p.2 #1 · Gitzo GH1382QD Ball Head on GT1545T Tripod (fold-over legs)?
Abbott, Congratulations on a superb deal. Even without the free monopod, that's one heckuva bargain. The versatility of that 2-series Traveller is unmatched in this category. All of the lower leg tubes are made of high modulus csrbon fiber, with thicker tube walls, and the 25 degree leg-angle is superb. The column also gives you that extra height adjustment when you nrrd it on sloped terrain,,, and the included short-column allows you to get really close to the ground. And, wait 'til you start using the GH-1382QD head,,,, you'll truly get the feeling that you're dealing with a piece of precidion machinery.
p.2 #2 · Gitzo GH1382QD Ball Head on GT1545T Tripod (fold-over legs)?
Uh oh,,,, I just looked at B&H and noticed they also have a 50 year anniversary kit which includes a 2-series Mountaineer tripod (GT-2542) with the 3-series GH-3382QD ball-head and the 3-way Fluid head GHF-3W for $849.`Free shipping and the duty and taxes added $191. U.S.
After carefully and agonizingly thinking it over for, , , maybe 3-seconds or so, I pulled the trigger. It should arrive in roughly a week to 9 days.
p.2 #3 · Gitzo GH1382QD Ball Head on GT1545T Tripod (fold-over legs)?
Bobarino wrote:
Uh oh,,,, I just looked at B&H and noticed they also have a 50 year anniversary kit which includes a 2-series Mountaineer tripod (GT-2542) with the 3-series GH-3382QD ball-head and the 3-way Fluid head GHF-3W for $849.`Free shipping and the duty and taxes added $191. U.S.
After carefully and agonizingly thinking it over for, , , maybe 3-seconds or so, I pulled the trigger. It should arrive in roughly a week to 9 days.
It took you that long to decide
I've got a Series 3 Mountaineer and love it, but it's bigger and heavier than I want to carry any distance. I've also got that head and really like it, other than its friction adjustment. The issue I have with both it and the GH1382QD head is that the rib on the friction adjustment knob protrudes from the lock knob a bit and is free to turn when the head's locked. That's less of a problem for me with the smaller head, but the large one kept loosening when I carried the tripod over my shoulder, resulting in the camera flopping when I loosen the lock. Easy to work around if you're careful about how you carry the tripod, but not practical for the load I had (which I don't carry on the smaller head).
So just a word of caution: on both heads, be very careful not to inadvertently hit/turn the friction adjustment knob. Other than that both heads are dreams to use.
p.2 #4 · Gitzo GH1382QD Ball Head on GT1545T Tripod (fold-over legs)?
Abbott Schindl wrote:
It took you that long to decide
I've got a Series 3 Mountaineer and love it, but it's bigger and heavier than I want to carry any distance. I've also got that head and really like it, other than its friction adjustment. The issue I have with both it and the GH1382QD head is that the rib on the friction adjustment knob protrudes from the lock knob a bit and is free to turn when the head's locked. That's less of a problem for me with the smaller head, but the large one kept loosening when I carried the tripod over my shoulder, resulting in the camera flopping when I loosen the lock. Easy to work around if you're careful about how you carry the tripod, but not practical for the load I had (which I don't carry on the smaller head).
So just a word of caution: on both heads, be very careful not to inadvertently hit/turn the friction adjustment knob. Other than that both heads are dreams to use....Show more →
I've got three of those heads, a pair of GH-1382QD's and the GH-3382QD, and once it's properly set with the first usage,,,, there's really no need to ever turn that knob again,.The friction-control knobs on mine are dead flushi on all of them. Have you talked to Gitzo about your issue? Mine can't slip because it would take considerable force to turn that friction-control knob when it's properly set. Is there any chance that you may have released the tension a little too much? Once it's set with the first usage, you really don't have to set it again in many cases. The knob and the ball-head would remain under tension when you unlock it.
p.2 #5 · Gitzo GH1382QD Ball Head on GT1545T Tripod (fold-over legs)?
Bobarino wrote:
I've got three of those heads, a pair of GH-1382QD's and the GH-3382QD, and once it's properly set with the first usage,,,, there's really no need to ever turn that knob again,.The friction-control knobs on mine are dead flushi on all of them. Have you talked to Gitzo about your issue? Mine can't slip because it would take considerable force to turn that friction-control knob when it's properly set. Is there any chance that you may have released the tension a little too much? Once it's set with the first usage, you really don't have to set it again in many cases. The knob and the ball-head would remain under tension when you unlock it.
Thanks for your input, but there's no way I can get the rib on the Friction Control knob (part H in the instruction manuals) flush with the lock knob (part B in the manuals); the rib always protrudes completely. I properly set H for the right amount of friction for whichever lens I'm using and then barely need to turn B to lock/unlock the ball. My issue is that when the ball's locked, H turns freely. The rib on H on both of my heads is slightly curved outward and protrudes from B.
If you're not experiencing this (i.e. the Friction Control can't turn when the ball's locked), please share what you do. I've fiddled and fiddled and can't accomplish it. Other than that, I love these heads.
p.2 #6 · Gitzo GH1382QD Ball Head on GT1545T Tripod (fold-over legs)?
Hi Abbott,
We might have two different views of the word "flush". When I say "flush". I'm saying the friction dial is properly seated in its cavity. If I look at the friction dial from a 90-degree off-axis position, I see only the "rib". We'll need to be on the same page if we're going to get to the bottom of this.
That said, I got a chance to look at one of my GH-1382QD heads, and I think I;ve managed to replicate your situation. I'll get back to you on this tomorrow if time permits. In a nutshell, it appears your friction dial looseness happens after you've re-tightened the lock-knob while the friction dial is alread set. There's more to it of course, so I'll get back to you. Putting it into words is the tough part.
p.2 #7 · Gitzo GH1382QD Ball Head on GT1545T Tripod (fold-over legs)?
Bobarino wrote:
Hi Abbott,
We might have two different views of the word "flush". When I say "flush". I'm saying the friction dial is properly seated in its cavity. If I look at the friction dial from a 90-degree off-axis position, I see only the "rib". We'll need to be on the same page if we're going to get to the bottom of this.
That said, I got a chance to look at one of my GH-1382QD heads, and I think I;ve managed to replicate your situation. I'll get back to you on this tomorrow if time permits. In a nutshell, it appears your friction dial looseness happens after you've re-tightened the lock-knob while the friction dial is alread set. There's more to it of course, so I'll get back to you. Putting it into words is the tough part....Show more →
Yes, it sounds like you've hit it. The way I use the head, I'll set the friction with "H" and then lock the head. It's when the head's locked that H is free to rotate. And I need to lock the head for most of what I'm shooting (macro stacks, birding/wildlife with heavy lenses).
I just tried leaving the lock knob alone and just setting the desired resistance using H on my new GH-1382QD. H can still be moved easily/inadvertently; that reminded me of one reason I keep the head locked.
This is the only head I've tried that has this behavior. The only other one that comes close is my PMG BH50c60; that head's "friction adjustment" is just a screw that works pretty crudely.
p.2 #8 · Gitzo GH1382QD Ball Head on GT1545T Tripod (fold-over legs)?
Thanks Abbot,,, another thing to look at is the manner in whuch you do that final "locking" step. Basically, after setting the tension, you lock the lock knob with light finger-tip control. If you wrap your hand around the knob and twist too hard, it appears to take the load off the tension control. In that instance, you can add a bit more tension, but again,,, only finger-tip pressure. The two appear to work together in tandem.
As you probably know, Gitzo protects the design of these heads, and you won't find any "view" of how the internals work, , , not even on Gitzospares. They require that any servicing of the head, must be done by Gitzo. They're not "user serviceable".
