? i'm interested and I believe others would be too.
I don't know the specifics, but I think it had something to do with the leg locks. I'll ask him for more details next time I see him. He had one of their first models, so maybe they were still working out some of the bugs.
Ben Horne wrote:
I don't know the specifics, but I think it had something to do with the leg locks. I'll ask him for more details next time I see him. He had one of their first models, so maybe they were still working out some of the bugs.
Thats what happened to me. One of the leg locks on my tvc34l went limp and didn't ratchet within the first week of me owning it. I took it in (i live near rrs) and they fixed it in 10mins while I waited. Been fine since.
Every manufacturer has quality issues and I agree that its really about how they fix a problem when one happens
Ben Horne wrote:
I don't know the specifics, but I think it had something to do with the leg locks. I'll ask him for more details next time I see him. He had one of their first models, so maybe they were still working out some of the bugs.
yep, they did have an issue with the spring back on the leg position locks on the early versions. I had gotten info from them about that. it was resolved.
it did not render the affected tripods unusable. just sort of reverted it to the Gitzo mode of setting.
I too had a very early one but mine didn't have the issue but I sent it back as a precaution.
more please.
"I have a friend who uses a RRS tripod that has been in the shop on so many occasions that he is on a first name basis with the repair deparment"
the biggest issue with composites are the adhesives used and temperature. metal can take a lot more "abuse" in building. temperatures, types of adhesives, interference fitting, riveting and such.
